Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus

boni

New member
Jan 9, 2002
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Has anybody stayed at this new resort in Bayahibe? Does anybody have contact information, telephone, fax and/or email?
 

John El ?nico

New member
Jan 9, 2002
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I havent been there yet, but some friends where there for the openning and they say just good things about the hotel. they have a web site with some more informations.
 

Wooglin

New member
May 14, 2003
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The Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus is an amazing resort. Beginning with the huge marble reception desk and lobby, to the immaculate walk-ways to the stores, restaurants and rooms, and the many "welcomes" and "hellos" from the staff, our 10 day honeymoon was always their number one concern.

Upon arrival into our room (4121 - suggested by another review I read), we received a phone call ten minutes later by Xenia (receptionist who checked us in), calling to make sure our room is exactly what we needed - and we were greeted with a heart-shaped towel and rose petals on our bed. Our room was in building 4 - 4121 - one side of the balcony faces the pool, the other side faces the ocean - this room is quite possibly the nicest in the resort, it has an AMAZING view. This was a corner room, so we had double balcony - all other rooms just had a single balcony, however, they were all nice. We were also given a nice bottle of rum and fruit plate in our room, along with a nice stocked mini-bar. PS, bring some of the beer home, its nice to bring back.

The food was great, the buffets were huge - there was always something new on the buffets every night. At the same time, there was always "fall-back" food on the buffets, in case you didn't want the main food. (I.E., you could always get hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, salad, potatoes, fruit, veggies, bread...etc.). The four main restaurants (Gourmet-French, Japanese, Mexican and Steak House) were all fabulous. We liked the Japanese the best, and went there twice. The rule we saw when we were down there, was that you could only visit each restaurant 3 times each. So, in most cases, you could probably hit a restaurant (not the buffet) every night you are there.

Hints: when booking dinner at the concierge desk in the lobby, make sure you book all your meals for your whole trip that day, because, you may run into long lines if you do them on the days you want to go....and if you book them all at once, you'll only have to wait in line one time.

The resort itself was immaculate. We did have a problem one night with a cockroach in our room (actually on my leg in my bed), but look at it this way. This is the Dominican Republic, its going to happen. It happens in all cities, states, countries and continents all over the world. It grossed me out at first, but again, it was my honeymoon, and that wasn't going to ruin it! We just rolled up a wet towel at the end of the night and placed it at the bottom of the door.

The staff was great. We never had one single problem at all. The Animation Team is great, they really try to get everyone involved with the events, and if you don't want to, they just say "we'll see you in a little bit, have a great day!". These people only make $200 a month, which is what they told us, so they work 14-16 hour days, making sure that we, the tourists, have a great trip. These people are great, especially: Victor, Billy-Boy, Williams and Ricardo-the pool bartender.

Excursions: We swam with the Dolphins at Maniti Park - $95 per person US, got us a free ticket into the park, we got to see all the shows and swam with the Dolphins (groups of 8 people at a time), for about 15 minutes. Seemed a bit pricey considering the park really isn't much to look at, however, it was our honeymoon and the dolphin swim was well worth it.

We also did the half day speedboat excursion. This was great and only for $50 per person US. A lot of fun, you get into a small speedboat for two people, drive up the coast, swim for a bit, then come back to the main starting point and go snorkeling....well worth it.

Water: The pool is great. Make sure you say hi to the bartenders, they do a great job making you laugh and keeping your drinks full. Also, take advantage of the free scuba in the pool - this was quite fun.

The ocean is amazing. The water is crystal clear, and not many waves like you would see in the Pacific. The waves, at biggest, are when its windy, and they're still not big enough to body-board on. Anyway, make sure you snorkel (with the gear from the scuba shop) out by the fake reefs, and make sure to bring buns with you to feed the fish. We saw tiger fish, huge angel fish, puffer fish, gar-fish, sand-rays, octopus and actually had some huge Tuna eating from our hands one day.

The ocean was quite possibly the coolest part of our trip. PS, don't forget about the bar in the lighthouse, it is right on the beach and waiting for you to grab a drink on your way out of the ocean!

Music - this could possibly be our only complaint. They play the same music each and every day, each and every hour. I am actually thinking about burning some CD's and mailing it to them, just to mix it up. It wouldn't be so bad if it were a daily occurance, but one CD on auto-reply gets to be a little repetive each and every hour of every day.

Lastly, money exchange. We only exchanged $20 into Dominican Pesos. Everything else we charged, and our bank rate was a better rate than what the resort gives you. We got about 35 pesos per dollar through the bank, and the resort only gave you 29 pesos. Do not be afraid to use your credit card, its all good!