Coral Conoa hotel and Spa

I'm planning a trip around Thanksgiving to The Coral Conoa Hotel, in La Romana. I've never been there before and I thought maybe some of you DR experts would help me. I did spend 11 days @ The Capella Beach Resort In Juan Dolio last summer and I have to say I came back with mixed feelings. First of all most of the staff does not speak English. Not even room service. It was very difficult to order even an ice-cream. That saved me some money because it became clear to my children that ordering room service was too much of a bother for them .Trying to get an extra towels was also problematic, (not bilingual). The staff @ the front desk did speak English.I still had a moderately good time, inspite of the fact that there was almost no Dominican food served. I mean they had of course the tropical drinks and so forth but not once during that week did I see a plantain or any beans... unheard of but true. The main reason I would never go back is because on the day of our departure home, I saw a mouse scamper across the floor in the dining room wher the main buffet table was situated.... that was the end of my appetite.

English/Spanish

What an appropriate place for the mouse, they have to eat also



As I am, you must be a US Citizen. We must learn that when in Italy to expect to hear Italian, when in the DR expect Spanish.

Do you think people that speak only Spanish would complain if they came to the US and found only "English speaking" staff at their hotel?

Unfortunately, we (US citizens) as a society have come to expect the rest of the World to adjust to our needs and forget that we are guests in their country

I can't speak or understand any Spanish, but somehow I get along in the most remote areas of the DR where NO English is spoken

Re: English/Spanish/Mice in the Dining Room

I can speak some Spanish,bit that's not the issue why I would never return ... I managed to have a good time and enjoy myself in spite of trying to conjure up my High School Spanish lessons. But I know having a "mouse " in the dining room is UNACCEPTABLE, for not only health reasons. Don't make excuses about being American; I'm from Carribbean desent and in any language you say it, and in any other island frequented by tourists ( guests) having a "mouse"- "mice" around food preparations is unhealthy, just plain old "distgusting", and unacceptable! I'm don't think by paying money to go on vacation that I had agreed to exposing myself and my family to diseases carried by rodents . Thats why countries have governing bodies that moniter the clenliness of restaurants and I hope also, hotels that serve guests food must also be held accoutable. Let's just see if the travel agents were to advertise "Rodents" as part of the deal, if so I don't these vacations could be even given away free- .
I don't know where you come from , maybe mice are a regular part of your dining experience, but not mine!

ONE mouse, ban the DR from holiday promotion

A little mouse "pate'" with yoru morning toast is delicious.

Whwre I "come from" is the State of Maine.

In yoru previous post, you were seemingly more upset at the lack of "English speaking" staff to service you then the mouse in the dining room. Was it an open air restaraunt? Could the mouse of come from outside?

I don't know, I haven't had the opportunity to do a health inspection of the establishment you vacationed at. Just a personal note, but I would not let one mouse running across a dining room ruin my vacation. Thankfully, you likely don't have the opportunity to visit the kitchens of your "favorite" restaraunt, most likely you would never eat out again.

Many years ago I learned it would be best to never look in a restaurant kitchen and to turn a blind eye to much of what I see when I am travelling. One certainly doesn't have to go to the Dominican Republic to see such as what you describe. As far as language goes, the DR welcomes tourists from all over the world. Surely in a foreign country you don't expect hotel employees to always be able to speak English, French, German, Norwegian etc. just to please that segment of the visiting public? Coping with a foreign language should be a broadening experience for adults and children alike. May I suggest you may find it beneficial if you took the time to learn a few words of Spanish before your next trip. Believe me it will help you enjoy yourself. The only sure way to avoid the circumstances you seem to dislike would be not to travel to a foreign ccountry such as the Dominican Republic but to vacation in the USA.

Re: English/Spanish/Mice in the Dining Room

You are right of course in claiming that rodents can cause health problems. So - and to a larger extent - can the birds that fly in and out from open air restaurants.

However, I think that you are overreacting. The fact that you saw a mouse - or maybe one of the many little rodents living in palm trees - doesn't necessarily mean that it is a place with bad food or bad hygiene. And I most certainly would not let it ruin my holiday or even my appetite for that matter.

