Your rating of this hotel:
6.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms:
7.0
Service:
7.0
Cleanliness:
7.0
Food:
8.0
Amenities:
6.0
We rested at the hotel in early September 2013, having bought vouchers for standard rooms without special views and without privileges. Upon arrival at the airport, they barely found a place to fill out customs declarations, but apart from 10 bucks, they paid nothing. Everyone was met by a guide who, already on the bus, on the way to the hotel, kindly set us up for a vacation, talking about the country, customs, upsetting us only with the distant location of our hotel and additional expenses for travel to the place of excursions.
Arriving at the hotel, we were immediately accommodated at no extra charge in rooms that were much better in class than standard rooms - two-room apartments with two TVs, a sofa in addition to beds and all amenities. As we understood, the other building of the hotel was being renovated at that time, so all the guests are accommodated in free buildings, which in our case turned out to be the building next to the reception of a higher class.
Of course, the rooms required cosmetic repairs - in some places the rust on the bathroom showed through, the putty stood out in places with bumps, but these are trifles compared to the size of such a free "apartment".
About the sea. The Atlantic Ocean is awesome! Zealous geographers specify the Sargasso Sea of the Caribbean. Large waves on the approaches to the coastal strip are cut off by a coral reef located at a distance of 50 to 200 meters from the beach. The sea smells like the ocean. The water is greenish-blue, which in reflection from the white sand from the bottom gives a turquoise effect, but this is only cloudless weather or the sun at its zenith, otherwise the sea, like the sea, is the usual color of water. Look at the photos and decide if it's beautiful or not.
Sand. Yes, on the beaches of Uverto Alto, the sand is a little yellower than on the beaches of Bavaro, which are five to ten kilometers east. But the sand is no less fine and no less coral, that is, it almost does not heat up in the sun and does not make you jump on hot quartz.
About living creatures and fauna of the sea. We saw fish and fed them. Nothing but small fish. And the water is much more muddy than in the Red Sea resorts in Egypt. The sea did not excite.
About Dominicans and mores. They are frankly lazy, but very fun, playful and laid-back people! They always say hello, and it's not always clear - is it politeness or playfulness? They don’t stick and sell unobtrusively, they won’t be offended if they don’t buy. But they love to bargain. They do their work slowly, in some places they forget to put water in the bar - you have to remind them. Tipping may not give a result, because the Dominicans do not care about money - they have not had money since the time of Christopher Columbus, and the dictator Trujillo for 30 years of his reign completely knocked out thoughts about his own ambitions from the population - locals can easily quit their jobs and eat bananas for months and mangoes, which grow in abundance right on the street.
About traffic. There is only one rule - whoever is bigger and cooler has an advantage. According to the guides, the police arrive at the scene of the accident only to fix the death or major serious accidents. If the accident is minor or the victims are conscious, it is advised to call an ambulance. At the same time, this fact forces drivers to be extremely careful, precautionary and attentive. Yes, road signs are standing and they are intuitive and no less fluorescent in the dark. But I saw only one priority sign - the “STOP” sign. Traffic lights are only in the "big" cities, and even then - a rarity. Therefore, do not be surprised if the driver of your bus holds a mobile phone with his left hand, holding the steering wheel of the bus only with the elbow of his left hand, and with his right hand he manages to change gears and at the same time chew a bun. I saw cars tinted in a circle on completely bald tires, puffing their rusty wheels.
About food. Quite decent food without any frills, but without any special claims. There is meat and fish, but the most common ones. Cakes are delicious, like in Turkey or Egypt. But I would especially like to note the fantastic, amazingly tasty and sweet mangoes - this is more than a delight. If you find yourself in the season of their maturation, do not miss the opportunity to try them, the impressions will remain for a lifetime, this will never be brought to Russia! A fly in the ointment was added only by the stop of one of the two standard restaurants for repairs. The bigger restaurant was closed. The second restaurant for three days we occupied the queue - the waiters could not cope with pouring drinks and laying the serving. By the way, the serving is ancient - although the knives shine with stainless steel, they are frankly stupid - they do not cut either meat or fish! In bars, drinks are poured not into disposable plastic cups, but into reusable worn thicker glasses, which raises a reasonable question about how and who washes them, lifting them from the sand or from the bush?
