НУЖНО ЗНАТЬ NEED TO KNOW

July 5-16.2018
2 people (M+F), 30-35 years old
Occidental Punta Cana Hotel
I want to say right away - I'm spoiled, therefore my understanding of how "should be" is quite clear. Despite what is written below, I want to say that I had a very cool rest, probably the best vacation I had. I give the hotel a solid 4ku, and this is not enough))
Let's start with criticism:
WiFi - no. But he is not needed. SIM card - $4 for 5 days and LTE throughout the Dominican Republic.
Service - 3 points
Keep in mind, when you finally get to your room, after an 11-18 hour flight with the only thought - to take a shower .....you will be very upset if you do not find towels in the room! After you find the staff and show your indignation on your fingers (the staff does not understand English), you will have to wait another 1-3 hours until the towels are brought to you. Don't get mad about it, just dry off with the orange beach towels provided in the room.

During the whole rest, you will find the loss of towels 3-4 more times - you come, the room is not cleaned, and one or two towels are missing.
This is not accurate, but I think if you leave a daily tip of $ 2, then the issue can be resolved. I stopped leaving tips when I started noticing missing towels.
I want to give credit to the dining room staff. The waiters are very attentive, they manage to bring everything, quite quickly. Administrators are friendly. I think if they are also tipped, then the service in the dining room can be generally excellent!
Nutrition - 4 points
The food is quite varied, but at the end of the holiday it becomes boring, as it is the same thing. In general, I will characterize the food as good, but there is no seafood at all. Problems with seafood, as it turned out, all over the island. If you find some kind of fish restaurant, it will turn out that the seafood is either poorly cooked, or the price tag is outrageous.
In short, eat seafood at home, in the Dominican Republic they are worse and more expensive, they are not available at the hotel.
Entertainment - 3 balls. Animation at the hotel Pts weak when compared with Turkey or Egypt, for example. Entertainment is limited to evening gatherings in the amphitheater and watching Latin dances, some kind of show program. As for me, all this is quite boring, for one or two.
The pool is great, no issues.
Location - 4 points, but only because it is the ocean, not the Caribbean. The sea is much more beautiful. If not this moment, then the location is quite good.
One thing struck me the most - and it's sad, as for me!
EVERYONE around you will be told horror stories, legends, true stories about Haitians, the poor local population, about the high level of crime, to the point that God forbid you end up in the city at night, God forbid you stop on the highway during the day, and so on. Don't listen - it's all bullshit.
And it's sad that the guides and employees of tour companies, in search of profit, discredit the image of the beautiful Dominican people and the country itself in the eyes of tourists.

I will tell you my experience of communicating with the local population.
I myself rented a car at a local establishment, ate chebureks in a cheburek on the street, went to night bars where only locals hang out, was CAM at a local guy’s house, in the blackest quarter of the Dominican Republic, rode around the city at night, was in a supermarket, played at the casino, etc. I am alive, healthy and very happy.
The first time we rented a car from a Russian company, they charged us $85 for the Hyundai Sonata and blocked $300 on the card as a deposit for a month. The second time we took a Kia Optima from a local for $ 50, a passport as a pledge. Everything went perfectly, although they were explained on the fingers. Savings - 40%!!!
First, we drove by car to nearby places, such as Macau beach, a mountain with a swing, some kind of park.
My wife and I really liked this format, but for comparison, we took one excursion, to the Samana Peninsula. Everything was cool, but we would have been much cooler ourselves, we decided. And the third excursion was organized by ourselves. By car we went to the crossing on about. Saona, there to trade from $200 to $120 for 4, we took the fastest boat, which took us to the place in 30 minutes, overtaking 4 catamarans with tourists. We swam in the middle of the sea in a shallow place dotted with starfish, watching how tourists do it a couple of kilometers away, standing in line of 20 people ....then we got to the beach "Bonita" - a truly heavenly place, where there was also practically no one. The pleasure is indescribable. Tip - do not take excursions, travel by yourself, in the Dominican Republic it is simple and cheaper!
One evening we ended up in a local karaoke disco bar "Rose", not far from the hotel, where local youth gathers. Asshole Latinas sing karaoke - you need to hear it.
Not the usual chanson or English language, but real live Latin American music - this atmosphere cannot be conveyed in words.

The first time I, a pale gringo, left the hotel, I was surrounded by local motorcycle bombers. Everyone has the same offer - taxi, coca, chica, marivanna ?? ? And you freeze one, the second one comes right behind him, and so on until everyone comes up ..... At first it was annoying, then, when I darkened, became familiar, they stopped coming up to me. It is important to understand that they do this not because they are criminals, but because they are!!!
Almost every janitor or building administrator will offer you a local service in a whisper - coke, chica, marivanna. If you decide to take them, keep in mind that the price for coke will be announced to you starting from $80, although you can take it on the street for $20-25. The quality of the coke on the whole island sucks, there's no need to be under any illusions. The grass is really good, who loves.
If you decide to take something like that, it’s better from a person who rubs near the hotel’s barrier, he works there, which means he won’t throw you. Be sure to bargain to the last. It is better to buy girls in brothels (here they are allowed), since the employees of these institutions have local certificates)).

Let me summarize!
When we gathered in the Dominican Republic, everyone told us that we would like it. When we arrived, we were not imbued with either the hotel or the service. But then…. Every day we were covered by this cool Latin American atmosphere, an everlasting sense of adventure. It was a pleasure to get to know this country and its people. As a result, we both were delighted with our holiday, we would very much like to return here in a few years.

Good luck to everyone and have a good rest!