Worst hotel in Santo Domingo

tballerina

New member
Aug 20, 2009
40
10
0
So I checked into Dominican Fiesta Hotel and Casino with my 13-year old son. It is advertised as a five star hotel. The front desk staff very politely said all the right things, all the welcoming words.

I asked to first see the room, which was ample, with a lovely view of the city and the ocean in the far distance. I didn't think of checking to see if the bathroom door worked. Which it didn't. I mean, the door actually did not fit the opening! So after unpacking and calling down about the problem they politely told me that someone would be up in "cinco minutos". I sat on the edge of the bed waiting, it was about 2:30 PM.

Twenty minutes later I called again, "oh, the maintenance man is not there yet? He's on his way." So I sat, and sat, and sat... I called down again. and let them know that I had someplace to be at around 6Pm. They apologized and told me again that the man was on his way... I waited, and waited, and waited. I went downstairs and they told me to go ahead and do what I needed to do that when I returned they would fix the door. I told them that although I know very little, actually nothing, about fixing doors, this looked like a job that would take a long time.

when I returned from my appointment, they told me that sure enough, the door needed to be dismantled so instead they would move us to another room. I packed up my things, and went to a different room on a different floor. The customer service person came up to apologize up and down. I was polite back and told him that my son and I just needed to relax and go down to the pool with some friends (my son had three cousins visit who lived nearby) That's when the guy told me that we were not allowed to have friends visit us in the pool area, nor the room. I said, WHAT? but because of the inconvenience and because I had already sent my son and guests to pool area while I solved the door problem, he'd let it go. You'd never believe what happened next.
The front door of the new room did not lock properly. It could actually be accessed from the outside! So full of apologies again they sent someone from security, a maintenance man, and the head maid. Nothing! They would move me again. I repacked and they walked me down the hall to two available rooms, the first one the ceiling lights didn't work, so we settled finally on the fourth room. I had spent the entire afternoon and evening trying to get a room with working doors. Back to my son and pool area. It's not done yet.

The next day, again our young guests came to see us and the hotel refused to allow them in the pool area. Guests had to stay in the lobby. After I went over what had happened the previous day and that I was paying basically to sit in the lobby, because that is where I had spent most of my waking hours, they still refused to allow us to bring anyone in the pool area. I then told them that I would check out instead of staying the entire weekend like I planned. Can you imagine a five star hotel not allowing paying guests to receive visitors in their pool area, where they would even be spending even more money for drinks and snacks?

So if you are a nice family with children, or a business person who would like to entertain clients, Dominican Fiesta Hotel and Casino is not for you! From a business perspective it's moronic not to allow guests in pool area seeing that money would be spent on drinks and food. From a family perspective, not allowing them to entertain friends is beyond moronic since they are potential future clients for the hotel. In fact, my young guests were actually considering joining the hotel club, where parents pay an absurd amount of money to become members. That's a membership that they will not have thanks to the experience. Anyway, this is my unbelievable hotel story, word to the wise.
 

greydread

Platinum
Jan 3, 2007
17,477
488
83
OP.

There are only very very liberal interpretations of 4 and 5 star hotels and resorts in the Dominican Republic. My first night ever in Santo Domingo was spent at the Intercontintental Hotel which I booked having used Intercontinental Hotels all over the World. That was a rude awakening. I can only compare a sleepless night at the Mexico City Airport Marriott as the experience was 180 degrees out of sync with my expectations. A dirty, dysfunctional and overpriced place run by incompetent, snooty, inattentive and unconcerned staff.

The "no guest" policy is standard all over the country. I visited some U.S. friends who were staying in a Juan Dolio all inclusive in June and they wouldn't take our money for cervezas at the lobby bar while we waited for our group to assemble. They wanted to sell us day passes for the 30 minutes we spent there at $50 a pop. I went outside and smoked a cigar until they were ready and they brought (AI) cervezas to us in the van.

Everybody's hustling.

BTW, the door thing...that's just what the humidity does to doors there. The wood swelles and warps. If you wait long enough they go back to fitting properly.
 

Jhettku

New member
Jul 18, 2011
32
0
0
Well thanks for the reviews for both hotels since we were thinking of spending a weekend in one of those hotels one of these days. We stayed at Barcello beach or whatever the name is and the hotel was also stink, dirty, not properly maintained, and poor service. However the beach is beautiful but I had back-ache in the morning.
 
Jan 9, 2004
10,898
2,226
113
So I checked into Dominican Fiesta Hotel and Casino with my 13-year old son. It is advertised as a five star hotel. The front desk staff very politely said all the right things, all the welcoming words.

I asked to first see the room, which was ample, with a lovely view of the city and the ocean in the far distance. I didn't think of checking to see if the bathroom door worked. Which it didn't. I mean, the door actually did not fit the opening! So after unpacking and calling down about the problem they politely told me that someone would be up in "cinco minutos". I sat on the edge of the bed waiting, it was about 2:30 PM.