The tap water is fantastically clean and soft. After shaving, you don’t even need to use cream, while in Russia, for example, I had to use two creams in succession to relieve skin irritation. There was always water and Cola with Fanta in the bar-refrigerator.
About souvenirs. Almost all souvenirs are Chinese, including magnets, souvenirs and clothes. However, rum, sugar, coffee, tobacco products and some wooden souvenirs are produced by ourselves. I don’t know why everyone praises Imperial rum, there are softer (and more expensive) brands of rum. But the prices for rum differ more than twice - the same Imperial in the Duty-Free Punta Cana airport costs $ 45 / 700 ml, while in the markets where tourists are brought on the way on excursions, the same no less original bottle can be freely buy for $18-20. Truly a land of contrasts! People drive cool jeeps, and the wages of a Haitian sugarcane harvester are $3 (Three) per day, that is, 100 per month. Well, if you eat only bananas / mangoes and do not pay a communal apartment, you can probably live... electricity there, by the way, is terribly expensive, but there is no gasoline at all - everything is on gas and diesel. Instead of cars, the population uses milk cycles, which they use immeasurably even as a taxi.
Climate. It is always warm here, and in summer it is hot, at least 30 degrees, even hotter during the day. The sun is very dangerous - we did not burn out using only a factor 100 cream (by the way, a very water-resistant cream that we bought on the spot). Even in this case, the skin near the eyes peeled off, which cannot be smeared with creams ((. Factor 50 helps only if you sit in the shade all the time. It rains here from May to August, it is warm and passes quickly. The water is warm in summer, you can swim all the time, but in Egypt and the UAE is warmer -)).
About personal impressions. I did not experience extreme fanaticism and delight. Frankly speaking, I liked the sea in Egypt more, but lovers of Caribbean holidays do not throw stones at me. In Egypt, the sea is warmer, more transparent, and more fun, and the fauna is a hundred times more interesting, and the flora is smaller thrown ashore, and the stones in the sea along the coast are smaller. But this is the sea. The flora on earth, of course, is amazing - in places the jungle, in places meadows with skinny cows, even the dogs there are lazy - they never run and never bark, exhausted by the heat and free food. By the way, do not be surprised that the beef there is tough, there is almost no fat, since in appearance they are more like buffalo meat. Pork, apparently, is imported there - pigs have never been seen on pastures!
But still, the holiday was a success! Thank you Dominican Republic!
Arriving at the hotel, we were immediately accommodated at no extra charge in rooms that were much better in class than standard rooms - two-room apartments with two TVs, a sofa in addition to beds and all amenities. As we understood, the other building of the hotel was being renovated at that time, so all the guests are accommodated in free buildings, which in our case turned out to be the building next to the reception of a higher class.
Of course, the rooms required cosmetic repairs - in some places the rust on the bathroom showed through, the putty stood out in places with bumps, but these are trifles compared to the size of such a free "apartment".
About the sea. The Atlantic Ocean is awesome! Zealous geographers specify the Sargasso Sea of the Caribbean. Large waves on the approaches to the coastal strip are cut off by a coral reef located at a distance of 50 to 200 meters from the beach. The sea smells like the ocean. The water is greenish-blue, which in reflection from the white sand from the bottom gives a turquoise effect, but this is only cloudless weather or the sun at its zenith, otherwise the sea, like the sea, is the usual color of water. Look at the photos and decide if it's beautiful or not.
Sand. Yes, on the beaches of Uverto Alto, the sand is a little yellower than on the beaches of Bavaro, which are five to ten kilometers east. But the sand is no less fine and no less coral, that is, it almost does not heat up in the sun and does not make you jump on hot quartz.
About living creatures and fauna of the sea. We saw fish and fed them. Nothing but small fish. And the water is much more muddy than in the Red Sea resorts in Egypt. The sea did not excite.
About Dominicans and mores. They are frankly lazy, but very fun, playful and laid-back people! They always say hello, and it's not always clear - is it politeness or playfulness? They don’t stick and sell unobtrusively, they won’t be offended if they don’t buy. But they love to bargain. They do their work slowly, in some places they forget to put water in the bar - you have to remind them. Tipping may not give a result, because the Dominicans do not care about money - they have not had money since the time of Christopher Columbus, and the dictator Trujillo for 30 years of his reign completely knocked out thoughts about his own ambitions from the population - locals can easily quit their jobs and eat bananas for months and mangoes, which grow in abundance right on the street.
