Hi Folks.
I'm arranging my family's (me, wife, two 12-yr olds) trip next month to the DR, which includes a 10-day block in SD to visit with family & relatives. Believe it or not, I stayed at a hotel only once in all the yrs I've known SD (since 1986), and that was in 1987, so it's definitely out-of-date experience.
I've been doing my due diligence search of the archives & reviews here & on Debbie's, plus some web research. I have been surprised how little info there is on SD hotels (plenty on PP, Sosua, PC -- but little on SD), and how little internet info/access there is on SD hotels (I would have thought Dolores & Rob would have had them all outfitted with a single availability/reservations web portal by now!). And few of them seem to be able to quote availability and rates by internet, frustrating attempts at comparison shopping. I'm amazed, since I have been able to do this for practically every other capital in Latin America when I travel on business. Seems like a market need there, folks!
The few SD hotels ones that do provide online availability/rate quotes -- such as the Melia, Jaragua, Hotel Santo Domingo, Embajador, etc., start at US$100/d and most quote in the US$150-300/d range. Yeah, yeah, I know! SD hotels have never been cheap. But after just coming from South America where I spent time in top-notch hotels in Rio & Buenos Aires for US$60-80 a night, SD quotes of US$100+ seem steep to me, particularly given the lesser quality many of them have to offer.
We need something relatively central (which automatically rules out the Fiesta & Embajador) and near main routes for taxis/buses, since we won't have a rental car and my compadre Pedro will be working most of the time we're there. My wife & the kids want a place with a pool (I think that'd be nice too, but I'm not insisting on it) -- so apart-hotels like the Delta I guess are out -- and one with consistent air conditioning (it will be July, after all!).
Since we're shooting for under US$100/d (American plan) for the four of us, it looks like the Intercontinental, Jaragua & Hotel Santo Domingo are out.
Some folks have suggested the Hispanola, but they do not have rates posted on the web & have not yet answered my e-mail.
The Continental says it's booked for the period we're looking for. And don't even mention the Lina -- I had a low opinion of it as a hotel when I left in 1999, and recent posts made me believe it has not improved significantly.
So, any good ideas I haven't thought of? Hope so!
Best Regards,
Keith
I'm arranging my family's (me, wife, two 12-yr olds) trip next month to the DR, which includes a 10-day block in SD to visit with family & relatives. Believe it or not, I stayed at a hotel only once in all the yrs I've known SD (since 1986), and that was in 1987, so it's definitely out-of-date experience.
I've been doing my due diligence search of the archives & reviews here & on Debbie's, plus some web research. I have been surprised how little info there is on SD hotels (plenty on PP, Sosua, PC -- but little on SD), and how little internet info/access there is on SD hotels (I would have thought Dolores & Rob would have had them all outfitted with a single availability/reservations web portal by now!). And few of them seem to be able to quote availability and rates by internet, frustrating attempts at comparison shopping. I'm amazed, since I have been able to do this for practically every other capital in Latin America when I travel on business. Seems like a market need there, folks!
The few SD hotels ones that do provide online availability/rate quotes -- such as the Melia, Jaragua, Hotel Santo Domingo, Embajador, etc., start at US$100/d and most quote in the US$150-300/d range. Yeah, yeah, I know! SD hotels have never been cheap. But after just coming from South America where I spent time in top-notch hotels in Rio & Buenos Aires for US$60-80 a night, SD quotes of US$100+ seem steep to me, particularly given the lesser quality many of them have to offer.
We need something relatively central (which automatically rules out the Fiesta & Embajador) and near main routes for taxis/buses, since we won't have a rental car and my compadre Pedro will be working most of the time we're there. My wife & the kids want a place with a pool (I think that'd be nice too, but I'm not insisting on it) -- so apart-hotels like the Delta I guess are out -- and one with consistent air conditioning (it will be July, after all!).
Since we're shooting for under US$100/d (American plan) for the four of us, it looks like the Intercontinental, Jaragua & Hotel Santo Domingo are out.
Some folks have suggested the Hispanola, but they do not have rates posted on the web & have not yet answered my e-mail.
The Continental says it's booked for the period we're looking for. And don't even mention the Lina -- I had a low opinion of it as a hotel when I left in 1999, and recent posts made me believe it has not improved significantly.
So, any good ideas I haven't thought of? Hope so!
Best Regards,
Keith
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