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Dominican Republic, Caribbean Reviews View Cheap Holidays To Dominican RepublicDominican Republic, Caribbean Great Resort Rating: 8/10
Submitted by: Bonnie
Date of travel: 03/12/2008
We are from Winnipeg, Canada and stayed at the Paraiso del Sol just east of Cabarete from March 12-26th, 2008. We chose this all inclusive because of the price, Cabarete location and because it offered singles’ rates. Eight of us stayed at this resort, two couples and four singles. It is really hard to find affordable single rates and the Paraiso del Sol offered this. Initially, because of so many poor reviews we had read on this resort, I was very apprehensive but as this was my 7th trip to the Dominican and my boyfriend’s 10th, we knew that you have to take the poor reviews with a grain of salt.
This was a great resort and all of us plan to return to it next year. We have stayed at other Cabarete area resorts (Wyndham Tangerine) and PdelS location was great as it is out of Cabarete so there are no early morning night noises from nearby resorts or bars in town but close enough to take a cab or moped or free shuttle.
The beach is great with miles to walk in either direction. Waves can be big but that is what to expect at times from the ocean……..it is a big, powerful, beautiful ocean and makes you wonder at the power of Mother Nature. Cabarete is a free shuttle or a 50 pesos moped ride away so if you like calm beach then you can go there. The ocean view is great.
The resort was great, staff helpful and friendly and there are three pools that kept us cool - a huge more shallow pool and a nice deep pool closer to the beach as well as another near the restaurant that we didn’t go to.
Our rooms were clean, which is my main concern on any trip. (The women in our group liked the fact that bleach was used on the floors in our rooms and hallways). The single people in our group had rooms with two double beds so they really liked the extra space. Air conditioners help but be advised that the air is turned off during the day as this is a country that does not have services we take for granted here in Canada, like drinkable tap water, great electrical, etc. We were never in our rooms during the day anyway except to change for supper and to sleep. As long as air is circulating, a ceiling fan or air conditioner will do the trick to get the air moving.
No complaints at all about our room, showers, or anything. Pillows were a bit lumpy but after a day in the sun and sand, I could have slept on the floor. No one lost weight on the trip and my compliments go out to the chefs and kitchen workers on this resort who gave us tasty, nutritious meals with local, fresh produce in, I am sure, a non-air-conditioned kitchen prep area. Beets and carrots grow well in the sandy soil and all of us in our group ate fresh chicken at both lunch and supper every day. There is a big taste and texture difference between fresh Dominican poultry/fish versus the frozen chicken that we get here in Canada. The breads were made fresh each day and Swiss meringue is the icing they use on their cakes. The rice pudding is the stovetop kind and was every bit as good as my grandma’s. Chicken, fish, rice and beans and fresh cabbage salad are Dominican staples and are nutritious and good for you. Pork is also fresh and tasty. You will not lose weight unless you choose to eat fresh, juicy pineapple and rice every day.
This is an underdeveloped country that is doing its best to satisfy everyone that comes and visits. It is unfair of tourists to expect the things we take for granted in our countries of origin to be readily available in this country. What is available in the Dominican is: wonderful people, sun and sand, fresh produce and fruit, inexpensive Brugel rum and any other kinds of spirits and beautiful breathtaking scenery. All in our group like to support the Dominicans so would buy beer from a local for ½ or less the price that they would charge at a restaurant or bar run by non-Dominicans. Ice cold Dominican made El Presidente is a great beer!!!
My boyfriend and I always go to the Cabarete area as we have made friends with three local familDominican Republic, Caribbean Not 5* Rating: 8/10
Submitted by: Carol
Date of travel: 12/05/2007
My husband and I stayed in the Riu Merengue, set on the beautiful Bahia Maimon, for 14 glorious days. The hotel is advertised as 5* but is more 4* however the majority of the facilities on offer are of a very high standard.
The Rooms:
Colonial style bungalows, set in blocks of 8 on 2 floors amidst palm trees and lush vegetation. We had bananas growing on the palm in front of our balcony. The balconies are huge but it was so humid and the mosquitoes quite active that we spent very little time out there. The rooms are spacious but ours smelt very musty and even after returning home it took many months to rid our clothes and cases of the smell. We had a cockroach in the room which was unpleasant and lots of mosquitoes. However I believe this was a small price to pay as everything else more than made up for this. You have a fridge which is filled every other day with beer, coke, water etc and your very own optics with gin, vodka, rum and brandy. These are full strength and much stronger than the drinks from the bars. The bathroom is well lit and with all amenities however the window is alongside the bath and shower so everytime you take a shower you are on view to whomever is passing by. The beds were large but a little hard.