About traffic. There is only one rule - whoever is bigger and cooler has an advantage. According to the guides, the police arrive at the scene of the accident only to fix the death or major serious accidents. If the accident is minor or the victims are conscious, it is advised to call an ambulance. At the same time, this fact forces drivers to be extremely careful, precautionary and attentive. Yes, road signs are standing and they are intuitive and no less fluorescent in the dark. But I saw only one priority sign - the “STOP” sign. Traffic lights are only in the "big" cities, and even then - a rarity. Therefore, do not be surprised if the driver of your bus holds a mobile phone with his left hand, holding the steering wheel of the bus only with the elbow of his left hand, and with his right hand he manages to change gears and at the same time chew a bun. I saw cars tinted in a circle on completely bald tires, puffing their rusty wheels.
About food. Quite decent food without any frills, but without any special claims. There is meat and fish, but the most common ones. Cakes are delicious, like in Turkey or Egypt. But I would especially like to note the fantastic, amazingly tasty and sweet mangoes - this is more than a delight. If you find yourself in the season of their maturation, do not miss the opportunity to try them, the impressions will remain for a lifetime, this will never be brought to Russia! A fly in the ointment was added only by the stop of one of the two standard restaurants for repairs. The bigger restaurant was closed. The second restaurant for three days we occupied the queue - the waiters could not cope with pouring drinks and laying the serving. By the way, the serving is ancient - although the knives shine with stainless steel, they are frankly stupid - they do not cut either meat or fish! In bars, drinks are poured not into disposable plastic cups, but into reusable worn thicker glasses, which raises a reasonable question about how and who washes them, lifting them from the sand or from the bush?
The tap water is fantastically clean and soft. After shaving, you don’t even need to use cream, while in Russia, for example, I had to use two creams in succession to relieve skin irritation. There was always water and Cola with Fanta in the bar-refrigerator.
About souvenirs. Almost all souvenirs are Chinese, including magnets, souvenirs and clothes. However, rum, sugar, coffee, tobacco products and some wooden souvenirs are produced by ourselves. I don’t know why everyone praises Imperial rum, there are softer (and more expensive) brands of rum. But the prices for rum differ more than twice - the same Imperial in the Duty-Free Punta Cana airport costs $ 45 / 700 ml, while in the markets where tourists are brought on the way on excursions, the same no less original bottle can be freely buy for $18-20. Truly a land of contrasts! People drive cool jeeps, and the wages of a Haitian sugarcane harvester are $3 (Three) per day, that is, 100 per month. Well, if you eat only bananas / mangoes and do not pay a communal apartment, you can probably live... electricity there, by the way, is terribly expensive, but there is no gasoline at all - everything is on gas and diesel. Instead of cars, the population uses milk cycles, which they use immeasurably even as a taxi.
Climate. It is always warm here, and in summer it is hot, at least 30 degrees, even hotter during the day. The sun is very dangerous - we did not burn out using only a factor 100 cream (by the way, a very water-resistant cream that we bought on the spot). Even in this case, the skin near the eyes peeled off, which cannot be smeared with creams ((. Factor 50 helps only if you sit in the shade all the time. It rains here from May to August, it is warm and passes quickly. The water is warm in summer, you can swim all the time, but in Egypt and the UAE is warmer -)).
About personal impressions. I did not experience extreme fanaticism and delight. Frankly speaking, I liked the sea in Egypt more, but lovers of Caribbean holidays do not throw stones at me. In Egypt, the sea is warmer, more transparent, and more fun, and the fauna is a hundred times more interesting, and the flora is smaller thrown ashore, and the stones in the sea along the coast are smaller. But this is the sea. The flora on earth, of course, is amazing - in places the jungle, in places meadows with skinny cows, even the dogs there are lazy - they never run and never bark, exhausted by the heat and free food. By the way, do not be surprised that the beef there is tough, there is almost no fat, since in appearance they are more like buffalo meat. Pork, apparently, is imported there - pigs have never been seen on pastures!
But still, the holiday was a success! Thank you Dominican Republic!
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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