Was on a honeymoon trip with his wife. First impressions of the country and the hotel were incredible until we ran into a theft problem!! ! I understand that it's hard to believe, but it happened to us on the second day of rest. While my wife and I were at a meeting in the lobby with our guide Alexander from Anekstura, one of the staff came into our room, opened the safe and stole $ 100 from my bag (it was 800 - 700 left), from the envelope in which there was a gift for the wedding, they stole 2.
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Was on a honeymoon trip with his wife. First impressions of the country and the hotel were incredible until we ran into a theft problem!! ! I understand that it's hard to believe, but it happened to us on the second day of rest. While my wife and I were at a meeting in the lobby with our guide Alexander from Anekstura, one of the staff came into our room, opened the safe and stole $ 100 from my bag (it was 800 - 700 left), from the envelope in which there was a gift for the wedding, they stole 2.000 hryvnias, leaving 9.400 hryvnias;
Having entered the room with my wife after meeting with the guide, we saw an open safe, I was dumbfounded and at first I thought that maybe I forgot to close it! But when we started counting the money, we were stunned!! ! Since we realized that we were robbed! We immediately called the reception, the hotel manager came to us along with a security guard, they examined the room, examined all our things and said that they would sort everything out by tomorrow! We waited one day, the manager called us and said that he could not help! He offered to go to the police by taxi, but at my expense! )))
That is, having arrived on a honeymoon at a 5 * hotel for a lot of money, I still have to travel myself and spend my precious time proving that their staff stole my money! The hotel staff has a detailed printout of the room door openings. This printout indicates that our room was visited that day by a cleaning lady at intervals of several hours. That is, during that period of time, while we were at a meeting with the guide, she came into the room, it is not clear why.
Therefore, the guys who are going to come here, I recommend that you take off your rose-colored glasses and be on the alert, even a safe in the room and a 5 * hotel will not protect you from thieves and unscrupulous staff! In fact, this is the first time for me, even in Ukraine I have not come across this, not to mention other countries that I happened to visit! Hope the review is helpful!
The hotel is good in terms of location and food, but theft in the rooms ruined everything !! !
Having entered the room with my wife after meeting with the guide, we saw an open safe, I was dumbfounded and at first I thought that maybe I forgot to close it! But when we started counting the money, we were stunned!! ! Since we realized that we were robbed! We immediately called the reception, the hotel manager came to us along with a security guard, they examined the room, examined all our things and said that they would sort everything out by tomorrow! We waited one day, the manager called us and said that he could not help! He offered to go to the police by taxi, but at my expense! )))
That is, having arrived on a honeymoon at a 5 * hotel for a lot of money, I still have to travel myself and spend my precious time proving that their staff stole my money! The hotel staff has a detailed printout of the room door openings. This printout indicates that our room was visited that day by a cleaning lady at intervals of several hours. That is, during that period of time, while we were at a meeting with the guide, she came into the room, it is not clear why.
Therefore, the guys who are going to come here, I recommend that you take off your rose-colored glasses and be on the alert, even a safe in the room and a 5 * hotel will not protect you from thieves and unscrupulous staff! In fact, this is the first time for me, even in Ukraine I have not come across this, not to mention other countries that I happened to visit! Hope the review is helpful!
The hotel is good in terms of location and food, but theft in the rooms ruined everything !! !
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All ola! I hope my review will be useful. I will not burden you with the details of the flight, if you are interested, write in a personal. About the hotel. The hotel is part of two more Princesses - Tropicana and Caribbean Club. You can use the infrastructure of these two hotels. The territory of the hotel is small, compact and well-groomed.
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All ola! I hope my review will be useful. I will not burden you with the details of the flight, if you are interested, write in a personal. About the hotel. The hotel is part of two more Princesses - Tropicana and Caribbean Club. You can use the infrastructure of these two hotels. The territory of the hotel is small, compact and well-groomed. Everything is nearby - reception, restaurants, swimming pool and ocean. There are 5 buildings in total. Three to the left of the reception and two to the right. It seemed to me, 3.4, 5 more well-groomed. We lived in the 5th - closest to the beach and the ocean, on the ground floor. The room has a TV, a fridge with drinks, a coffee maker and a set of tea and coffee. Children under 16 are not allowed in the hotel. The contingent is mostly Germans, Americans, Canadians, several pairs of Russian speakers were seen. The hotel is quiet, for lovers and couples. The animation doesn't bother. The staff is very friendly, but does not speak or understand Russian, minimal English or Spanish is required. About food. The choice is not large, but thoughtful and hungry, you will not be left. Always eat meat, fish, vegetables, fruits. Features: in the morning 8 types of fresh juices, in the evening a selection of brie cheeses, bocchini, etc. . We had white, transparent bracelets that made it possible to enjoy champagne and some other types of imported drinks. Good rum, wine, local beer. A separate issue is coffee. To say that it is delicious and fragrant is to say nothing! In combination with rum, the sound of the ocean and palm trees, this is a song for the taste buds and the soul! About climate and weather. The climate is very humid - stock up on several sets of swimwear. During our stay, the weather was excellent - the same temperature at night and during the day (about 28-30 C). Once there was tropical rain for 5 or 10 minutes. There are small waves on the ocean during this period of the year, but it was quite comfortable to swim. Souvenirs, rum and coffee can be purchased at small markets to the left and right of the hotel along the beach. Conclusions. If you want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of your body and soul, enjoy communication with a loved one in a paradise on Earth, then you are here!!! ! P. s. For lovers of Turkey and Egypt: Dominican Republic - emotionally and not only, much cooler!!! ! I will answer all questions.
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hotel in a hotel, for people over 18 years old, a huge green area, trains run, every 10 minutes spacious rooms, smiling local staff, good enough food, a good fenced beach with white sand, a huge coastline along the ocean where everyone walks. In the evening animation every day, I really liked the Michael Jackson show, European quality cocktails during the day and in the evenings in unlimited quantities, you can go on 1-2 excursions, more tiring.
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hotel in a hotel, for people over 18 years old, a huge green area, trains run, every 10 minutes spacious rooms, smiling local staff, good enough food, a good fenced beach with white sand, a huge coastline along the ocean where everyone walks. In the evening animation every day, I really liked the Michael Jackson show, European quality cocktails during the day and in the evenings in unlimited quantities, you can go on 1-2 excursions, more tiring. in the Dominican Republic you want to be relaxed and nervous all the time, I would go there again, fly there on a 747 Boeing from Domodedovo, take a premium, it was no different from business, the flight went unnoticed, watched movies and listened to music, Have a good rest. Alena.
Review from — vOtpusk.ru
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At the end of January, my husband and I went to the Dominican Republic for two weeks. It happened almost by accident. My husband had to go on vacation two months earlier (planned in April), and we had to urgently decide where to spend it. I wanted summer and exotic, and even without a visa. We came to Natalie Tours, and there we were told that they have special prices for Princess chain hotels in the Dominican Republic.
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At the end of January, my husband and I went to the Dominican Republic for two weeks. It happened almost by accident. My husband had to go on vacation two months earlier (planned in April), and we had to urgently decide where to spend it. I wanted summer and exotic, and even without a visa. We came to Natalie Tours, and there we were told that they have special prices for Princess chain hotels in the Dominican Republic. We chose Punta Cana Princess as this hotel does not accept guests under the age of 18, and we just wanted peace and quiet.
The flight by Transaero went well, although we were worried after reading about the delays. In-flight food is not tasty, 12 hours is a very long time, but oh well. Everything was compensated by the very first breath on the Dominican land - the sweet moist warm air after the vile Moscow winter seemed like divine nectar)
At the airport we paid 10 dollars, the queue stood up pretty quickly.
By the way, at the check-out, $ 20, as it is written everywhere, is no longer taken. Guide Natalie found us quickly, a group bus transfer took 30-40 minutes. The reception offered a delicious cocktail and quickly settled in the 4th building, 2nd floor.
