Ocean Bavaro Spa and Beach - H10/Hodelpha

ult

New member
Jan 14, 2004
5
0
0
We arrived on Jan3 and stayed untill Jan10.

Tour bus was delayed 45 min, Signatures fault.

The front desk staff was generally unorganized and not helpful. If you tip generously they will be very helpful.

Arrived at the hotel and waited and additional 2 hours before we recieved a room. Once our room was ready, we found it had a horrible view, along with a dark musty/moldy smell. When we addressed the issue @ front desk, we were told no other rooms were available at the time. After 3 long walks to the front desk and a $30 USD tip we ended up with a nice top floor room with view of the pool and ocean in Block 7. The rooms up high have better ventilation, more light, and seem to be much cleaner.

Our refrigerator in the room came completely un-stocked. The main level filtered water dispenser was also empty. We had no water for our first 24 hours upon arrival, which led to a mild case of dehydration (tiredness, dizzyness). The next day when the maid arrived we gave her a $4 USD tip, we got plenty of bottled water and pop. Afterwards we would leave a few dollars everyday, and the room was always kept stocked with bottled water.

The grounds of the hotel were kept immacualte, we could not fault the hotel. There were 2 main swimming pools, and a kiddie pool. A courtyard pond was home to 4-6 pink flamingos and a few white cranes.

2 security guards patrolled either side of the beach.

The buildings were small compared to other resorts, but were kept clean.

You get a lot of attitude from the staff.

The bartender was rude when we initally got there. The second time we saw him, we gave him a $5 USD tip, after which he was very friendly throughout the week, and always mixed our drinks with lot of alchohol.

The front desk wasn't nice, until we tipped him for a second room.

The maids weren't AS helpful, unless you left money in the room.

I asked the young man behind the counter at the 24 hour snack bar for some chicken. He gave me a drumstick and a part of a thigh. Might have filled one third of the plate. I explained it was for 2 people as the wife and I had bad traveller's diarreah, and couldn't get out much that day. When I asked for more he pointed at the drumstick as if I was special because I got that part of the chicken.....! The next time I asked for chicken I tipped him a dollar first, and we got a heaping plateful - breastmeat and all - with no attitude - go figure.

Weather this time of year was cool @ night, and breezy, with a few scattered showers throughout the day. Some days of full sun.

The spa was an excellent experience. I was asked to wear a ridiculous outfit, (see through white thong which felt like a bouce dryer sheet) which I did. The staff was very helpful, and we got an excellent discounted price since we used their facilities on our LAST day at the hotel. We felt the ladies deserved a nice tip so we tipped them $5 USD each at the end of the service.

There was a 24hour snack bar. Pizza was different but still tastes good. The buffet food was fine, a little bland, but not exceptional yet not bad. The a la cart restaurants took reservations @ 7 am and offered dinners at 7pm and 9 pm. Since our hotel was overbooked the restaurants were also always fully booked by the time we made reservations. We ate at the italian, and brazilian, which were similar in terms of quality to the buffet ... so we ended up eating at the buffet most of the nights.

The hotel seemed overbooked, and was very crowded. At times it felt too claustrophobic to really have a good time, so we tried to go on as many excursions as our time allowed.

Saona Islands Catamaran: The boat was large. The islands were beautiful. Weather was perfect. Swimming in the natural pool looking for starfish was a short but a pleasurable experience. Recommended.

Manati Park: Park was small but had interesting animals/ plants/ reptiles. Animal Shows were average but kept you entertained. Swimming with the dolphins was an experience - thumbs up.

4x4 quad excursion: Excellent 4 wheeling machines. Great friendly guides. We visited a banana plantation, and met a nice welcoming family. Rode along the beach and in the forest trails through rock, mud and sand. Lots of excitement. Highly recommended.

Parasailing: If you haven't already done it, don't do it. It was an experience, but nothing spectacular. We did see a sea turtle while we were in the air.

Casinos: We visited a few casinos in various resorts outside Ocean Bavaro. We made the best of it, and lost a few dollars, drank lots of alchohol, and had a great time. By visiting the other resorts we realized the the Ocean Bavaro Spa and Beach was nowhere near a 5 star, as compared to the grounds, and level of service we recieved from other hotels.

Shopping: Fun! But we were constantly being bombarded by people working in the stores.. " Please sir, come and have a look". We figured what price we were willing to pay, usually less than one third the asking price, and if we didn't get a good price we walked away. _ Everything had a sticker with a code, If anyone has figured out vendor pricing codes ie...R00, ... please let us know _

We regret not being able to go deep sea fishing, as this was busy season, and the boats and guides were overbooked.

The best time we had was outside the resort. Next time we would buy our plane tickets separate. Book a suite at a mom and pop's type rather than a big hotel, pay for all our meals & drinks so we could frequent different local restaurants (Real dominican food as opposed to the bland resort food). Perhaps rent a car, and hire a local guide to show us the real Republica Dominicana.

Regards.
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
4,837
0
0
Welcome to La Republica

ult said:


The front desk staff was generally unorganized and not helpful. If you tip generously they will be very helpful.

The front desk wasn't nice, until we tipped him for a second room.

The maids weren't AS helpful, unless you left money in the room.


Words to the wise, regardless of hotel and generous doesn't have to be by North American standards. It should be called a TIDS - To Insure Decent Service.

