Santo Domingo hotel

ctuerk

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Mar 5, 2003
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My wife and I are planning two nights in Santo Domingo on April 12 - 13. I have contacted two hotels: Bettye's Exclusive Guesthouse ($35) in the Zona Colonial and Hostal Duque de Wellington ($50) on Independencia. Can anybody provide any guidance as to which might be the better choice. According to my guidebook, Hostal Duque is nicer, but is in a shady location. Should this be a factor? Thanks for the advice.
 

rafael

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Jan 2, 2002
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www.dr-tourist.tv
Duque de Wellington is not in a shady location. It is on Independencia in Gazcue.
Walking distance from the Zona Colonial, the Malecon and the big Casinos. Another hotel right across the street is the Casona Dorada. The Duke de wellington is a bit nicer with nicer rooms, but Casona Dorada has a pool, restaurant and even a bar/disco.

The Duque De Wellington has a reputation for being "gay friendly".
Basically that just means they will let unregistered male vistors up to the rooms.

I stayed there one night and it was fine, but recently 3 associates stayed there for 5 nights and decided to move across to the Casona Dorada. I am not sure of their reason for moving. Could have been the pool, or just wanting a change.
 

SativaLynn

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Mar 6, 2003
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i dont know much about those hotels, but best bet is to stick with a popular one..i know for sure the mercure is nice..next to the colonial district..just got back in december made the mistake of going for a cheaper hotel(hotel drake) stuff was stolen from the room, spending that little extra would have saved a lot in the long run..oh also if you have time u might want to check out the restaurant in the caves, its very romantic and amazing..good luck
 

rizzo

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Aug 28, 2002
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Hotel Mercure is really nice....

I can only agree with above post about the Mercure (Hotel Commercial), its really very nice and excellent location, right on El Conde. Great breakfast and you can sit outside, sip coffee, and watch all the passers-by on el conde. Its a little more expensive than the hotels you mentioned, $70.00/day which includes big breakfast. I really enjoyed my stay there this past August. You will be right in the center of all the shops plus restaurants.
 

funbiz99

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Dec 26, 2002
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you get what you pay for

I stayed at the Duque de Wellington for several weeks in December. This is a hang out for gays. Now that is not to say its a bad hotel. The area is ok I never had any trouble walking back from manolo restaurant at 5am. I am not recommending the walk i'm not that smart when drinking. You will usually see 1-2 street walkers hanging very close to the entrance late at night. As for the hotel I was only paying about 37us for a double. The rooms are fair at best. They are not what I would call very clean or fancy. Sometimes you get hot water and pressure sometimes you dont its a crap shoot (I crap out a lot) After my stay there I stayed across the street at Casona Dorada. This hotel was the same price. They have a restaurant, bar and pool none of which I used. The rooms are also dirty in my view. The water situation is deffinetly worse here no pressure or heat. My friend stayed at Casona Dorado about 2 weeks ago and said he got bed bites (not sure what they are). What I will say is these are not high end hotels. These hotels are a step below a very old motel 6. The problem I had is for the price and location I couldn't find anythig better. Good Luck
 

samiam

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Mar 5, 2003
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I think its worth spending the extra $20 for the Mercure Hotel. Its in a better location and there are several bars, restaurants and clubs near by.
The restaurant in the caves I believe its called Meson de la Cava. Its on Av. Mirador Sur. Nice place and good food. If you go there for dinner, do not be tempted to walk in the park afterwards. There are always cabs outside the entrance once you finnish eating, I suggest another location.
 

ctuerk

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Mar 5, 2003
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Thank you to everybody for your thoughtful replies. I will probably take your advice, and try to upgrade into the $70 price range.
 

survivor

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Sep 5, 2002
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I recommend Apart Hotel Nikkolaus
Avenido Jose Contreras #89
809-5350159
nikolaus@tricom.net

they charge around RD$900. you have 2 bed (can house more than 3 people), a big fridge, Tv with cable , hot water , ac etc
 

EddieW

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Apr 15, 2002
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I have experience with both the Mercure and the Duque de Wellington. I'm going to Santo Domingo on Saturday and will be staying at the Wellington for one night before heading to Juan Dolio. The Mercure has always been my favorite hotel in Santo Domingo. I have stayed there 3-4 times a year over the past 3 years. My reason for not staying there this time is this. They have raised their rates for a suite twice. First it was $90. Then it was $105. Now it's $135! And they deny that they've raised their rates. I'm not an idiot. I have receipts for all the times I've stayed there. I know what I paid. Granted, the Mercure is a lovely hotel in a fabulous location. It is clean, well kept and the staff is very nice and professional. The management, obviously, is another story. When I told her that I had paid less before she said she would check to see what staff member charged me less and make them pay the difference! I then informed her to cancel my next reservation. She said fine and that was that. No acknowledgement that she was losing a long-term guest.

I stayed at the Wellington once a couple of years ago, and it is adequate. It's not the Mercure - nor does it pretend to be. And yes it is a place where many gay tourists stay. But then again, so is (or WAS) the Mercure.

Trust. We don't bite!