The room - with a spacious balcony, colorful, cozy - we liked it very much. The coffee machine won me over separately - every morning I started with a cup of such a good espresso, which in Moscow you can’t drink for any money if you don’t know special places. The safe in the room is free, opens with the same card as the room.
The hotel operates only on an all-inclusive basis. In addition to the restaurant and bars, this includes beach towels, sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach. You can also take the Premium package - then you will have a sunbed on the beach not plastic, but wooden with pillows, they are in my photos. We did not take it - the beach is spacious, there is enough of everything, we are not picky.
Of the food, I liked breakfasts the most - they were offered up to ten types of freshly squeezed juices. For dinner there was always delicious seafood, which I adore. Although there was no huge variety of dishes, we were always satisfied.
A huge difference from even the best hotels of the same Turkey is delicious alcohol in free bars. Excellent cocktails and cheerful bartenders - the key to a great holiday)
The territory of our hotel is small, but the guests have the right to use the entire infrastructure of the two neighboring hotels of this chain. They have large territories, there are even trams. The animation there is also better - in our hotel it can be said that it was not there.
The service is excellent, the cleaning is very high quality, the atmosphere in the hotel is great. In general, the hotel is really five stars without stretch (for some reason, on some sites it is listed as 4 stars, but this is not so).
A little about the country.
We took several tours plus a rental car, we wanted to see more. Here's what I can recommend. The capital of Santo Domingo is definitely the oldest settlement in North and South America founded by Europeans. The city is famous for examples of colonial architecture - it's great to walk along the streets in the old part.
Another popular city is Santiago, located in the Cibao region. In this city, considered the cradle of the traditional Dominican merengue music, it is worth visiting the Santiago Cathedral in Duarte Park, the Santiago Museum in the building of the old City Hall, the Tobacco Museum on the southern edge of Duarte Park, as well as the famous tobacco factories. Nearby is the city of Moka, considered the capital of the country's coffee production, but we did not go there.
We also went on an excursion to the Samana Peninsula. The tour is hard, it's a long way to go, but the places are amazing.
The peninsula is home to the Los Gaitises National Park with one of the largest stalactite caves in the world, the Banco de la Plata marine reserve, where many humpback whales gather from mid-January to mid-March, as well as the magnificent waterfalls of El Limon and La Fuente del Amirante. By the way, it was here that the shooting of the program "The Last Hero" took place. Alas, we did not see everything, but the humpback whales made a huge impression.
As souvenirs, we brought cigars, coffee, black coral jewelry and, of course, rum with us. Even if I don’t know how to make such delicious cocktails, this drink, even together with a banal cola (I can’t drink clean), still reminds me of one of the best vacations in my life on Friday evenings.
The flight by Transaero went well, although we were worried after reading about the delays. In-flight food is not tasty, 12 hours is a very long time, but oh well. Everything was compensated by the very first breath on the Dominican land - the sweet moist warm air after the vile Moscow winter seemed like divine nectar)
At the airport we paid 10 dollars, the queue stood up pretty quickly.
By the way, at the check-out, $ 20, as it is written everywhere, is no longer taken. Guide Natalie found us quickly, a group bus transfer took 30-40 minutes. The reception offered a delicious cocktail and quickly settled in the 4th building, 2nd floor.
The room - with a spacious balcony, colorful, cozy - we liked it very much. The coffee machine won me over separately - every morning I started with a cup of such a good espresso, which in Moscow you can’t drink for any money if you don’t know special places. The safe in the room is free, opens with the same card as the room.
The hotel operates only on an all-inclusive basis. In addition to the restaurant and bars, this includes beach towels, sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach. You can also take the Premium package - then you will have a sunbed on the beach not plastic, but wooden with pillows, they are in my photos. We did not take it - the beach is spacious, there is enough of everything, we are not picky.
Of the food, I liked breakfasts the most - they were offered up to ten types of freshly squeezed juices. For dinner there was always delicious seafood, which I adore. Although there was no huge variety of dishes, we were always satisfied.
A huge difference from even the best hotels of the same Turkey is delicious alcohol in free bars. Excellent cocktails and cheerful bartenders - the key to a great holiday)
The territory of our hotel is small, but the guests have the right to use the entire infrastructure of the two neighboring hotels of this chain. They have large territories, there are even trams. The animation there is also better - in our hotel it can be said that it was not there.
The service is excellent, the cleaning is very high quality, the atmosphere in the hotel is great. In general, the hotel is really five stars without stretch (for some reason, on some sites it is listed as 4 stars, but this is not so).
A little about the country.
We took several tours plus a rental car, we wanted to see more. Here's what I can recommend. The capital of Santo Domingo is definitely the oldest settlement in North and South America founded by Europeans. The city is famous for examples of colonial architecture - it's great to walk along the streets in the old part.
Another popular city is Santiago, located in the Cibao region. In this city, considered the cradle of the traditional Dominican merengue music, it is worth visiting the Santiago Cathedral in Duarte Park, the Santiago Museum in the building of the old City Hall, the Tobacco Museum on the southern edge of Duarte Park, as well as the famous tobacco factories. Nearby is the city of Moka, considered the capital of the country's coffee production, but we did not go there.
We also went on an excursion to the Samana Peninsula. The tour is hard, it's a long way to go, but the places are amazing.
The peninsula is home to the Los Gaitises National Park with one of the largest stalactite caves in the world, the Banco de la Plata marine reserve, where many humpback whales gather from mid-January to mid-March, as well as the magnificent waterfalls of El Limon and La Fuente del Amirante. By the way, it was here that the shooting of the program "The Last Hero" took place. Alas, we did not see everything, but the humpback whales made a huge impression.
As souvenirs, we brought cigars, coffee, black coral jewelry and, of course, rum with us. Even if I don’t know how to make such delicious cocktails, this drink, even together with a banal cola (I can’t drink clean), still reminds me of one of the best vacations in my life on Friday evenings.
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At the end of January, my husband and I went to the Dominican Republic for two weeks. It happened almost by accident. My husband had to go on vacation two months earlier (planned in April), and we had to urgently decide where to spend it. I wanted summer and exotic, and even without a visa. We came to Natalie Tours, and there we were told that they have special prices for Princess chain hotels in the Dominican Republic.
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At the end of January, my husband and I went to the Dominican Republic for two weeks. It happened almost by accident. My husband had to go on vacation two months earlier (planned in April), and we had to urgently decide where to spend it. I wanted summer and exotic, and even without a visa. We came to Natalie Tours, and there we were told that they have special prices for Princess chain hotels in the Dominican Republic. We chose Punta Cana Princess as this hotel does not accept guests under the age of 18, and we just wanted peace and quiet.
The flight by Transaero went well, although we were worried after reading about the delays. In-flight food is not tasty, 12 hours is a very long time, but oh well. Everything was compensated by the very first breath on the Dominican land - the sweet moist warm air after the vile Moscow winter seemed like divine nectar)
At the airport we paid 10 dollars, the queue stood up pretty quickly.
By the way, at the check-out, $ 20, as it is written everywhere, is no longer taken. Guide Natalie found us quickly, a group bus transfer took 30-40 minutes. The reception offered a delicious cocktail and quickly settled in the 4th building, 2nd floor.
The room - with a spacious balcony, colorful, cozy - we liked it very much. The coffee machine won me over separately - every morning I started with a cup of such a good espresso, which in Moscow you can’t drink for any money if you don’t know special places. The safe in the room is free, opens with the same card as the room.
The hotel operates only on an all-inclusive basis. In addition to the restaurant and bars, this includes beach towels, sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach. You can also take the Premium package - then you will have a sunbed on the beach not plastic, but wooden with pillows, they are in my photos. We did not take it - the beach is spacious, there is enough of everything, we are not picky.
Of the food, I liked breakfasts the most - they were offered up to ten types of freshly squeezed juices. For dinner there was always delicious seafood, which I adore. Although there was no huge variety of dishes, we were always satisfied.
