Hi Dave;

We wanted to let you know that we enjoyed your recommendation of the Sandman for the night before our trip to Puerto Plata. The suite was very spacious, and there were lots of restaurants nearby, in addition to Denny's. The shuttle was very efficient and we were glad we didn't have to find our terminal and park ourselves.  We were lucky to have warm temperatures for the week, unlike the Mayan RIviera, and most of the rain fell at night.  The Iberostar Costa Dorada had the friendliest staff we have ever met, everyone smiled when they met guests.  The specialty restaurants were all good; I think we liked the Japanese best, followed by the Mexican and the Brazilian, although the Brazilian had the best rum balls ever!  The buffet had lots of choice as well, with omelette stations in the morning, and make-to-order pasta at lunch.  We were in building 9, closest to the restaurants, and had Maria for our maid; she was a real gem. We found the resort compact enough to walk easily and found a couple of lovely little gardens to the one side; one was all orchids, another aloe vera, and another cocoa and coffee bushes and orange and lemon bushes.  We enjoyed walking on the beach too but swam in the pool more.  The resort is worth a return visit.