Twenty minutes later I called again, "oh, the maintenance man is not there yet? He's on his way." So I sat, and sat, and sat... I called down again. and let them know that I had someplace to be at around 6Pm. They apologized and told me again that the man was on his way... I waited, and waited, and waited. I went downstairs and they told me to go ahead and do what I needed to do that when I returned they would fix the door. I told them that although I know very little, actually nothing, about fixing doors, this looked like a job that would take a long time.

when I returned from my appointment, they told me that sure enough, the door needed to be dismantled so instead they would move us to another room. I packed up my things, and went to a different room on a different floor. The customer service person came up to apologize up and down. I was polite back and told him that my son and I just needed to relax and go down to the pool with some friends (my son had three cousins visit who lived nearby) That's when the guy told me that we were not allowed to have friends visit us in the pool area, nor the room. I said, WHAT? but because of the inconvenience and because I had already sent my son and guests to pool area while I solved the door problem, he'd let it go. You'd never believe what happened next.
The front door of the new room did not lock properly. It could actually be accessed from the outside! So full of apologies again they sent someone from security, a maintenance man, and the head maid. Nothing! They would move me again. I repacked and they walked me down the hall to two available rooms, the first one the ceiling lights didn't work, so we settled finally on the fourth room. I had spent the entire afternoon and evening trying to get a room with working doors. Back to my son and pool area. It's not done yet.

The next day, again our young guests came to see us and the hotel refused to allow them in the pool area. Guests had to stay in the lobby. After I went over what had happened the previous day and that I was paying basically to sit in the lobby, because that is where I had spent most of my waking hours, they still refused to allow us to bring anyone in the pool area. I then told them that I would check out instead of staying the entire weekend like I planned. Can you imagine a five star hotel not allowing paying guests to receive visitors in their pool area, where they would even be spending even more money for drinks and snacks?

So if you are a nice family with children, or a business person who would like to entertain clients, Dominican Fiesta Hotel and Casino is not for you! From a business perspective it's moronic not to allow guests in pool area seeing that money would be spent on drinks and food. From a family perspective, not allowing them to entertain friends is beyond moronic since they are potential future clients for the hotel. In fact, my young guests were actually considering joining the hotel club, where parents pay an absurd amount of money to become members. That's a membership that they will not have thanks to the experience. Anyway, this is my unbelievable hotel story, word to the wise.

Since the Dominican Fiesta has always been my first choice in the capital (IMHO it has the best pool in S.D.), I read your review with interest.

I have probably stayed there a dozen times and your experience is not unique! Not unique to the Fiesta, nor to the rest of the so-called better hotels in S.D. This is almost normal operating procedure, so you either adapt or drive yourself crazy.

As was already pointed out, forget the star ratings...they mean little. Changing rooms in the hotels of the D.R. is a frequent occurence. Either the showers/toilets don't work, the sliding doors don't lock, or the TV and/or the remote don't function. And they always say "cinco minutos" and it most always is not "cinco minutos." It is just something one needs to adapt to. I did not mean like, I mean adapt, or it will drive you crazy.

Speaking of which, several years ago, the gentleman in the room next to mine at the Fiesta could not adapt. When after several calls, several promises and several hours his TV was still inoperable, he took matters into his own hands. He unplugged the TV and threw it into the pool from the fourth floor. I imagine it was an expensive TV he had to pay for.....but he did get their attention.

As to the pool, I understand why they only allow hotel guests, otherwise you could rent one room and invite all your relatives over to enjoy the pool. This would probably aggravate their paying guests....as well as the pool membership guests (they use to offer outside pool memberships...lots of US Embassy people there on the weekends.

I used to beg the hotel to open the veranda to have breakfast outside. They could not grasp the concept that those of us traveling in the winter from cold climates wanted to spend as much time as we could outdoors before returning home. And those damn elevators worked sporadically and would stop misaligned with the floor. Sure hope they finally got that corrected (it went on for several months).

Having my own similar experiences there, I do empathize with your plight. All that having been said, I still love to stay there, warts and all.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,098
6,247
113
South Coast
OP.

There are only very very liberal interpretations of 4 and 5 star hotels and resorts in the Dominican Republic. My first night ever in Santo Domingo was spent at the Intercontintental Hotel which I booked having used Intercontinental Hotels all over the World. That was a rude awakening. I can only compare a sleepless night at the Mexico City Airport Marriott as the experience was 180 degrees out of sync with my expectations. A dirty, dysfunctional and overpriced place run by incompetent, snooty, inattentive and unconcerned staff.

The "no guest" policy is standard all over the country. I visited some U.S. friends who were staying in a Juan Dolio all inclusive in June and they wouldn't take our money for cervezas at the lobby bar while we waited for our group to assemble. They wanted to sell us day passes for the 30 minutes we spent there at $50 a pop. I went outside and smoked a cigar until they were ready and they brought (AI) cervezas to us in the van.