A huge difference from even the best hotels of the same Turkey is delicious alcohol in free bars. Excellent cocktails and cheerful bartenders - the key to a great holiday)
The territory of our hotel is small, but the guests have the right to use the entire infrastructure of the two neighboring hotels of this chain. They have large territories, there are even trams. The animation there is also better - in our hotel it can be said that it was not there.
The service is excellent, the cleaning is very high quality, the atmosphere in the hotel is great. In general, the hotel is really five stars without stretch (for some reason, on some sites it is listed as 4 stars, but this is not so).
A little about the country.
We took several tours plus a rental car, we wanted to see more. Here's what I can recommend. The capital of Santo Domingo is definitely the oldest settlement in North and South America founded by Europeans. The city is famous for examples of colonial architecture - it's great to walk along the streets in the old part.
Another popular city is Santiago, located in the Cibao region. In this city, considered the cradle of the traditional Dominican merengue music, it is worth visiting the Santiago Cathedral in Duarte Park, the Santiago Museum in the building of the old City Hall, the Tobacco Museum on the southern edge of Duarte Park, as well as the famous tobacco factories. Nearby is the city of Moka, considered the capital of the country's coffee production, but we did not go there.
We also went on an excursion to the Samana Peninsula. The tour is hard, it's a long way to go, but the places are amazing.
The peninsula is home to the Los Gaitises National Park with one of the largest stalactite caves in the world, the Banco de la Plata marine reserve, where many humpback whales gather from mid-January to mid-March, as well as the magnificent waterfalls of El Limon and La Fuente del Amirante. By the way, it was here that the shooting of the program "The Last Hero" took place. Alas, we did not see everything, but the humpback whales made a huge impression.
As souvenirs, we brought cigars, coffee, black coral jewelry and, of course, rum with us. Even if I don’t know how to make such delicious cocktails, this drink, even together with a banal cola (I can’t drink clean), still reminds me of one of the best vacations in my life on Friday evenings.
The flight by Transaero went well, although we were worried after reading about the delays. In-flight food is not tasty, 12 hours is a very long time, but oh well. Everything was compensated by the very first breath on the Dominican land - the sweet moist warm air after the vile Moscow winter seemed like divine nectar)
At the airport we paid 10 dollars, the queue stood up pretty quickly.
By the way, at the check-out, $ 20, as it is written everywhere, is no longer taken. Guide Natalie found us quickly, a group bus transfer took 30-40 minutes. The reception offered a delicious cocktail and quickly settled in the 4th building, 2nd floor.
The room - with a spacious balcony, colorful, cozy - we liked it very much. The coffee machine won me over separately - every morning I started with a cup of such a good espresso, which in Moscow you can’t drink for any money if you don’t know special places. The safe in the room is free, opens with the same card as the room.
The hotel operates only on an all-inclusive basis. In addition to the restaurant and bars, this includes beach towels, sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach. You can also take the Premium package - then you will have a sunbed on the beach not plastic, but wooden with pillows, they are in my photos. We did not take it - the beach is spacious, there is enough of everything, we are not picky.
Of the food, I liked breakfasts the most - they were offered up to ten types of freshly squeezed juices. For dinner there was always delicious seafood, which I adore. Although there was no huge variety of dishes, we were always satisfied.
A huge difference from even the best hotels of the same Turkey is delicious alcohol in free bars. Excellent cocktails and cheerful bartenders - the key to a great holiday)
The territory of our hotel is small, but the guests have the right to use the entire infrastructure of the two neighboring hotels of this chain. They have large territories, there are even trams. The animation there is also better - in our hotel it can be said that it was not there.
The service is excellent, the cleaning is very high quality, the atmosphere in the hotel is great. In general, the hotel is really five stars without stretch (for some reason, on some sites it is listed as 4 stars, but this is not so).
A little about the country.
We took several tours plus a rental car, we wanted to see more. Here's what I can recommend. The capital of Santo Domingo is definitely the oldest settlement in North and South America founded by Europeans. The city is famous for examples of colonial architecture - it's great to walk along the streets in the old part.
Another popular city is Santiago, located in the Cibao region. In this city, considered the cradle of the traditional Dominican merengue music, it is worth visiting the Santiago Cathedral in Duarte Park, the Santiago Museum in the building of the old City Hall, the Tobacco Museum on the southern edge of Duarte Park, as well as the famous tobacco factories. Nearby is the city of Moka, considered the capital of the country's coffee production, but we did not go there.
We also went on an excursion to the Samana Peninsula. The tour is hard, it's a long way to go, but the places are amazing.
The peninsula is home to the Los Gaitises National Park with one of the largest stalactite caves in the world, the Banco de la Plata marine reserve, where many humpback whales gather from mid-January to mid-March, as well as the magnificent waterfalls of El Limon and La Fuente del Amirante. By the way, it was here that the shooting of the program "The Last Hero" took place. Alas, we did not see everything, but the humpback whales made a huge impression.
As souvenirs, we brought cigars, coffee, black coral jewelry and, of course, rum with us. Even if I don’t know how to make such delicious cocktails, this drink, even together with a banal cola (I can’t drink clean), still reminds me of one of the best vacations in my life on Friday evenings.
Review from — vOtpusk.ru
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REVIEW Republic of Dominican Republic, Punta Cana Resort PUNTA CANA PRINCESS Hotel Sergey and Elena, Podolsk, Russia. Visiting time: 11-21.11. 2009 We understand that you have already read a lot about him. Therefore, first about the main thing that you could not find in the reviews you read and officially published information: So, at present, out of the four hotels of the PRINCESS system, two: “CARIBE CLAB P…” and “TROPICAL P…” are under repair and, apparently, for a long time, hence two consequences: 1) You, of course, will not be able to use their infrastructure, but you will be able to use the BAVARO PRINCESS infrastructure for free, which was not there before; 2) "PUNTA CANA PRINCESS", although it remained a hotel without children, but temporarily will not be as quiet as described; part of the entertainment has been moved here, so, say, in the evening in the bar at the reception it will not be possible to sit quietly; although they finish early, no later than 23-00 locally.
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REVIEW
Republic of Dominican Republic, Punta Cana Resort
PUNTA CANA PRINCESS Hotel
Sergey and Elena, Podolsk, Russia.
Visiting time: 11-21.11. 2009
We understand that you have already read a lot about him.
Therefore, first about the main thing that you could not find in the reviews you read and officially published information:
So, at present, out of the four hotels of the PRINCESS system, two: “CARIBE CLAB P…” and “TROPICAL P…” are under repair and, apparently, for a long time, hence two consequences:
1) You, of course, will not be able to use their infrastructure, but you will be able to use the BAVARO PRINCESS infrastructure for free, which was not there before;
2) "PUNTA CANA PRINCESS", although it remained a hotel without children, but temporarily will not be as quiet as described; part of the entertainment has been moved here, so, say, in the evening in the bar at the reception it will not be possible to sit quietly; although they finish early, no later than 23-00 locally.
Well, this is a note, and now the impressions.
The main thing: WE REGRET THAT WE GO - NOW, IN COMPARISON, EVERYTHING WILL BE WORSE.
Okay, these are emotions. Much has already been written about the Dominican Republic and the hotel, so we just want to emphasize something; someone might object.
SO:
- of course, the OCEAN AND THE BEACH is the main thing, there is nothing to add, it is already worth flying for this;
- TERRITORY: in fact, not very big, but due to the fences camouflaged with greenery, it seems huge. Everything is very beautiful: palm trees, coconuts overhead……. There are no bad rooms there: they will not put you in a room with a view of the garbage dump, the construction site or the technological zone. When checking in for $ 50, they asked to give only not the first floor: safety, dampness, etc. - they did it. There are no mosquitoes there, they poison very actively at night: at dawn you go out to the ocean - it stinks, even hang an ax, but it doesn’t interfere with sleep - the air conditioner intakes are located correctly, the room doesn’t smell at all.
Of all the living creatures, a very small lizard once ran in, lived for a day under the closet and asked back, probably, she wanted to eat.