You should see some of the pictures and reports that the health inspection people come back with from restaurants and bakeries in the so called industrialized world. If they were to use these pictures commercially they could make a fortune in selling them for slimming purposes!

Use your eyes, check the plates, floors etc. If all this is clean, chances are the rest is in an acceptable condition as well. If you feel uncomfortable with the standard of hygiene, find another place. Simple as that. (This is another reason that it isn't always the best of ideas to go all inclusive).

As for the language barrier: I totally agree with Tom. Don't expect English. Figure out how to get along without it instead of focusing on the annoying bits. It is actually easy - a smile does wonders! And finally, don't expect the level of service that you would get in an American hotel. The American standard is generally unbeatable and you won't find it in most other countries.

I hope you will enjoy your second holiday better than the first. But don't let one tiny rodent put you off.

Regards,
Susanne

I speak little spanish and my boys, age 12 and 15 speak only please and thank you and we had no major problems. With very little effort or less than $10 you can by a spanish-english book that will give you all the necessary phrases to be able to communicate with the cleaning staff and you can also pantomine what you want. My personal observations on cleanliness, which is very important to me, is that the resorts i've stayed at were very clean as well as the numerous personal dwellings that i've visited. Dominicans in general are a very clean people,but as anywhere you'll find things that don't measure up to your personal standards. Enjoy you next trip and try and look by the small things.

Re: ONE mouse, ban the DR from holiday promotion

Once we were eating at a 5-star restaurant at Cable Beach in the Bahamas when I spotted a mouse, not on the floor, but on the seat next to my girlfriend. I told her "don't move", at which point I swatted it to the floor and stomped it dead. Our meals were comped (we had a table of 12 and the bill was over US$1000). If I hadn't caught and killed the mouse, the management might have thought we were just trying to get a free meal. Another couple that was seated with us and just happens to own one of the finest restaurants in Cleveland remarked that "every restaurant" has mice from time to time, including theirs, and that is was neither out of the ordinary or something to blame the restaurant for.

Re: ONE mouse, ban the DR from holiday promotion

There is never just "one mouse" when there is one there are many more.Rodents reproduce more rapidly than most people are aware of, the female has two uteruses not one, and every birth is a multiple times two. An establishment has a rating ( stars to represent the promoted quality of the experience). This resort was listed as "5 stars". I've traveled to many other Carribbean resorts and I have never experienced this before. If you see "one mouse", one should assume his mother, father,brothers and sisters are scampering nearby, probably in the vicinity of your food or scampering across or maybe being even sampling it before you do.Where I live food inspection of eateries are of public knowledge. You can go on the web to the Department of health, restaurant inspection and read the reviews. Also @ any time you experience something that can pose a public health risk you can report that establishment, and they will be inspected.
I know no situation is perfect but when you see a rodent vividly running around in the open, that means there are many more that you don't see.
This is no reflection on the DR, this is a complaint directed @ the Capella Beach Resort. I would never go back there again. I loved the DR , it's people and the beautiful island.
As far as the language barrier, that is the fault of the travel agent , who stated in the hotel everyone speaks english, which was not true. This time I'm more aware and I will bring a spanish/english translater book with me.

Re: English/Spanish/Mice in the Dining Room

Let me chime in, if you don't mind.

1.) The language. It is unreasonable for anyone to think that Dominican staff (paid less than $200US per month) should speak English (and every other language of every other tourist ever to visit the country) rather than you speaking Spanish. You are in THEIR country, for goodness sake! On that sort of salary, where do you suppose they would learn these languages? How would they pay for classes? Working 6 days a week, when would they have time to learn? Sure, some do learn somehow/someway at some resorts. But this SHOULD NOT be the expected norm.

2.) The mouse. What sort of "governing bodies" do you suppose there are in a 3rd world country such as the Dominican Republic? NONE even remotely similar to what we have in North America. As others mentioned, if you can't stomach a mouse, you'd better not vacation outside your country. Even then, you could very easily see one, maybe even in your own house! By the way, did you notice the lizards?

My hope would be that you would think back again on your vacation...what were the high points? Beautiful beaches, sunrises, sunsets, local people you met while strolling the malecon, fresh pina you ate from a street vendor, the shoe shine boy with the irresistible grin, the curious children who followed you around? Do tell...maybe you could concentrate on remembering those experiences???

Re: ONE mouse, ban the DR from holiday promotion

I'm still looking for anyone who stayed @ the Coral Canoa in La Romana. They opened early this year.

POOR LITTLE MOUSE

What was the management's reaction?

Re: English/Spanish/Mice in the Dining Room

Sarah,
I agree wholeheartedly BUT Millis point concerning English was that the TRAVEL AGENT told them everyone at the resort spoke English. You expect your travel agent to be correct and you the client are not expected to know that the staff have not been trained or sent to school or whatever by the hotel resort.
Concerning the mouse I see them on a daily basis running from the fields and streets into buildings and restaurants and then running like crazy as people (mostly tourists) chase them. This is a tropical relatively open door country (many restauants and hotel lobbies leading into restaurants have no doors or barriers nor should they) and the mice do not read well about staying out especially when their are so many places to go in. The dining area is no judge of infestation you actually would have to see the kitchen.

Re: English/Spanish/Mice in the Dining Room

OK William, I'll give Millie a break about the language. Millie, send me your travel agents email address...or better yet, send them a link to our thread. They need to be enlightened! I don't use a travel agent, and therefore have no experience in what they do or don't advise their clients about.

Regarding the mouse again, I was thinking, I don't ever recall seeing weather stripping on doors in the DR, even at indoor restaurants.

Re: POOR LITTLE MOUSE

As I reported, we all had our meals comped. That means we didn't pay for our meals. We asked for nothing but she was visibly freaked out about having had a mouse against her lap (she cried). Management apologized, made the entire meal and drinks, which included some very expensive champagne, complementary.

Incidentally, mice control is the very reason you see cats roaming around many restaurants throughout the Caribbean. It's funny how that causes different reactions from different guests. One guest is about to pet the pretty kitty while the spouse is screaming at him/her not to touch the filthy animal.

Re: POOR LITTLE MOUSE

Actually, what I meant was how they reacted to you stomping the mouse. Also, didn't the other diners react to having a mouse squashed in front of them? Wouldn't that be more "gross" than the actual presence of the live mouse? (From the standpoint of someone eating a meal)Or did the restaurant go bankrupt paying for everyone's dinner?

Re: POOR LITTLE MOUSE

It happened so fast, nobody saw it happen, not even other people at our table. It's not like I stood up and said "A MOUSE!!! I'LL GET IT! STOMP. STOMP. STOMP." It was a quiet, cautioned, and tempered "don't move", a swat, and a stomp. She thought it was spider or something until she saw what it was. The management did not comment on me having killed the mouse. They just cleaned it up and apologized. Understandably, they squelched the situtation as quickly and quietly as possible.

"Wouldn't that be more "gross" than the actual presence of the live mouse? (From the standpoint of someone eating a meal)"

No. The worry about a mouse running around it that they like dark confined places and tend to run up pant legs and skirts, so a dead mouse is a relief compared to one running around in the dining room. Although I did stomp the mouse, it didn't squash like a bug into a mass of guts. It just flattened out and maybe there was a bit of blood around it's eyes and face. For another guest to have seen it, they would have had to stand up, walk over to our table, and leaned over to where the mouse was. We had a large corner booth.

Re: POOR LITTLE MOUSE

The mouse was discovered on the morning of my departure, I was preparing to leave so I didn't have time to bring it to managments's attention. I was glad that I saw it when I did ,(on my way home) because at that point I knew I would never return there or reccommend the place to anyone else. I did however share the experience with my travel agent, who said she would follow-up with the powers that be.

Re: English/Spanish/Mice in the Dining Room

you'r right!

Re: POOR LITTLE MOUSE

I agree!I've seen a cat in some fancy restaurants in New York and I didn't mind because I knew the "mice patrol" was actively on duty.