Food & Drink:
Spoilt for choice. The hotel is all inclusive and the cuisine of a very high standard. The fabulous freshly made smoothies at breakfast were particularly delicious. Every evening in the main dining room presented an enormous choice of culinary delights. The themed evenings were especially notable. There is food available virtually all day and night either from the snack areas or restaurants and most of the food is cooked fresh. Daily beach activities provided fresh fruit dishes and drinks in coconut shells. The alcaholic drinks all seemed a little diluted as there was always such a lot of ice served with them (and yes you could safely have ice in your drinks) but this was probably just as well given the daily temperature etc. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, bottled water were available 24/7.
Activities:
The usual pool side and beach games ie water polo, volley ball were offered as well as bingo around the pool, fashion shows, aerobics, football, boules, table tennis and fun team games in the pool. Evening entertainment was provided by the animation team and this consisted of their miming whilst performing shows such as Grease. I do not think it was supposed to be funny but we found it hilarious when cast members came on stage carrying cardboard car cutouts and they were taking it so seriously. There was also a seperate disco in the grounds open until 2.00am but we were never disturbed by any noise. There was also a casino and carribean street. Non motorised water sports were also free as part of the package and motorised activities available for a charge.
Excursions:
The reps pushed these as usual but we did not partake. They offered the Monster Truck trip, visit to Puerta Plata amongst others but I cannot give any further information as I have said we did not go on any of these.
The Weather:
When we stayed it was in the high 30's and by 10.00am it was too hot to sit in the sun however there are lots and lots of shady places to lye on your sun bed and just chill. It never really cooled down which meant your clothes always seemed to be stuck to your body - perhaps January/February time might be a little more acceptable - but whether or not your clothes stuck to you, it was still fabulous to know that tomorrow the sun would shine just as it did today. We had one day when we thought (hoped) we were going to get a downpour but it was only a few spots and then out came the sun. The heat does take some getting used to but I would gladly suffer it at this moment. As soon as you step off the plane into the none air conditoned airport and then outside again, you begin to struggle with the humidity but to be able to sit at midnigDominican Republic, Caribbean Puerto Plata, Playa Dorada Rating: 8/10
Submitted by: Emma
Date of travel: 26/11/2007
Great holiday. The sun shone most of the time and the beach really was top notch. Would definitely go again. The people, staff and natives, are v friendly (if a bit pushy when trying to sell you stuff).Dominican Republic, Caribbean DO NOT GO TO THIS RESORT!!! Rating: 1/10
Submitted by: Jessica
Date of travel: 21/10/2007
My boyfriend and I recently stayed at the Lifestyle Resort on Cofresi Beach in the Dominican Republic. During our stay we were offered the opportunity to become VIP members by bulk buying weeks to use at a number of their resorts worldwide. We were wary of the heavy sales pitch but as the area of the resort that we were staying in as non VIP members was so appallingly run down we were probably more curious about the possibility of an upgrade to a decent room with better food and facilities than we might have been otherwise. We were brought endless alcoholic drinks while they were doing their sales pitch and the rep kept assuring us that if we signed up and then changed our minds we would be able to take advantage of a 14 day cooling off period with our credit card company to cancel the package. We eventually buckled and paid £1600.00 as a deposit for a 25 week package, at the time we were both simply relieved to have found a solution to getting out of the awful hotel we had been put in and were hopeful that the VIP experience might salvage the remains of our holiday. Sadly, VIP World itself was an absolute disappointment, to the point where we checked out and flew home three days early. As soon as we got home we called our credit card company to cancel the payment, they told us that the payment had been taken and there was nothing we could do other than contact the resort. None of the correspondence we have received from the resort have acknowledged the fact that they are promising a cooling off period that does not exist, they have made countless references to our contract being signed in the presence of a ‘Verification Officer’ who would have explained to us that we could not cancel the contract, which is completely untrue. The only assistance they’ve offered us is the opportunity to re-sell the package through their Resale Program. Throughout the duration of our stay we were constantly accosted by sales reps trying to flog these packages to us and every day there were more unsuspecting holiday makers being pushed to buy these packages with lies about cooling off periods and the option to cancel. Having investigated this matter further I am finding countless people out there who have also become victims of this scam, some having paid far more than we did.
If you have had a similar experience please contact me as I am not inclined to let them get away with this but having already recieved a threatening email from the resort manager I suspect a lot of people decide to back off rather than fight them.Dominican Republic, Caribbean juan dolio dominican republic Rating: 8/10
Submitted by: melvin
Date of travel: 29/01/2007
we stayed 14 days all inclusive at barcelo talanquere it was absolutley brilliant.Dominican Republic, Caribbean Rating: 8/10
Submitted by: Sarah
Date of travel: 19/06/2007
Top, top, top that's all I have to say about the Dominican Republic! I stayed in Playa Dorada and the hotel was amazing. I had a pool view which was cool plus the beach was 2 secs from the resort. There were so much to do in the day time, I was amazed with all the activities such as, Scuba diving, snorkling, wind surfing, banana boats, boat rides, cycling, sports centre etc... Plus in the evening there was a bar for the adults and a bar for everyone, with a disco, dance competitions, karaoke and stand up comedian... What more does anyone need? I've already booked my next holiday to Playa Dorada. |
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