-NUMBER: everything is in order, everything works, the furniture, of course, is not made of Karelian birch, and it is not necessary, anyway, they only came to sleep. Bring a bottle opener from the minibar. But what kind of fool came up with the idea of dividing the sleeping area and the recreation area by level into two steps? During the day, when you are not there anyway, it can be beautiful; and in the dark and break your neck for a short time.
-CONTINGENT: You can count the Russians on the fingers, the rest are a complete international: all of Europe, Canada, the States, Brazil (?! ), Chile, Argentina, it seems there was even one Japanese.
- FOOD: compared to Egypt, at first glance, it may not seem so diverse; but this is only due to the lack of a variety of salads, which are still prepared from cuts that were not eaten yesterday.
And so everything is fine: there is always pork: they dry out the beef, and it is difficult to spoil the pork if desired. Seafood, juices, ...come on, a lot has been written about this. What is important, it is really "all inclusive". No restrictions, such as: “until such and such an hour it is free, and then for money. ” If it's open, it means it's sealed. Go to meet the dawn on the ocean even before the official breakfast time (and this will be the case, at least in the early days - the difference in time zones) in a restaurant by the beach you can eat some yogurt, a bun, drinks - it is around the clock. On the beach, between breakfast and lunch, they constantly grill meat, chicken, and who knows what else. Interestingly, in the main restaurant, the names of dishes are written in Russian as well. It is very touching, looking at sausages, to read that they really are “sausages”.
We didn’t go to “a la carte” restaurants (by the way, now there without an appointment) - we heard a lot of reviews from the Russian brothers: you order incomprehensibly what (there is no menu in Russian), you wait incomprehensibly how long, ate and think - and now you should have dinner at a normal restaurant, especially since everything is the same there.
-STAFF: Someone said they were lazy. I can’t speak for the entire Dominican Republic, but as for this hotel, it’s not true. Exceptional politeness, friendliness and at the same time unobtrusiveness - without idiotic questions “how are you? ”(again, a comparison with Egypt), in a word, the atmosphere of an endless holiday. You enter a restaurant - immediately “do you smoke or don’t smoke”, “sit down here”, “what will you drink”, then constantly “do you need anything else? ”, even if the restaurant is already formally closed. Before the trip, we printed out a Russian-Spanish phrasebook for ourselves - it was not required: we got by with three words “hola”, “grasias” and “no comprendo”.
If you speak English in a minimum volume, it will be enough. True, it may not be the case everywhere. Been to BAVARO PRINCESS: once in the evening on the "shuttle" to the performance (nonsense) and a couple of times walking along the beach, so it's possible that they have five people waiting at the bar, and the staff is doing some more important things - for "PUNTA CANA PRINCESS" this is nonsense. Perhaps this is the trouble of large hotels, where guests for staff are a gray mass; and we all had it like relatives - the bartenders already on the third day know who needs what.
-POOL - none. Apparently, it has remained since the time when children were allowed to go there - the depth is 1.2 m. And is it needed? You have to be a complete pervert or a German to wallow in an incomprehensible puddle fifty paces from one of the best ocean beaches in the world.
For a change, sometimes they came there to a bar with chairs under water to look at people, listen, feel the atmosphere; and even then it is better to do it after 13-00, when the same Germans move in amicable rows to eat.
-BEACH. Beauty has already been mentioned. There will be enough sun loungers for everyone, but there may not be places under the fungi by 10 in the morning. But in the first days, you will still get up early, but when you get a little tan, it doesn’t matter, in extreme cases, you can cool off in a bar on the beach. And further! Do not try to take places on the first line. According to local laws, the coastline belongs to everyone, even if there is even Abramovich's castle three times nearby (which is what local residents from the hinterland, especially on weekends, use - they walk in herds along the coast back and forth). But where the mushrooms are, these are guys, excuse me, private property - the guards are on the alert.
- EXCURSIONS - expensive.
Here everyone decides for himself in accordance with age, health status and the thickness of the wallet. We were in Santa Domingo (quite interesting with a good guide) and in the new zoo (still under construction, if you go, it’s better not to regret the extra $ 70 for swimming in the ocean with dolphins)
-WHAT IS BAD, and, alas, irremovable: a short daylight hours - the whole year 12 hours plus or minus a little bit, but there's nothing to be done here - almost the equator.
-TEZ TOUR - no complaints, except that a bus could have been given a little more for an excursion to Santa Domingo - the path is still not close. Meeting at the airport is ok. Delivery guide Irina from Ukraine will not leave the hotel until she is sure that you have been accommodated, and will help with the translation into Spanish at the reception.
Special thanks to our hotel guide Lucy from Cuba: having learned that we, in a hurry, forgot the charger for the mobile phone and were left with practically no connection, the next day she brought her plus gave an adapter for their sockets (when leaving, they decided to return it - here it is not for us what, and there someone will help). BTW, BE AWARE!
Those adapters that are sold there for $3-5 are just adapters from their flat contacts to our round ones, but not 127/220V transformers, so there can be no question of fully charging devices. With a mobile phone, if you don’t keep it constantly on, still back and forth, but for photo and video equipment we recommend having a spare battery - we didn’t have enough for a day, moreover, at the right time.
-Now about the MOST UNPLEASANT - this is a / c "Transaero". We do not mean the flight crew, which honestly performs its not at all easy work, but the management, to which we are now addressing. LORD!
How is it possible? On the official website of your Company, it is written in black and white that “a four-class service system operates on the B-747 and B-777 aircraft of the Transaero airline”, which includes, among other things, a premium economy class (+ $ 25 in one end per capita) is 10 extra centimeters between the rows and a greater angle of inclination of the backs, and with a 12-hour flight, as they say, “this is not nonsense at all, my friend Iceman. ” And what do we see in reality? 11.11. 2009 Departure from DMD. Instead of 777.747 is available (by the way, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from October 26, the 777 mentioned in your schedule has never, in my opinion, ever flown). Well, God bless him, 747 is also a good car, but that's just the same class of places there was not there. Accident? So the representative of the a / c said - they say, at the last moment they gave another board. Let's say. But 21.11. 2009 when departing from Punta Cana - the same situation.
The consequences are completely unmotivated flight delays for an hour or more: the weather is great, the plane is standing and breathing, I don’t want to fly, and people are standing, cursing at the entrance, trying to get what they paid for, and there is a window for departure will close. Lord! What, is this a systematic scam? The expectation that a person who paid $ 4-5 thousand or more for a vacation will not sue because of $ 100 for two (plus, hypothetically, the same amount for moral damage - our courts will not give more)? Well, then your calculation is flawless. We definitely won't, there's no time. Only if you happen to read this - let you be ashamed if this feeling is familiar to you.
- Okay, let's not end on a bad note. Have a nice holiday. The choice is yours. But we, if we had a chance to go to the Dominican Republic again, would again choose PUNTA CANA PRINCESS - they don’t look for good from good.
GOOD LUCK!
Republic of Dominican Republic, Punta Cana Resort
PUNTA CANA PRINCESS Hotel
Sergey and Elena, Podolsk, Russia.
Visiting time: 11-21.11. 2009
We understand that you have already read a lot about him.
Therefore, first about the main thing that you could not find in the reviews you read and officially published information:
So, at present, out of the four hotels of the PRINCESS system, two: “CARIBE CLAB P…” and “TROPICAL P…” are under repair and, apparently, for a long time, hence two consequences:
1) You, of course, will not be able to use their infrastructure, but you will be able to use the BAVARO PRINCESS infrastructure for free, which was not there before;
2) "PUNTA CANA PRINCESS", although it remained a hotel without children, but temporarily will not be as quiet as described; part of the entertainment has been moved here, so, say, in the evening in the bar at the reception it will not be possible to sit quietly; although they finish early, no later than 23-00 locally.
Well, this is a note, and now the impressions.
The main thing: WE REGRET THAT WE GO - NOW, IN COMPARISON, EVERYTHING WILL BE WORSE.
Okay, these are emotions. Much has already been written about the Dominican Republic and the hotel, so we just want to emphasize something; someone might object.
