Please help me choose a place to stay

I will be flying into Puerto Plata next month and I am torn on where to stay. I am a single male in his early 30's and will be travelling alone. I visited Santo Domingo last year but wanted to try the Puerto Plata region this year. From the research I did (with a lot of it on this forum), it seems like Sosua and Cabarete are significantly better than Puerto Plata or Playa Dorada, but there seems to be a lot of conflicting information about the two (especially with Sosua). Any help would be appreciated. This is what I am looking for...

A place that is not all-inclusive but is still a hotel as opposed to a condo.

Shops and restaurants and things to do within walking distance at night (I can take day trips to places by taxi). Along with that, a place that is reasonably safe to walk around.

Being on the beach would be nice but not an absolute requirement.

Places nearby where I will have the opportunity to meet local women. Along with that, a hotel that will allow guests.

I am willing to spend a fair amount of money on the hotel. Not to say that I want the most expensive, just that most people I see asking for guidance in choosing a place want to spend as little as possible. I will gladly pay more for safe and secure as well as location, but I am not looking for the absolute best.

The reason why I chose not to go with Puerto Plata was because of how I read that there is little to do there at night and that it is rougher than the rest of the places. I chose not to go to Playa Dorada because all the good hotels seem to be all-inclusive and won't allow guests. I also read that they were more for families. If anybody thinks I am wrong about this and the Sosua or Cabarete are not the place to go, please let me know.

bachata said:

I'm pretty sure if you use the search engine of this board will find tons of info about this.

JJ

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Like I said, I did a lot of research (especially on here), but there is a lot of conflicting information. Some people say that Sosua is exactly what I want. Others say that it is just prostitutes and older guys with a fair amount of crime. Others say that it is completely dead and that most of the nightlife has shutdown over the last 2 years. For Cabarete, some people say that it is great with a lot to do during the day and at night (even more than Sosua), while others say that there is very little there and that it is nothing compared to Sosua or Playa Dorada. As for Play Dorada, some people say that it has a great nightlife and is easy to get around, while others say that it is almost entirely tourists (families and couples) with very limited nightlife. It is hard for me to get a clear understanding, especially when most of the posts about the places are 2 to 5 years old.

Amigo said:

It's really hard to choose Sosua or Cabarete. I live here. I can say that Cabarete is a restaurants and discos with prostitutes and normal girls, and Sosua is a prostitutes with a discos without good restaurants. I would recommend you stay in Sosua some days (there is a very good beach) and in Cabarete also. Reservations not required - there are places everywhere. I have a car so I can show you all the interesting places with the girls. I am 29. It will be very interesting.

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Are there a lot more restaurants in Cabarete or are they just better?

Is there a chance of meeting a non-pro in Sosua or all the women there pretty much prostitutes? Not that I am against it, just that I'd like the opportunity to meet regular women.

Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on it.

SKY said:

This place will meet your looking for local women and a hotel that allows guests. In fact you don't even have to leave the pool area to meet your needs.

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This place seems to be popular on here. I hadn't really come across it in my searching because mostly I read about Casa Veintiuno, Hotel el Rancho, and Casa Valeria. How does it compare to those?

Rbh44 said:

You did not mention if you speak Spanish. It will be very difficult to meet a non-pro without speaking Spanish, especially if you are on vacation for a only a week, and certainly not in Sosua.

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I took many years of Spanish in school, but what I discovered in Santo Domingo last year was that I remember VERY little of it and VERY few people there spoke English. I am hoping that Sosua or Cabarete will be a little better about that.

I am not expecting to meet a girl (at least a non-pro) just hoping. My concern is that Sosua sounds like it is wall-to-wall pros and a place that non-pro locals as well as female tourists would avoid. I'm just trying to find out how true that is and whether Cabarete (or Puerto Plata or Playa Dorada) would be better.