I stayed for a few days in Santo Domingo and got a peripheral view of the scene. I stayed in The Hotel Duque De Wellington. In my Lonely Planet guide to the DR, this place was written up as being gay-friendly. Now this did'nt matter to me-I just wanted a hotel that was close to the Malecon and the Colonial Zone, and the price was right, but it was more of a male tourist meat market than anything else.
I noticed this as soon as I walked through the lobby. Nothing but guys hanging around. An hour after I checked in my girlfriend arrived and everyone sitting in the lobby sat silent and just stared, just like they did when I initially walked in. It made me feel a little uncomfortable but I just shrugged it off and went about my business.
There is a small area in front of the hotel for parking, and guests take chairs out and sit there watching people go by during the day. This is when I realized what was going on. Young dominican guys(some seemed underaged) pass by and sit in front of the hotel trying to pick up turistas. They come and go at all hours of the day and night. From what I noticed they don't stay very long-sort of like a "wham-bam thank you man" kind of deal.
There was also a very obnoxious dude called "chocolate" who hangs out in front of the hotel(and is always coming in and out of the lobby) whose "job" or purpose is to get people for the hotels' clientel. He is probably one of the most tiresome and irritating characters I've ever met in the DR. He initiates all types of tactics to get turistas to fork over their money, and it is beyond me why the owner of the hotel lets this guy pester the guests the way he does.
It seems as if these tourists go to the DR specifically for the purpose of getting action. They really were'nt into sightseeing or anything like that-just hanging out and going to whatever clubs happen to cater to them at the time.They also seemed to me to be alot friendlier than straight tourists-I met more tourists from all over the world who were very approachable and were alot more amenable to converations than their hetero counterparts.
I met some characters while I stayed there(they were even rating the girls that came to see me-I never got less than an 8 out of ten!!!
) and got to know a little more about their lifestyle. When I went across the street to the bank to exchange money the clerk asked me what hotel I was staying in. When I told her I got a collective groan from most of the staff, and the woman helping me sort of turned her head in apparent disgust.
Her tune changed when she saw me with my lady friend who was wandering around and came over to see what the fuss was about. It was annoying to say the least, but that's when I realized why I got the reaction I recieved.
So from what I gathered this particular scene is low-key and mostly the encounters are hit-and-run. I also noticed that the young dominicans who look for these tourists do not consider themselves gay. They are just in it for the money and judging from the clothes and jewelery some of these young men were wearing they are paid pretty well.