SO:
- of course, the OCEAN AND THE BEACH is the main thing, there is nothing to add, it is already worth flying for this;
- TERRITORY: in fact, not very big, but due to the fences camouflaged with greenery, it seems huge. Everything is very beautiful: palm trees, coconuts overhead……. There are no bad rooms there: they will not put you in a room with a view of the garbage dump, the construction site or the technological zone. When checking in for $ 50, they asked to give only not the first floor: safety, dampness, etc. - they did it. There are no mosquitoes there, they poison very actively at night: at dawn you go out to the ocean - it stinks, even hang an ax, but it doesn’t interfere with sleep - the air conditioner intakes are located correctly, the room doesn’t smell at all.
Of all the living creatures, a very small lizard once ran in, lived for a day under the closet and asked back, probably, she wanted to eat.
-NUMBER: everything is in order, everything works, the furniture, of course, is not made of Karelian birch, and it is not necessary, anyway, they only came to sleep. Bring a bottle opener from the minibar. But what kind of fool came up with the idea of dividing the sleeping area and the recreation area by level into two steps? During the day, when you are not there anyway, it can be beautiful; and in the dark and break your neck for a short time.
-CONTINGENT: You can count the Russians on the fingers, the rest are a complete international: all of Europe, Canada, the States, Brazil (?! ), Chile, Argentina, it seems there was even one Japanese.
- FOOD: compared to Egypt, at first glance, it may not seem so diverse; but this is only due to the lack of a variety of salads, which are still prepared from cuts that were not eaten yesterday.
And so everything is fine: there is always pork: they dry out the beef, and it is difficult to spoil the pork if desired. Seafood, juices, ...come on, a lot has been written about this. What is important, it is really "all inclusive". No restrictions, such as: “until such and such an hour it is free, and then for money. ” If it's open, it means it's sealed. Go to meet the dawn on the ocean even before the official breakfast time (and this will be the case, at least in the early days - the difference in time zones) in a restaurant by the beach you can eat some yogurt, a bun, drinks - it is around the clock. On the beach, between breakfast and lunch, they constantly grill meat, chicken, and who knows what else. Interestingly, in the main restaurant, the names of dishes are written in Russian as well. It is very touching, looking at sausages, to read that they really are “sausages”.
We didn’t go to “a la carte” restaurants (by the way, now there without an appointment) - we heard a lot of reviews from the Russian brothers: you order incomprehensibly what (there is no menu in Russian), you wait incomprehensibly how long, ate and think - and now you should have dinner at a normal restaurant, especially since everything is the same there.
-STAFF: Someone said they were lazy. I can’t speak for the entire Dominican Republic, but as for this hotel, it’s not true. Exceptional politeness, friendliness and at the same time unobtrusiveness - without idiotic questions “how are you? ”(again, a comparison with Egypt), in a word, the atmosphere of an endless holiday. You enter a restaurant - immediately “do you smoke or don’t smoke”, “sit down here”, “what will you drink”, then constantly “do you need anything else? ”, even if the restaurant is already formally closed. Before the trip, we printed out a Russian-Spanish phrasebook for ourselves - it was not required: we got by with three words “hola”, “grasias” and “no comprendo”.
If you speak English in a minimum volume, it will be enough. True, it may not be the case everywhere. Been to BAVARO PRINCESS: once in the evening on the "shuttle" to the performance (nonsense) and a couple of times walking along the beach, so it's possible that they have five people waiting at the bar, and the staff is doing some more important things - for "PUNTA CANA PRINCESS" this is nonsense. Perhaps this is the trouble of large hotels, where guests for staff are a gray mass; and we all had it like relatives - the bartenders already on the third day know who needs what.
-POOL - none. Apparently, it has remained since the time when children were allowed to go there - the depth is 1.2 m. And is it needed? You have to be a complete pervert or a German to wallow in an incomprehensible puddle fifty paces from one of the best ocean beaches in the world.
For a change, sometimes they came there to a bar with chairs under water to look at people, listen, feel the atmosphere; and even then it is better to do it after 13-00, when the same Germans move in amicable rows to eat.
-BEACH. Beauty has already been mentioned. There will be enough sun loungers for everyone, but there may not be places under the fungi by 10 in the morning. But in the first days, you will still get up early, but when you get a little tan, it doesn’t matter, in extreme cases, you can cool off in a bar on the beach. And further! Do not try to take places on the first line. According to local laws, the coastline belongs to everyone, even if there is even Abramovich's castle three times nearby (which is what local residents from the hinterland, especially on weekends, use - they walk in herds along the coast back and forth). But where the mushrooms are, these are guys, excuse me, private property - the guards are on the alert.
- EXCURSIONS - expensive.
Here everyone decides for himself in accordance with age, health status and the thickness of the wallet. We were in Santa Domingo (quite interesting with a good guide) and in the new zoo (still under construction, if you go, it’s better not to regret the extra $ 70 for swimming in the ocean with dolphins)
-WHAT IS BAD, and, alas, irremovable: a short daylight hours - the whole year 12 hours plus or minus a little bit, but there's nothing to be done here - almost the equator.
-TEZ TOUR - no complaints, except that a bus could have been given a little more for an excursion to Santa Domingo - the path is still not close. Meeting at the airport is ok. Delivery guide Irina from Ukraine will not leave the hotel until she is sure that you have been accommodated, and will help with the translation into Spanish at the reception.
Special thanks to our hotel guide Lucy from Cuba: having learned that we, in a hurry, forgot the charger for the mobile phone and were left with practically no connection, the next day she brought her plus gave an adapter for their sockets (when leaving, they decided to return it - here it is not for us what, and there someone will help). BTW, BE AWARE!
Those adapters that are sold there for $3-5 are just adapters from their flat contacts to our round ones, but not 127/220V transformers, so there can be no question of fully charging devices. With a mobile phone, if you don’t keep it constantly on, still back and forth, but for photo and video equipment we recommend having a spare battery - we didn’t have enough for a day, moreover, at the right time.
-Now about the MOST UNPLEASANT - this is a / c "Transaero". We do not mean the flight crew, which honestly performs its not at all easy work, but the management, to which we are now addressing. LORD!
How is it possible? On the official website of your Company, it is written in black and white that “a four-class service system operates on the B-747 and B-777 aircraft of the Transaero airline”, which includes, among other things, a premium economy class (+ $ 25 in one end per capita) is 10 extra centimeters between the rows and a greater angle of inclination of the backs, and with a 12-hour flight, as they say, “this is not nonsense at all, my friend Iceman. ” And what do we see in reality? 11.11. 2009 Departure from DMD. Instead of 777.747 is available (by the way, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from October 26, the 777 mentioned in your schedule has never, in my opinion, ever flown). Well, God bless him, 747 is also a good car, but that's just the same class of places there was not there. Accident? So the representative of the a / c said - they say, at the last moment they gave another board. Let's say. But 21.11. 2009 when departing from Punta Cana - the same situation.
The consequences are completely unmotivated flight delays for an hour or more: the weather is great, the plane is standing and breathing, I don’t want to fly, and people are standing, cursing at the entrance, trying to get what they paid for, and there is a window for departure will close. Lord! What, is this a systematic scam? The expectation that a person who paid $ 4-5 thousand or more for a vacation will not sue because of $ 100 for two (plus, hypothetically, the same amount for moral damage - our courts will not give more)? Well, then your calculation is flawless. We definitely won't, there's no time. Only if you happen to read this - let you be ashamed if this feeling is familiar to you.
- Okay, let's not end on a bad note. Have a nice holiday. The choice is yours. But we, if we had a chance to go to the Dominican Republic again, would again choose PUNTA CANA PRINCESS - they don’t look for good from good.
GOOD LUCK!
Review from — vOtpusk.ru
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The hotel is not for young people. Calm rest. The rooms are best in the 5th building, preferably higher, so the humidity is not felt. Food - 4 you won't die of hunger, but you won't get better either, very tasty fruits. A la carte restaurants 3-, good barbecue on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays Beach, ocean, for which it is worth going there 5+++.
