We stayed at the Ifa Village, Ocean Area in April and are already booked to go back in April of 2011..we enjoy the smaller resort feel.
Arrival:
Front desk staff were great, One has to remember when travelling to Dominican that things move at a very slow, relaxing pace….Our check in went very smoothly, and everything we needed was provided for us (rental of safe, extra key for air conditioning, etc.) We were shuttled to our room area, and our driver took time to point out different things to us. (We arrived late at night and it was not busy) Any questions we had during the day were always politely answered.
Rooms:
We stayed in the Ocean Section and had a room right by the path to the beach…room was immaculate and maid service was excellent, also the young fellow that restocked our fridge always made sure we had lots of beer (don’t forget to leave a tip in the fridge for him). The only thing I missed was having a patio, the rooms have been renovated and the patio/deck area has been expanded to be part of the room…there is a terrace railing with sliding doors so we would just pull our chairs up to the railing and watch the world go by.
Restaurants and Bars:
Picalo’s Pizza/Bar and Patio Seating Area were wonderful, especially when you were looking for some shade in the day but wanted to eat out of doors. Was really impressed with bar staff service at the beach bar/lunch buffet, and the bar over the pool by the entertainment area. Buffett was average, always found something great to eat…Did not try a la cartes. One must also remember this is the Dominican….and the resorts feed large amounts of people, so the buffets are just that buffets witTh a mixture and variety of foods for everyone.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
There are 3 pools, one over by the Villas, the Main swimup/bar pool in the Village Area, and a quiet, relaxing pool in the Ocean section. It is a short walk from the Ocean Area down a path through a field of palm trees onto a white, clean beach area. You can relax under palm trees, with a vast area to pick from, beautiful clean beach with calm water. There is some boat traffic here as opposed to other resorts, but it did not bother us, we enjoyed watching the various things going on. There is a beach market right next door to the Ifa.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Afternoon activities at Main Pool were a blast, even if you did not participate they were great fun to watch. My husband did the catamaran/Island visit/speed boat tour and enjoyed, although found it a very long day. In the evenings there are shows at an outdoor arena, we couldn’t stay up late enough to go. Other than these shows the Resort is very quiet in the evening and late nite.
Other Comments:
This resort is modern, clean (even the beach washrooms are immaculate), the staff are wonderful and love to joke around with you once they get to know you. We met some wonderful people from Russia, Germany, New York, Boston and Switzerland. Language barrier was never a problem with the staff or the other guests. (I am English, my husband is French) I would highly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation