Hotel Zapida !!!

I would like to say this hotel is totaly miss leading in all the adds and web site. I was just there this past week and found it to be a very bad place to stay. I would never sugest this hotel to anyone to stay at. The entire time i was there the owner was looking over you, not a very nice person to be around. I contacted this hotel before I stayed there and was told a totaly diffrent price than I was charged. I also stayed at 3 other hotels in the Dominican Republic and had no problems at all with them. I will never return to this hotel Zapida for anything.

Re: Hotel Zapata !!!

Comments like these about the Hotel Zapata in Boca Chica have been frequent. Apparently the owner is still playing games with advertising, annoying the guests, and doing a bait and switch with pricing, all of which have been mentioned here on the board before. Can you be more specific about your experience?

Jim Hinsch JimHinsch@CSI.COM

Try searching the archives and reviews for many other "horror stories" about thsi hotel

I had writen long messages about the exact same problems, but the owners of this board are friends with the owner of the hotel and the messages will be deleted for some lame excuse

Tom

Re: Give me a break!/My exp was real?

Robert

You know darn well the problems I had with Zapata were real, you chose to delet them saying they were opinions. Are not experiences all merely opinionated "facts?"

Tom

Re: Give me a break!/My exp was real?

I think that it's a good idea to read what others have to say about their hotel and travel experiences whether they are good or bad. If enough people are having a problem with a particular place or hotel, then the hotel will have to correct what they do or go out of business. People want to have a good time on vacation and if they have a lousy time when it could have been avoided with some knowledge then that will leave a bad taste in a tourist's mouth and they won't come back. The best thing for positive tourism is to let the tourists educate each other.

Re: Hotel Zapata !!!

Approximately one month ago, I recommended Hotel Zapata to a friend. Only because he wanted an inexpensive hotel on the beach. He booked the room over the internet and a price of $30 per night was agreed upon. The spring-summer special. When he arrived, he got the Oh No we never said $30 a night..routine...I think he paid $35 a night and had to stay in one of the smaller rooms. Submitted for your information.

DR1 & Zapata

DR1, these guys sound pretty bad. Maybe if you know them you ought to talk to them. Do they know that the bad news about thim is spreading? Also, this is just one tiny part of the internet. Can you imagine how many visitors go there and then go back to their country with stories of their horrible time in the DR at this place and warning their friends?

This place sounds notoriously bad. I read that US Congress members calculate that every constituent who takes the time to write represents 500 who feel the same way. Maybe the numbers are not as drastic but the principle remains. Zapata is apparently bad for the DR.

You shhould talk to your friend and influence him to get his act together, and let him know that on the internet he is a world class maleante!

Re: Zapata Hotel - bad comments

To see how the OWNER of the Hotel Zapata has responded in the past, search the old messages in the Apr-Jun 98 range.

Except for messages posted by Biff and DR1, there has been perhaps 1 other positive comment about the Hotel Zapata on this message board since it began, where the person posting actually said they had stayed there, but there have been plenty of negative comments.

On the other side, ALL of the reviews of this hotel in the library have been positive.

It seems that if you can lock in a decent price (apparently not possible) and avoid a run-in with the owner, you'll do OK. They have the only non-all-inclusive that sits directly on the beach, but there are other options as close as 25 feet back from the beach.

I sat next door at Ronnie's Beach Bar a couple months ago and listened for a while one time while various guys told about their bad experiences with the Hotel. Mostly trivial stuff in my opinion but each one was upset enough to never return. It's a shame because the hotel looks very charming. I personally won't recommend it unless my friends HAVE to be on the beach and want budget. I've heard just too many complaints (about the owner), combined with my own bad experience there just over a year ago when I went there to tour it.

Jim Hinsch JimHinsch@CSI.COM

Re: Hotel Zapata !!!

is it zapata or zapida, and where is it?

Re: Hotel Zapata !!!

Arcoiris, it's Hotel Zapata, right on the beach next to Boca Chica Beach Resort,in Boca Chica.

Re: Hotel Zapata !!!

Was there a Mexican bandit named Zapata? Maybe the hotel follows some bandit philosophy!

Re: Hotel Zapata !!!

Gio, thats funny, but what I want to know is this person Dominican??He can,t be. The DR has no room for obnoxcious people like that, perjaps he should go back to his own country, the DR doesn,t need some one like him to get a bad rap, does anybody has his e-mail. Maybe he should read some of this comments about how he runs his Hotel.He can get real hip quick.

Re: Hotel Zapata !!!

