Santo Domingo Travel Forum

First of all I would like to express my sincere sadness for the loss of life during the hurricane noel. I am sure the people of dominica republic will not let this tragedy ruin their happy go life.

Secondly we booked our holiday in December (first time goer) and are staying at Melia Hotel in Santo Domingo for two days in December 2007 for a stay of twelve days. I made the mistake of booking hotels for the whole duration in previous holiday and find out better deals and pleasant one while being stuck in contract that you cannot break!!
Can you someone shed some feedback on the hotel or suggest better hotel or apartment?
Thirdly, I have been reading at lot about boca chica as well, can you someone shed some light about the nightlife (clubbing), places to eat or visit. We are also hoping to do at lot of sightseeing within the 12 days which will include Samana or Puerto Plata. We are a party of three single men who are in dire need of serious de-stressing from a hectic work environment.

Many thanks for your help

Thanks for your wishes :)

First of all, did you book the whole stay at the Meliá Hotel? If so, did you pay on booking or are you paying on arrival? Because if you haven't paid then you should be able to cancel for free as long as it's according to their cancellation policies. Can you please clarify that part? For a hotel with better location in Santo Domingo I'd say go for Hotel Conde de Peñalba (info on my Santo Domingo page). If you want a cheaper (but with good location, etc.) hotel let me know and I'll ask around.

Boca Chica is a little town only 45 minutes away or so (by car). I haven't been there at night but I understand they have a good night life. You could either spend the night on one of the cheaper places there or go back to SD by taxi (public transportation doesn't run 24/7). IF you choose a taxi, agree with the driver on the price before you get on and stick to it - then if you wanna tip him that's another matter.

Puerto Plata and Samaná can be reached by bus. Metro and Caribe Tours (info on my SD page) are the 2 companies I know of that take you there and back for around 150 DOP (as of today 1 US = 33DOP). Puerto Plata offers more to the party tourist because it's a bigger place with more hotels and caters more tourists. Sosúa is one place in the Puerto Plata province that is basically a tourist town and has a lot going on there. A cheap place to sleep, should you 3 require that is Rocky's bar www.rockysbar.com with rooms for 22USD (haven't been there but I've heard good opinions). Samaná is more unexploited and afaik there's not much going on other than being a lazy butt on the beach.

My SD page has some tips that you might find useful.

If you have more questions feel free to ask away :)

Happy travels.

mariel,

thank you for your word of wisdoms....We are travelling from london to Cuba(Havana) and then to Santo Domingo. We are only staying at the Melia Hotel for the first two days, my friend who speaks spanish called them and confirm our reservation even though money has not been exchanged. Are you able to advise me on how I could rent an appartment for a 7 days stay in Santo Domingo.

Awesome!

Let me ask around and I'll come back to you with (hopefully) a price example.

I've got these places for you to consider:

Hotel Doña Elvira: http://dona-elvira.com
Antiguo Hotel Europa: http://www.antiguohoteleuropa.com/i_main.html
Aparthotel Condo-Parque: http://www.domrep.ch
Apart-Hotel Plaza Colonial: http://www.plazacolonial.com.do/ (in Spanish only but e-mail for rates)
Green House Aparta Hotel: http://www.greenhouse-hotel.com/
Aparta Hotel Aladino: http://www.hotelaladino.com.do/(this one isn't as centric to the Old Town and its nightlife as the others)

At the Old Town there's plenty of places where you can rent a room and pay for only the room (no breakfast, no meals, but cleaning included) but those usually don't have websites and you'll be able to recognize them for their "Rooms-Zimmer-Chambre" signs.

Thank you for the website addresses...can you please advise me based on your know-how, how easy it is to rent an apartment with a swimming pool in Santo Domingo and what sort of prices I should have in mind! Many thanks

How easy it is will depend on their availability but it's usually not a problem :) I wouldn't pay more than 60US per night...well 65US if I want to stretch it a little. Try haggling down the price if you're staying more than 3 nights at the same place.

You will enjoy your trip to DR in December! Pure holiday season! Meliá Santo Domingo is a great hotel to stay if you decide to extend your reservation.

I gave some feedbak in another post about PLaza Florida ( www.plazafloridasuites.com.do ) is like an apart-hotel style, really comfortable on close in the heart of the city.

Boca Chica is a place to visit but I've heard that is not what is used to be before. In this area you can enjoy the best seafood! My first choices to great dinner and time: Boca Marina, Neptuno's and Pelicano.

Staying in Santo Domingo will help you to cover other towns close by like Juan Dolio, Guayacanes and a little bit further you might want to try to go to La Romana and visit our little islands: Catalina and Saona.

Samana is a wonderful and beautiful place. Is quite a drive, but if you can book an excursion to take you will be great. Try http://www.colonialtours.com.do

Enjoy your trip! Don't forget to get the chance to go for a baseball game there. NOw is the season!