Vacation Review: DR Fall 2005

You can also see my Trip Advisor Review here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147289-d151015-r2861944-Hamaca_Coral_by_Hilton-Santo_Domingo_Dominican_Republic.html

Hamaca Coral by Hilton, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Let me preface my review for all those who might comment, "Wah! I went on vacation to a nice Carribbean Resort and got the runs. Wah!" Read on, and reserve judgement until the end.

From the moment we landed from our JetBlue flight in the middle of the night, after 3:00 AM we should've known this was not going to be the smoothest vacation ever. We walk out of the termanil with our luggage and are attacked by a bunch of taxi drivers. We had vouchers for a free ride from the airport to the hotel and we were looking for our bus for Prieto Tours. A guy with an Apple Tours sign came up to us and said that our bus wasn't there and that he'd be taking care of us. So after bringing us halfway around the airport to his van he shook me down for a $5 tip and had us sit in there for over ONE HOUR while he tried to find someone else to shake down. He came back with two girls and told them THEIR tour driver didn't show up either and that he'd take them to their destination... for $25 each. Then he tells us that he wasn't going to honor our voucher and that he wanted $25 from us as well. After sitting in this van in the steaming Dominican humid night we were in NO mood to hear this crap. So my wife and I opened up with two barrels each on this turd-fondler for trying to rip us off. After we demanded our tip back he offered to drive us for FREE simce we were on the way to the girl's hotel anyway. So with that we got to our hotel at about 5:00 AM. We checked in, were brought to our room on the other end of the complex and called it a night.

I think we got up at aorund 1:00 in the afternoon hungry and wanting to explore. So we immediately found the pool in the courtyard beyond our room. It was a HUGE pool with a swim up bar. We trekked about to the main hotel and beyond to the beach. Something about it didn't seem right. We found out what that was the next day.

1. The enclosed area for swimming went out about 125 feet but was only about 4 feet deep. I love to snorkel, but there was nothing to be seen under that water but one big pipe, like a sewer pipe, with a couple tiny fish swimming around it.

2. You can't swim beyond the enclosed area. They have "banana-boat" rides and if you venture out you risk being hit. They don't care who's out there. I wouldn't advise trying your luck.

3. No matter what time of day, they are ALWAYS out of towels on the beach.

But there were nice things on the beach.
1. The Pizza Stand
2. Another full bar
3. Burger / Hot Dog / Wings Stand
4. Beach Front Buffet. Some stuff every day, and usually cold, but some nice stuff.
5. Free activities. Hmm. We tried to take out a paddle boat, but the steering didn't work on it. We went out and brought it right back in and swapped it for a kayak.

From the beach you alays have a nice view of the cargo ships heading for the chemical plant that was belching out flames all day and night. Charming.

We only ventured off the complex two times. We noticed right away that the security was VERY tight, and we hard stories in advance, so we steeled ourselves for the experience. A couple kids begging and any purchase was a hard negotiation was what we found in town. We chose not to go back as a result. No souveniers? Too bad.

On the complex we found it somewhat unnerving to see such an armed force watching over the grounds. Every guard had a gun and a police baton. We saw one guy with three tonfas. What can one man do with three tonfas? And there was the guard who patrolled the road in front of our balcony who always carried a shotgun. It didn't really reassure us at all. In fact one night I was awakened by the sound of gunfire. I wasn't about to go to the window and investigate, so I stayed in bed and waited for the sounds to cease before I could go to sleep again.

We spent much of our stay lounging by the pool. It was pretty nice to sit there, catch some rays, read, drink and knock out a little.

Other food: the main buffet hall was huge and open for the three meals of the day. We usually ate there. Breakfast and dinner. Lunch was just too much. Everyday there were themes for the food. On about the fourth day it was "Dominican Night." All the food was very tasty, and there was a lot of coconut. That night we both became sick in the stomach, and it remained for the rest of the trip. So I was running to the can for the next 6 days of this trip. Not pleasant. We also went to the Mexican and Italian Restaurants in the complex. Both were nice, but had limited menus. So after you went to each two times you'd be done with it.

The worst thing about this trip: THE HARD SALE. They had legions of vacation coordinators whose job was to sell you a lifetime of vacations. These were impractical to say the least. They try to sell you 75 weeks of vacation for more than the price of a car, plus annual fees. Then they make it seem like they are doing you a big favor by offering you shorter durations also for exhorbitant fees. Than right when you feel like screaming from being borw-beaten about this nonsense for 3/4 of an hour they bring over the manager who looks like Ray Liotta to try to guilt you into it. And then they throw you another deal. You don't have to plunk down the bucks all at once, you can pay it over 3 years! ***AT ABOUT 15% INTEREST*** We walked out of there furious.

There were all kinds of fun wildlife and nature to see there. Gorgeous trees and ferns were all over. Lizards of all sizes were rampant. I even cought one the size of a quarter. By the Buffet Hall was a moat full of fishes and 4 turtles. While at the pool there are swarms of birds flying about. There's a problem with that, though. All the chairs were all covered with bird crap, and no one cleaned those chairs, not even once, during our stay. I did see them hose down the chairs and tables by the bar, so I guess the other chairs don't get serviced.

You CAN get towels the pool!

The service was fine. The bartenders were all great guys. Just about everyone there was helpful.

The "Chocolates" put on daily shows. We only saw the "Tropical Show" which was entertaining. Some of those girls can really shake their money makers.

Trying to get off this island. Jetblue departs at 4:10AM. So this time our transport was at the hotel at the right time. We got to the airport and there was a line. It was for poeple checking in luggage. It was like a show. They would check every article in a suitcase in front of everyone else on the line. It was stupid and embarrassing. BUT since we only bring carry on luggage we went right by this mess. But when we got to the immigrations door, there were about 50 poeple waiting there. Some were sprawled out on the floor and stairs sleeping due to the wait. No one was in there nad we all had to wait for them to set up. The problem was that NO ONE WAS SETTING UP. They were sitting around doing nothing. When there was less than an hour before the flight some guy from JetBlue went running over with a camera taking pictures of the workers sitting around doing nothing and shots of the mass waiting to get in. At that point the workers got theor butts in gear and opened up the works.

The flight back was fine. In fact, there was terrible weather in NY and somehow we got right in and the pilot landed the plane wonderfully. Bravo! You couldn't even see anything up until about the last minute when we emerged from the cloud cover.

We were home and in bed by 9:00 AM. We were happy to be back in NY, and vowed to never go back to DR.