Works with everyone in the DR including Customs, restaurants, hotels, maids, you name it.
 

ult

New member
Jan 14, 2004
5
0
0
Thanks for the reply Ricktoronto.
We're from Toronto as well.

Luckily, we're fortunate enough to be in a position where we can tip generously. We must have tipped over $150 USD during our stay. In hindsight, we still feel that the service at this resort (in particular) generally sucked for the most part and can be improved.
 

SaintTaris

New member
Jan 9, 2004
71
0
0
Ult

4x4 quad excursion: Excellent 4 wheeling machines. Great friendly guides. We visited a banana plantation, and met a nice welcoming family. Rode along the beach and in the forest trails through rock, mud and sand. Lots of excitement. Highly recommended

Can you tell me more of this 4X4 excursion?

How does one find this excursion?:smoke:

I am very interested in this 4X4 Excursion, I must learn more.:smoke:
 
Last edited:

Dougie48

New member
Jan 15, 2004
4
0
0
All I can say is WOW!! What a difference you had with the stay we had. We were there from the 6th to the 13th and found almost the opposite on most accounts... Other than the desk staff, who weren't quite as friendly, we found the staff as happy and friendly as any we have dealt with, and that includes 5 star resorts. I agree about the hotel not being a 5 star, but in the Air Transat book it is only rated a 3 star, which is about where it should be. The grounds are 5 star but that is where it stops.
We had a great room in the 64 block. The rooms are small and plain though, and we didn't have power in the bathroom a couple of days as the breker kept tripping.
Like yourselves, we tipped well, and, as always, it sure helps in lineups...;)
We took the Sanoa Island tour as well, and found it to be the poorest of any 'Cat' trip we have taken anywhere. OK if you haven't been on one, but not so much if you have been on others.
I think this hotel needs a lot of improvements and is fine if you can get it at a cheaper than advertized rate, but we saw that there are far better for about the same book price.
Too bad we missed you...there weren't that many English speaking people there....:cool:
Doug
 

ult

New member
Jan 14, 2004
5
0
0
SaintTaris

The 4x4 excursion was offered directly by the hotel, not by our signature representative. In the main lobby of the hotel, you'll see men walking around with brochures and folders offering various excursions offered by the hotel. There is also a building on the beach - the same buiding you go for towels - where you can go directly to book your excursions during your stay.

First you are taken to the vehicles, and are given a short briefing on how to operate them. Acceration is controlled by a lever with your right thumb, brakes are similar to those on a bycicle, shifting gears are done with by a lever which you activate with your left foot. Don't worry if you cannot drive standard - simply leave the vehicle in 5th gear (you won't get as much low end torque/power) but it will drive just like an automatic.

The tour starts by leaving your hotel onto the city streets. One guide is at the beginning of the line periodically looking back at you. He will guesture a thumbs up so make sure you acknowledge him and return the guesture so your guide knows that everything is OK. Another guide is always at the end of the pack, and has a constant eye on the group as they make their way through rural traffic.

On the way to the destination, you'll experience a lot of traffic, tour busses, minivans, cars, mopeds, motorcycles. Since the 4x4's have a limited top speed, a lot of the traffic will weave around you - potentially dangerous -. It helps if you have someone riding with you to check your blindspots periodically.

Clean air isn't regulated as in north america, and since many of the vehicles still use diesel fuel : the exhaust from other vehicles might bother some people. Wear sunglasses to and keep your mouth closed when other vehicles approach/pass you.

When we arrived at the banana plantation, we were welcomed by a friendly dominican family. We saw their crops : banana plants, papaya, mango trees, various citrus trees, ect. They had a tree/plant that produces a red fruit which the locals use as a food coloring. All the ladies on the excursion got a face painting using fingers and the dye extracted from this plant.

Over a long windy dirt road, we arrived at a beach where we saw other 4 wheelers. Through the beach our guide took us through a forest/jungle trail where the vehicles powered through rock, mud, and pools of water with ease. This part of the trail is rough so wear closed shoes, as your sandles will fall off during this part of the excursion.

As we exited the forest we approached the most magificent beach where rock cliffs seem to drop straight into the ocean. To the left there were miles of open beach. Just behind the beach, inland just a few feet, there are windy sand trails with mixed with palms and coconut trees where you can really have a lot of fun if you are adventurous.

Here you will have 40 minutes of free time. The guide told us to meet back at a certain time. Going full throttle along the shoreline is a thrill. You can go very fast through the beach trails. Time flys when you're having fun. So much so, that we lost track of time. They even had to come out and search for us.

As you return from the beach, we were approached by a young local boy offering coconuts. Even if you don't want one, offer him a few dollars.

On the way back to your resort, we stopped off at a local shop to have a coke. At the same time you'll have a chance to buy some gifts/souveniers.

Passed more farms, a coffee drying operation, lots of scenery.
This was by far one of the best excursions we've been on.



Dougie48
Sorry to hear about your power problems in your suite. I agree the front desk service was horrible.
Hope you had fun :)
 

SaintTaris

New member
Jan 9, 2004
71
0
0
Great write up on the ATV Excursion. Sounds like allot of fun.
I love ATV's. We had a few when I was a kid.

I wonder if one could participate in the ATV Excursion if he is not a guest of the hotel.