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The hotel is not for young people. Calm rest. The rooms are best in the 5th building, preferably higher, so the humidity is not felt. Food - 4 you won't die of hunger, but you won't get better either, very tasty fruits. A la carte restaurants 3-, good barbecue on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays Beach, ocean, for which it is worth going there 5+++
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"Over the Ocean, or the Great Crab Hunt" First, let me explain where exactly and why we went. My dream was to see the Ocean. And touch (I'm a kinesthetic! ). Cuba immediately came to mind - snow-white sand, palm trees and the remnants of socialism, which I want to look at least with an eye. My husband, unlike me, is a realist and it turned out to be difficult for him to immediately decide on Cuba.
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"Over the Ocean, or the Great Crab Hunt"
First, let me explain where exactly and why we went. My dream was to see the Ocean. And touch (I'm a kinesthetic! ). Cuba immediately came to mind - snow-white sand, palm trees and the remnants of socialism, which I want to look at least with an eye. My husband, unlike me, is a realist and it turned out to be difficult for him to immediately decide on Cuba. I started the preparatory process in early May... But it was also fraught with delay (strike iron... ). On one of the rainy May Saturdays, when we so wanted the sun, we sat together on the Internet and "accidentally" looked at the Capital Tour website - what is there in Cuba? ))) And my boyfriend disappeared! For the sake of order, he flirted: what about the children? Maybe better to Turkey - but all together? I will not reveal all my tricks - the main thing is that the issue is resolved in principle, the rest is details. We decided to buy a tour in an agency that has already been proven more than once - right at the entrance to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And that's where the surprises began. A very talkative lady, Nadezhda, who has been a good friend for a long time, she won’t advise bad things, suddenly declares: “What the hell did this Cuba give up to you? ! ".
We were not ready for such a turn and were confused: "But what to do? "
- Like what? Fly to the Dominican Republic!! ! The Dominican Republic is located on the island of Haiti in the Caribbean between Cuba and Jamaica, the climate is almost equatorial, maritime. The sand is snow-white, the palm trees are royal, the service is bourgeois, the table is Swedish)))))))))))
And what was left for us? Moreover, according to the calculations of our modest budget, it turned out that, minus the cost of the flight, which is 70% of the payment, our entire holiday in five stars "Premium" comes out for two less than one and a half thousand bucks.
We flew.
"Transaero" - non-stop twelve-hour flight Domodedovo - Punta Cana. We flew along with the sun (the hourly difference is 8 hours), I generally have a difficult relationship with sleep. I always envy my husband - he knows how to sleep everywhere! During the flight I read "Master and Margarita", drew crosses in Japanese crosswords and - for the most part admired the view from the porthole. And there was something to admire: the route was incomprehensible. From Moscow - to the north-west, through Pskov, the Baltic states, Sweden, Norway, the north of Britain. It was great to see Stockholm. Norwegian fjords, snow on mountain tops, rivers. And. . . the endless Ocean.
Everything ended well. Punta Cana Airport. Before the trip, as always, I tried to collect as much information as possible, so I was ready: for the sweltering heat that hugged and wetted me immediately on the gangway, for a private airport (owned by Julio Iglesius), covered with palm leaves, for the absence of customs and border formalities. . .
We met and brought to the hotel. What surprised us, there were four couples in the minibus, all from different hotels, but the representative of the tour operator (the girl Karina from Capital Tour, God bless her and a rich fiancé! ) settled each couple personally, making sure that there were no problems. We were the last. . .
Everything was as in the pictures: multi-colored houses with numbers arranged so that no one interferes with anyone. There are flowers in the rooms, on the huge bed, in the washbasins, everywhere. The hotel was advised by Nadezhda (since we have gathered without children, take a hotel for newlyweds - relax, so relax! ). We have remembered her so many times with a kind word!
Everything was amazing - the variety of palm trees, from small, pineapple-like, to huge royal ones... the blue of the Ocean... the island is surrounded by a natural coral reef, so sharks, jellyfish and storms cannot approach the coast... snow-white sand of coral origin, in which red and bluish inclusions are guessed, cool in any heat... the absence of this very heat (average annual temperature + 28, almost without hesitation, at night + 25, water + 28)... wildlife (pelicans calmly dived next to the bathers and even allowed themselves to be touched! ), peacocks, parrots, some ducks, geese, pink flamingos live and move freely in hotels, in all the fountains there are an abundance of turtles, colorful fish (even one bit me by the finger, I thought it was a bun), what - something lizards, monitor lizards... But even this was not what struck me the most, but smiles! I have NEVER seen ANY hotel worker or local that didn't have a smile on their face, honestly! They constantly sing something, dance, and it's so cool. What else surprised me was the complete absence of Russian speech (it was then that I remembered the words of gratitude to the English teacher! ). The local language is Spanish. Hotel employees speak English, as 90% of vacationers are Americans. Our hotel ("Punta Cana Princess 5 *") is included in the "Princess" system, which allowed us to use (free of charge) the entire infrastructure of the other 4 hotels, and the guests of the remaining hotels could not use our infrastructure, I did not quite understand why, apparently different pay levels. Considering the time difference, for the first 3-4 days we woke up at 5 am and walked along the beach to other hotels. I cannot but say that the territories are huge, by Turkish standards - generally impossible. There is a ban on felling mangrove trees, and there are a lot of them, so on the territory of almost every hotel there are mangrove park areas in which living creatures live, very happy about the appearance of vacationers, brazenly begging for food! Shuttles (mini road trains with open trailers) run through the territories and between the hotels. In the evenings, we actively used them, went to various musicals and shows, which, indeed, were at the highest level! I am tempted in this matter and I can say with all responsibility!
What else is there to talk about? The sun is quite dangerous. My white-skinned husband burned immediately, despite all the precautions taken, because of which he bathed in a T-shirt for the next days, which did not interfere at all. In the morning we always swam in the Ocean, but it is absolutely impossible to do this for a long time - the sun is overhead, the shoulders burn, and there is never a calm. at first, it’s even cool to swing on significant waves, but my vestibular apparatus is not very good, so an hour of rocking is the limit! Next - the life-saving pool! Along its shores with surprisingly unimaginable geometry, on its islands there are low coconut palms, therefore there is a shadow. You can just lie on the water, you can play in one of the bays of the pool, you can sit in a bar up to your waist in water and sip Mamu Juana... I swam, read Akunin, swam again, then in the pool - then in the Ocean. Forgot about lunch. There was a sea restaurant on the beach, open 24 hours, where you could get ice cream, fruit, anything. . .
About restaurants. I was ready for an abundance of seafood and fruits. But still, I was amazed by ten types of freshly squeezed juices for breakfast, by the fact that if for some reason you don’t like any of the hundreds (I won’t be mistaken if I say so) of already prepared dishes, you can choose any source product or their combination (meat, fish, anything up to any kind of pasta) and ask to cook right in front of you according to your recipe. Think about it, it's even welcome! There were 5 restaurants on our territory (the main buffet restaurant, sea, fondue, Italian, Mexican), there were 16 more on the territories of neighboring hotels, all could be visited, but we had enough of our own. It's nice that from the second day the waiters greeted us in Russian, knew our preferences in drinks and dishes and happily fulfilled any whim.
By the way, we are people who are not used to exquisite service and are not spoiled, therefore we wore cocktails and beach towels ourselves, which surprised workers and Americans.
Imagine, this vacation was so different from the rest of my life: in pace, in the number of movements, that time changed its essence. Surprisingly, it dragged on in a completely different way - smoothly, serenely. It seems to me that a month or a year could have passed in this bliss... I did not go to any competitions and dance lessons that went on all day either on the beach, or in the pool, or in the lobby. Sometimes I looked at all this from the outside - cool. Sometimes I didn't look.
My husband and I enjoyed each other and laziness! It was worth it!
Excursions.
Many were offered. Expensive. We chose 3, paid over $800.
1. Safari to the outback. On open trucks equipped with seats and seat belts, they drove around the province. Long away. We stopped at a ranch, rode horses through a palm grove. Liked. Further - on the plantation of coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, mango orchards. Interesting. It turns out that cocoa grows right on the trunk. First, on the trunk of a tree that looks like a large apple tree, tiny white flowers appear here and there, and large brown fruits grow from them, the size of a large grapefruit, and cocoa grains live in white wet cotton wool, here!
From there - we went to a wild, not equipped bay. We swam in the Ocean (how blue it is! ).
2. Capital. What can I say, the history of one of our Annunciation Monastery in Kirzhach is 200 years older and so much more interesting than the entire history of America! Yes, they were at the monument and the lighthouse of Columbus (after all, he sailed just to Haiti, and it is there that the first city (Santa Domingo) and the first Catholic church of America are located), but it is impossible to compare with our Moscow, and even more so with St. Petersburg! What I really liked - underground lakes, through which they crossed in the dark on a ferry, stalactites and fish - impressed me!
3. Catalinita. It is an uninhabited island located at the confluence of the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. This is worth talking about separately, for the sake of this it was worth flying across the Ocean and parting with your beloved kids! First, we were brought by minibus to the city of millionaires - a hotel occupying about 50 hectares, with a helipad and an airport. Those who arrive on their own transport rest there, only there are the best golf courses, and each vacationer has his own electric car. Only through this hotel you can get to the city of artists - a city built in 1972 by one of the Hollywood producers for the 15th birthday of his daughter, modeled on Italian medieval cities. So, in my opinion, this is a real medieval city, with squares and houses entwined with ivy, with a church and an amphitheater, with fountains and crooked narrow streets. Now a grown-up girl has organized an art school there, where she teaches gifted teenagers with her own money and pays them a scholarship. The beauty is incredible. And given that the city is located on the steep bank of the Chavon River, where films were shot ("Rimbaud 2", "Apocalypse Now", something else... ), you can understand how beautiful it is there. We went down to the river, got into a speedboat. Sailed to the Caribbean. We stopped at a place called the Natural Pool. Absolute calm (this does not happen in the Ocean! ) The depth is chest-deep. And all over the bottom - sea stars of unprecedented beauty. We were given masks with snorkels, we swam, raised these stars, took pictures and released them. The Caribbean Sea is different - bright, bright turquoise! Because of the calm, there is no suspension of sand in it and the bottom can be seen at any depth. And fish. Colorful, curious. . .
Next is the island. It does not protrude above the water, where the depth is knee-deep. And again - marine life: mollusks (huge, lacquered, carved), rapana, hedgehogs, corals, oysters. To be honest, it’s impossible, but we brought a little bit with us.
Next is the Catalinita itself. A truly uninhabited island. Small. There we were already waiting for lunch in the form of salads, cold beer, grilled pork and huge grilled lobsters (by that time already hated! ). But that's not the point. There, 10 meters from the island, there is a reef, and a white wave with lambs exactly marks the border between the Blue Ocean and the Green Caribbean Sea. Magic! The island is rocky and we swam under the rocks in clear water among the fish and did not want to leave. But then there was another island - Saona. "Pirates of the Caribbean" were filmed there - where Johnny Depp found rum and burned a fire at night, our "Last Hero - 3" was also held there, where V. Presnyakov participated. But, to be honest, the island differs little from the shore of the hotel, and did not make much of an impression.
. . . So 2 weeks passed. I managed to miss the boys and my native landscapes, so I left with a light heart, knowing for sure that I would return. It's impossible not to go back there!
Here, in fact, is my whole story. Oh, by the way, you might want to ask: Why is there any kind of crab hunt in the title, especially the Big one?
I explain: from the first day, my beloved found on the beach under the sun loungers, made in the form of large double wooden beds with curtains, some kind of holes, or holes. And I realized: crabs live there! Apparently, the instinct of the hunter, dormant all his life, had to wake up sometime, and the favorable climate had the necessary effect. In short, I lost my husband on the second day of my stay in the Dominican Republic - he went on a hunting trail. Sometimes the hunt was successful, and then, to the enthusiastic laughter of my man, a new tenant settled in a chest of drawers, who brought the best fish from restaurants, and whose filming took up most of the video filmed on the island. Hunting did not stop at night - it acquired new colors. And the prey came across bigger! Hunting did not stop on excursions - oh, how many large crabs live on Catalinita!! ! It's good that I had enough, the sun, the ocean and serenity! And I could watch with indulgence the games of my overage child!
First, let me explain where exactly and why we went. My dream was to see the Ocean. And touch (I'm a kinesthetic! ). Cuba immediately came to mind - snow-white sand, palm trees and the remnants of socialism, which I want to look at least with an eye. My husband, unlike me, is a realist and it turned out to be difficult for him to immediately decide on Cuba. I started the preparatory process in early May... But it was also fraught with delay (strike iron... ). On one of the rainy May Saturdays, when we so wanted the sun, we sat together on the Internet and "accidentally" looked at the Capital Tour website - what is there in Cuba? ))) And my boyfriend disappeared! For the sake of order, he flirted: what about the children? Maybe better to Turkey - but all together? I will not reveal all my tricks - the main thing is that the issue is resolved in principle, the rest is details. We decided to buy a tour in an agency that has already been proven more than once - right at the entrance to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And that's where the surprises began. A very talkative lady, Nadezhda, who has been a good friend for a long time, she won’t advise bad things, suddenly declares: “What the hell did this Cuba give up to you? ! ".
We were not ready for such a turn and were confused: "But what to do? "
- Like what? Fly to the Dominican Republic!! ! The Dominican Republic is located on the island of Haiti in the Caribbean between Cuba and Jamaica, the climate is almost equatorial, maritime. The sand is snow-white, the palm trees are royal, the service is bourgeois, the table is Swedish)))))))))))
And what was left for us? Moreover, according to the calculations of our modest budget, it turned out that, minus the cost of the flight, which is 70% of the payment, our entire holiday in five stars "Premium" comes out for two less than one and a half thousand bucks.
We flew.
"Transaero" - non-stop twelve-hour flight Domodedovo - Punta Cana. We flew along with the sun (the hourly difference is 8 hours), I generally have a difficult relationship with sleep. I always envy my husband - he knows how to sleep everywhere! During the flight I read "Master and Margarita", drew crosses in Japanese crosswords and - for the most part admired the view from the porthole. And there was something to admire: the route was incomprehensible. From Moscow - to the north-west, through Pskov, the Baltic states, Sweden, Norway, the north of Britain. It was great to see Stockholm. Norwegian fjords, snow on mountain tops, rivers. And. . . the endless Ocean.
Everything ended well. Punta Cana Airport. Before the trip, as always, I tried to collect as much information as possible, so I was ready: for the sweltering heat that hugged and wetted me immediately on the gangway, for a private airport (owned by Julio Iglesius), covered with palm leaves, for the absence of customs and border formalities. . .
We met and brought to the hotel. What surprised us, there were four couples in the minibus, all from different hotels, but the representative of the tour operator (the girl Karina from Capital Tour, God bless her and a rich fiancé! ) settled each couple personally, making sure that there were no problems. We were the last. . .
Everything was as in the pictures: multi-colored houses with numbers arranged so that no one interferes with anyone. There are flowers in the rooms, on the huge bed, in the washbasins, everywhere. The hotel was advised by Nadezhda (since we have gathered without children, take a hotel for newlyweds - relax, so relax! ). We have remembered her so many times with a kind word!
