Matum or Aloha Sol Hotel & Casino

They are not far by car from Las Colinas, but btw, Las Colinas sucks, half the mall is empty, I went to see the Stallone movie last night and yea, its suffers the phases of a dying US mall, only the food court and cinema are populated.
The movies can be dubbed in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles. Who knows? The Expendables had spanish subtitles but the Ateam was dubbed in Spanish.

I dont think any of these hotels you mentioned are particularly good. Expensive but not good.

If you want convenience, similar to Gran Almirante, just go down the block to the Hotel Jardines. It is new, well appointed, quiet and near like 20 places togo an hang out and or eat.
The International Mall is just like three minutes away by taxi.

Choosing between Aloha Sol and Matum...I think I would take Aloha Sol, but then again, I just live here...


HB

waytogo said:

MY NAME IS JOSELITO, THE CONSIER AT THE MATUM, WELCOME......​

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Biguptravel said:

Thanks RacerX........I actual got the Malls mixed up. The one I was referring to was Plaza internacional. This one has the Golds Gym on the 4rd floor. I'm going to do a site inspection when I arrive and take a closer look at both Hotels. Thanks for your input.

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Well, no matter where you stay Matum or Aloha Sol you can walk to Plaza Internacional. Using MY feet, the trip takes 15 minutes to Terra Mall from the Monument and 20 to Plaza Internacional.
Now if you stay at the Matum you come down the traffic circle down the elevated road surface and you can also walk to the Hollywood 7 Cinema in the same 10-15 minutes. Go in the other direction and you can make it to PUCMM to run if thats your thing. Also on the south side of Sadhala is Hotel Platino which will put you closer to PUCMM but farther from the movies and those malls.

I used to stay on the cheap in Santiago with some frequency & would recommend Aloha Sol. It ain't the Ritz, but I liked the area, the place felt safe, the rooms were always clean, restaurant was edible & cheap...that's all I needed.

I stayed at the Aloha Sol in September. I'm not sure of the name of the room I picked. It was not a suite but it did have a King bed. It was not their cheapest and not their most expensive. It was around $100 and it was disgusting. The carpet was completed matted down and stained everywhere. The furniture was about 40 years old and there was one very small window up near the ceiling. When leaving the next day, several of the doors to other rooms were open while the staff were cleaning. These rooms looked smaller and updated. Very utilitarian looking but clean. I'd recommend asking to see the rooms when you get there.

And there is also Alberto Suite, 809.971.6515. YOu can call them and compare also. They are 2 blocks from the Monument in the area of Iglesia Altagracia, so its not too far by foot from where you were considering at Aloha Sol or Matum.

For what it's worth....if you're any kind of history buff, there are a lot of pictures at Hotel Matum from "The Battle of Matum" in 1965.

And not sure if they are still there, but there may still 50 cal. round hits in the walls somewhere.

I've stayed there several times. If you go, ask for a coporate discount. They'll give it.

Are these hotels close to the university area?

The nicest hotel clost to the 'university' area is Platino, in Plaza Platino. It is a five minute walk to the PUCMM and a 5 minute taxi ride to UTESA.

Of the two in the OP's post, it would be the Hotel Matum.

HB

Biguptravel said:

How far are the Hotels from Las Collonas Mall, correct me if I'm wrong but this is the one with the Golds Gym on the third floor?

The movies that are at the Movie theater in the Mall are they English subtitles and spoken in Spanish?


Any and all input is helpful,
Thank you

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You asked about cinemas in "The Mall" so I'll just cover all the cinemas in all the malls.

Three big cinemas in Santiago:
1) Las Colinas
2)La Plaza Internacional (AKA La Plaza or most likely "The Mall")
3)Bella Tierra Mall (AKA La plaza nueva)

and Hollywood 7, this is where the older movies are.

Las Colinas is generally more working class target. Cheap products, discount stores. Movies tend to be by the large dubbed over in Spanish. I avoid it. Empty, boring, depressing oh and did I mention the moives tend to be dubbed over in Spanish? Tickets are cheapest here I believe (Barring Hollywood 7, on the way to PUCMM, near La Plaza). Far away from everything or at least from anything I know.


La Plaza Internacional is the former glory of Santiagos movie going crowd. Movies tend to be in English, subtitle in Spanish. Kid movies are in Spanish.
Recently, due to La Plaza Nueva they fixed their damned air. Tickets are expensive (relatively...). Small mall but [I think] it's full of stores. The last few times I've gone I have experienced sound issues. Blown speakers, no bass, inconsistent reproduction....

The owner used to have a monopoly (from what I'm told) because they owned Hollywood 7 AND Caribbean Cinemas, the only movie theaters that were around. As I said, last time I went somethings have shaped up but not a great experience overall.



La Plaza Nueva. Still mostly empty but has the newest theater therefore has the most expensive tickets, the largest crowds and annoying people. I hardly watch movies out but when I have gone typically in English (subtitle). I passed by a few days ago and it looks like Mon-Wed ticket prices are 100 pesos for movies that have been out at least a week. I will admit the last movie I saw there did have the best speaker placement of the three, clean and clear bass and good reproduction. Something that I really appreciate.

Anyways I would choose the last one if I were you, it's close by La Plaza Internacional. Go on a weekday.


Oh almost forgot! Check the papers (Listin Dario I think...) in the entertainment section. The movies are there and if you crack the code you can tell when they have mean ruined or dubbed. Carribean Cinemas has a website. Too bad there are no good movies out would like to go see one now.

cine.com.do is where you can check for movies. And I dont think the cinema decides whether to dub or add subtitles to the movies. I think that is the distributor who gives the film to the syndicate that shows the movies in that country and also if the studio has dubbed the movie for latin america or just added subtitles so they can premier at the same time in the bg Spanish speaking markets.

I could care less about ambiance. I just want air, a soft seat and a clean screen. PI has nice cinemas but the sound is WAY too loud. Hollywood is nice and cheap, no frills. Terra Mall is nice, but so what its 40% occupied, so you just go there to be seen.