Everybody's hustling.

BTW, the door thing...that's just what the humidity does to doors there. The wood swelles and warps. If you wait long enough they go back to fitting properly.

Greydread - was it the V Centenario? Several years ago, my brother and his wife decided to spend a week in Santo Domingo while we were there, so I booked two rooms at the V Centenario, 5 Stars, thinking it would be a nice experience for my brother, who had never been out of the US.

What a disaster everything was. I won't bore you with the details.

When we were checking out the fellow at the front desk made the mistake of asking us if we enjoyed our stay. My [Dominican] husband let him have it both barrels, beginning with "Let me ask you a question...who awarded you 5 Stars, Stevie Wonder???" It was downhill from there. I almost felt sorry for the guy:ermm:

As far as guests are concerned, "they" ['better' hotels] don't like locals visiting. The only hotel who never gave us any grief when we had nieces or nephews over to our room or the pool was the Hispaniola, now closed. The Hotel Santo Domingo didn't stop them either, come to think of it.

AE
 

belmont

Bronze
Oct 9, 2009
1,536
10
0
My choice in SD is still the Jaragua. Tower rooms have always been well maintained, are plush and comfortable. I especially enjoy the breakfast buffet, included in the rate. As there are so many great resaturants in the area, I rarely have dinner in the hotel. Only registered guests are permitted in the pool area or to the rooms. When checking in, the desk clerk will ask if you expect any overnight guests, they must register at the time you check-in.
 

tballerina

New member
Aug 20, 2009
40
10
0
Too many warts for me playacaribe2. Maybe it's because too many people put up with the warts that they don't feel that they don't feel the need for better customer service. I empathized (sp) with the guy that threw the tv out the window. Lucky for him no one got hurt. Thx.
 
Jan 9, 2004
10,898
2,226
113
Too many warts for me playacaribe2. Maybe it's because too many people put up with the warts that they don't feel that they don't feel the need for better customer service. I empathized (sp) with the guy that threw the tv out the window. Lucky for him no one got hurt. Thx.

Please don't confuse or equate adapting to something, with putting up/condoning with something. The hotels get lots and lots of the same complaints, year after year. Some things change, some do not. Try the Jaragua, Marriott, or Hilton. The pool issue will probably be the same. I have also experienced similar room issues with all these as well.

Wherever you decide to stay in the future, I hope you have a better experience.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

greydread

Platinum
Jan 3, 2007
17,477
488
83
Greydread - was it the V Centenario? Several years ago, my brother and his wife decided to spend a week in Santo Domingo while we were there, so I booked two rooms at the V Centenario, 5 Stars, thinking it would be a nice experience for my brother, who had never been out of the US.

What a disaster everything was. I won't bore you with the details.

When we were checking out the fellow at the front desk made the mistake of asking us if we enjoyed our stay. My [Dominican] husband let him have it both barrels, beginning with "Let me ask you a question...who awarded you 5 Stars, Stevie Wonder???" It was downhill from there. I almost felt sorry for the guy:ermm:

As far as guests are concerned, "they" ['better' hotels] don't like locals visiting. The only hotel who never gave us any grief when we had nieces or nephews over to our room or the pool was the Hispaniola, now closed. The Hotel Santo Domingo didn't stop them either, come to think of it.

AE

LOL!

That's the one. Fortunately it was only a one night experience and we moved out to Ensanche Isabelita to the Acuarium hotel (Italian owned). What a World of difference!
 

greydread

Platinum
Jan 3, 2007
17,477
488
83
When I am in Santo Domingo I stay at the Marriott Courtyard. Never had a problem at the Courtyard.
Before you stay at any hotels on this planet please read the reviews of the prior guest at Reviews of Hotels, Flights and Vacation Rentals - TripAdvisor.

The problem with trip advisor is that the reviews are written by too many different people who expect too many different qualities in lodging. Once you get past clean and functional it's a crap shoot. I have stayed in hotels that others have described as absolute hell holes and my experiences were quite the opposite because I travel with washcloths and beach towels and bring my own soap. I don't care about the fitness center or the internet or the pool or the restaraunt(s) as much as I care about my cervezas being cold and the limes in my Cuba Libres being fresh and juicy.

Smiles from an understanding and attentive staff are far more important to me than "star" ratings. Give me a hotel with a bodega across the street, a Pollo Rey around the corner and an ATM a block away and I'm a happy traveller.
 

porkman100

Gold
Apr 11, 2010
7,468
39
48
Balerina On weekends the pool at the fiesta gets crowded with locals, I always get my Dominican extended family through the lobby then up to my room,then using the elevator cab that goes to the pool level through the back where towels are issued and around the guard that sits by entrance,I do it all the time. I was surprised that you mentioned they were polite,that has not been my experience with them. Also take in consideration is a very old building.