Hotel Zapata:e-mail:gzapata@codetel.net.do

Re: Hotel Zapata !!!

The owners are Dominican. My last E-mail from them was G.Zapata@codetel.net.do.

Jim Hinsch JimHinsch@CSI.COM

Well maybe you would not suggest this hotel, but i would as myself and my lady have been staying there for years and at least twice a year and found it a very nice hotel on the beach, the owner MR.Zapata keeps the place in very clean and fine condition. as to him watching you well I really do not know the cercomstances for this but you must consider with all the things that can go on down there I would myself say that it should give you some peace of mind that there is someone watching over to keep the place in correct running order. he does not like to see under aged girls being brought in to his place, or any bad people who could possibly steal from the guest etc. And to what you say as him not being a very nice person to be around, I find this to be very out spoken as you do not know anything about him! he is very educated man.And he is very friendly and courtious to others and is always willing to help when he can.It is not easy to run a hotel,and deal with all the things that go with it so i would suggest that if you do not like where you stayed then yes go somewhere else.As to the price quoted was wrong then e-mail them and express your thoughts, insted of saying such things about a good man and a nice place!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Readers

First of all we would like to state that we have simple house policies that are shown to all of our guest before they are registered in the hotel. Welcome to Hostal Zapata

House Policies -Due to infection of insects, eating is not allowed in the rooms. Unless you?ve rented an apartment. -Breakfast will be complimentary to the guest at a minimum of a 3 day stay. -Breakfast begins at 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m., after 10:00 a.m. you must pay for breakfast. -The Security box (safe) is a separate fee from room prices. -Checkout time is at 12:00 p.m. -If your flight is later than 12:00 p.m., you may stay on hotel property, but not in the rooms. -All guest are responsible for their usage of the beach chairs. If you would like to have your beach chair on the beach you are responsible for taking it and returning it to its original position. For Single males and females - Male guest may have female company overnight as well as female guest may have male company overnight, but they can not remain in the facility after 7:30 a.m., unless they are registered in the front desk. Also you must make sure that your companion has a ?cedula?(Proper ID) in order for them to sleep in the hotel. -All activities with male or female companion must be done inside your room. Also no more than one male or female guess is accepted at a time in the room. -If your companion exceeds the deadline of 7:30 a.m. you must pay an additional $10 US. and register him or her for the rest of your remaining time in the hotel as your companion and pay for her or his expenses. -In the case of 2 men in a room, if they would like to have female company over night, they must rent a second room. The same policy applies to women.

Mr. Wickersham states that the owner was constantly looking over him. One wouldn't feel bothered unless one were intending to do something that would be against the rules. Also Mr. Wickersham does not state why he had such a bad experience. The only thing he states is that the owner was looking over him. When we do not permit under age girls in the hotel it is only for your own good. Most of you are not familiar with Dominican laws, you can get a 30 year sentence for rapping a minor. Having sex with a minor is considered rape.

We would also like to state that in the past couple of months we have been getting many guest with social problems. Whom, we have asked to leave the hotel because of the simple fact that one, we do not allow male prostitution; two, especially with minors.

Second of all, by law we can not and will not permit any beach girls to enter the hotel's premises with out proper ID.

As for the $30 dollar summer special. We have always for filled with our part of the bargain. It clearly states on our web sites: $30 dollars per night single person, room with out a balcony; $35 dollars per night single person, room with a balcony. Ten dollars for an additional person.(minimum of a 3 day stay) Mr. Hinsch, your friend stayed in a room with a balcony. This is why he was charged $35 dollars per night.

Best regards

Roberto Zapata

I was just recently a guest at the Hostel Zapata. Starting in June and continuing at an on and off basis for over three weeks. I found the hotel staff to be extremely friendly, the rooms and commons areas were spotless, and I thought $35 a night with a free breakfast was more than reasonable. My God ! What do you people want? While granted, I did have a disagreement with management concerning a guest, I do understand that I was their guest and yeilded to their better judgement. I would have no problem recommending this hotel to anyone. I my opinion, outside of the all-inclusive, this is probally the best hotel in Boca Chica. You could not find a more friendly and helpful staff, especially the manager (Jose). During my visits everyone seemed happy with the hotel and staff, and over the three week period, I spoke with many people.

Richard I couldn't agree with you more it's nice to hear that some people can actualy go on a vacation and enjoy themselves, without trying find something to complain about,and yes Jose is quite the happy go lucky person eh,he's always ready to help you. But on the other hand I think some people should just pitch a tent in there back yard and call it a vacation. It just maybe less stressful for everyone involved.