Everything was amazing - the variety of palm trees, from small, pineapple-like, to huge royal ones... the blue of the Ocean... the island is surrounded by a natural coral reef, so sharks, jellyfish and storms cannot approach the coast... snow-white sand of coral origin, in which red and bluish inclusions are guessed, cool in any heat... the absence of this very heat (average annual temperature + 28, almost without hesitation, at night + 25, water + 28)... wildlife (pelicans calmly dived next to the bathers and even allowed themselves to be touched! ), peacocks, parrots, some ducks, geese, pink flamingos live and move freely in hotels, in all the fountains there are an abundance of turtles, colorful fish (even one bit me by the finger, I thought it was a bun), what - something lizards, monitor lizards... But even this was not what struck me the most, but smiles! I have NEVER seen ANY hotel worker or local that didn't have a smile on their face, honestly! They constantly sing something, dance, and it's so cool. What else surprised me was the complete absence of Russian speech (it was then that I remembered the words of gratitude to the English teacher! ). The local language is Spanish. Hotel employees speak English, as 90% of vacationers are Americans. Our hotel ("Punta Cana Princess 5 *") is included in the "Princess" system, which allowed us to use (free of charge) the entire infrastructure of the other 4 hotels, and the guests of the remaining hotels could not use our infrastructure, I did not quite understand why, apparently different pay levels. Considering the time difference, for the first 3-4 days we woke up at 5 am and walked along the beach to other hotels. I cannot but say that the territories are huge, by Turkish standards - generally impossible. There is a ban on felling mangrove trees, and there are a lot of them, so on the territory of almost every hotel there are mangrove park areas in which living creatures live, very happy about the appearance of vacationers, brazenly begging for food! Shuttles (mini road trains with open trailers) run through the territories and between the hotels. In the evenings, we actively used them, went to various musicals and shows, which, indeed, were at the highest level! I am tempted in this matter and I can say with all responsibility!
What else is there to talk about? The sun is quite dangerous. My white-skinned husband burned immediately, despite all the precautions taken, because of which he bathed in a T-shirt for the next days, which did not interfere at all. In the morning we always swam in the Ocean, but it is absolutely impossible to do this for a long time - the sun is overhead, the shoulders burn, and there is never a calm. at first, it’s even cool to swing on significant waves, but my vestibular apparatus is not very good, so an hour of rocking is the limit! Next - the life-saving pool! Along its shores with surprisingly unimaginable geometry, on its islands there are low coconut palms, therefore there is a shadow. You can just lie on the water, you can play in one of the bays of the pool, you can sit in a bar up to your waist in water and sip Mamu Juana... I swam, read Akunin, swam again, then in the pool - then in the Ocean. Forgot about lunch. There was a sea restaurant on the beach, open 24 hours, where you could get ice cream, fruit, anything. . .
About restaurants. I was ready for an abundance of seafood and fruits. But still, I was amazed by ten types of freshly squeezed juices for breakfast, by the fact that if for some reason you don’t like any of the hundreds (I won’t be mistaken if I say so) of already prepared dishes, you can choose any source product or their combination (meat, fish, anything up to any kind of pasta) and ask to cook right in front of you according to your recipe. Think about it, it's even welcome! There were 5 restaurants on our territory (the main buffet restaurant, sea, fondue, Italian, Mexican), there were 16 more on the territories of neighboring hotels, all could be visited, but we had enough of our own. It's nice that from the second day the waiters greeted us in Russian, knew our preferences in drinks and dishes and happily fulfilled any whim.
By the way, we are people who are not used to exquisite service and are not spoiled, therefore we wore cocktails and beach towels ourselves, which surprised workers and Americans.
Imagine, this vacation was so different from the rest of my life: in pace, in the number of movements, that time changed its essence. Surprisingly, it dragged on in a completely different way - smoothly, serenely. It seems to me that a month or a year could have passed in this bliss... I did not go to any competitions and dance lessons that went on all day either on the beach, or in the pool, or in the lobby. Sometimes I looked at all this from the outside - cool. Sometimes I didn't look.
My husband and I enjoyed each other and laziness! It was worth it!
Excursions.
Many were offered. Expensive. We chose 3, paid over $800.
1. Safari to the outback. On open trucks equipped with seats and seat belts, they drove around the province. Long away. We stopped at a ranch, rode horses through a palm grove. Liked. Further - on the plantation of coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, mango orchards. Interesting. It turns out that cocoa grows right on the trunk. First, on the trunk of a tree that looks like a large apple tree, tiny white flowers appear here and there, and large brown fruits grow from them, the size of a large grapefruit, and cocoa grains live in white wet cotton wool, here!
From there - we went to a wild, not equipped bay. We swam in the Ocean (how blue it is! ).
2. Capital. What can I say, the history of one of our Annunciation Monastery in Kirzhach is 200 years older and so much more interesting than the entire history of America! Yes, they were at the monument and the lighthouse of Columbus (after all, he sailed just to Haiti, and it is there that the first city (Santa Domingo) and the first Catholic church of America are located), but it is impossible to compare with our Moscow, and even more so with St. Petersburg! What I really liked - underground lakes, through which they crossed in the dark on a ferry, stalactites and fish - impressed me!
3. Catalinita. It is an uninhabited island located at the confluence of the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. This is worth talking about separately, for the sake of this it was worth flying across the Ocean and parting with your beloved kids! First, we were brought by minibus to the city of millionaires - a hotel occupying about 50 hectares, with a helipad and an airport. Those who arrive on their own transport rest there, only there are the best golf courses, and each vacationer has his own electric car. Only through this hotel you can get to the city of artists - a city built in 1972 by one of the Hollywood producers for the 15th birthday of his daughter, modeled on Italian medieval cities. So, in my opinion, this is a real medieval city, with squares and houses entwined with ivy, with a church and an amphitheater, with fountains and crooked narrow streets. Now a grown-up girl has organized an art school there, where she teaches gifted teenagers with her own money and pays them a scholarship. The beauty is incredible. And given that the city is located on the steep bank of the Chavon River, where films were shot ("Rimbaud 2", "Apocalypse Now", something else... ), you can understand how beautiful it is there. We went down to the river, got into a speedboat. Sailed to the Caribbean. We stopped at a place called the Natural Pool. Absolute calm (this does not happen in the Ocean! ) The depth is chest-deep. And all over the bottom - sea stars of unprecedented beauty. We were given masks with snorkels, we swam, raised these stars, took pictures and released them. The Caribbean Sea is different - bright, bright turquoise! Because of the calm, there is no suspension of sand in it and the bottom can be seen at any depth. And fish. Colorful, curious. . .
Next is the island. It does not protrude above the water, where the depth is knee-deep. And again - marine life: mollusks (huge, lacquered, carved), rapana, hedgehogs, corals, oysters. To be honest, it’s impossible, but we brought a little bit with us.
Next is the Catalinita itself. A truly uninhabited island. Small. There we were already waiting for lunch in the form of salads, cold beer, grilled pork and huge grilled lobsters (by that time already hated! ). But that's not the point. There, 10 meters from the island, there is a reef, and a white wave with lambs exactly marks the border between the Blue Ocean and the Green Caribbean Sea. Magic! The island is rocky and we swam under the rocks in clear water among the fish and did not want to leave. But then there was another island - Saona. "Pirates of the Caribbean" were filmed there - where Johnny Depp found rum and burned a fire at night, our "Last Hero - 3" was also held there, where V. Presnyakov participated. But, to be honest, the island differs little from the shore of the hotel, and did not make much of an impression.
. . . So 2 weeks passed. I managed to miss the boys and my native landscapes, so I left with a light heart, knowing for sure that I would return. It's impossible not to go back there!
Here, in fact, is my whole story. Oh, by the way, you might want to ask: Why is there any kind of crab hunt in the title, especially the Big one?
I explain: from the first day, my beloved found on the beach under the sun loungers, made in the form of large double wooden beds with curtains, some kind of holes, or holes. And I realized: crabs live there! Apparently, the instinct of the hunter, dormant all his life, had to wake up sometime, and the favorable climate had the necessary effect. In short, I lost my husband on the second day of my stay in the Dominican Republic - he went on a hunting trail. Sometimes the hunt was successful, and then, to the enthusiastic laughter of my man, a new tenant settled in a chest of drawers, who brought the best fish from restaurants, and whose filming took up most of the video filmed on the island. Hunting did not stop at night - it acquired new colors. And the prey came across bigger! Hunting did not stop on excursions - oh, how many large crabs live on Catalinita!! ! It's good that I had enough, the sun, the ocean and serenity! And I could watch with indulgence the games of my overage child!
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