I just returned to New York from a 7 day vacation at Riu Bachata (bahia de Maimon) near Puerto Plata.
I found the resort excellent at all levels, considering the cost. The grounds are very well maintained, the beach is very nice, the service was good and in general my wife and I had a great time.
However, I believe that just like us, there must be a small percentge of people, staying at "all inclusive" resorts, who like to go out and discover the town, the shops, the restaurants, and talk with the locals.
Well... that's just what we did and, with the help of a local taxi driver (now our friend) named "Capirolo" (his real name is Miguez Diaz) we really had a ball.
In Puerto Plata (a 20 minute drive from our hotel) we had lunch at La Ponderosa, a very nice lobster restaurant and one of the few remaining in business in Puerto Plata.
Next day we went to Sosua (45 minute drive) where we visited the beach, (too crowded and too many vendors for our taste), the center of town and
the beautiful Victorian Hotel Piergiorgio, where we had lunch in their restaurant, by the sea, with impressive views of the Sosua coastline. We highly recommend a visit.
In our way back to the hotel, we stopped by the offices of "Constructora Martinez Castillo" a developer in Puerto Plata, where we visited some of the model homes and apartments.
Another day we went back to Puerto Plata to "La Canoa" a manufacturer and retailer of fine caribbean jewelry, where we purchased several items for my wife and friends back in New York. They specialize working with "Larimar" and most of the items are made in gold or silver with this stone, which we were told is unique to the Dominican Republic. They also have beautiful pieces of jewelry in black coral. This stop is more than worth the time with the price difference, when compared to local gift shops in hotels and other tourist areas.
One night, we had dinner in Playa Dorada's Al Fresco Pasta & Grill Restaurant
(this restaurant is just across from Hemingway's). Great food and service in a very nice setting.
The last day of our stay we had dinner with "Capirolo" and his wife Luz Maria
at Cofresi Bar & Grill Restaurant. This restaurant is just next to SeaWorld and
just 3 miles from our hotel. The restaurant has been open for only 2 months, and, every day we had either lunch or dinner, we had the restaurant for ourselves; except one night, that the owners of SeaWorld had a party of six.
They are building a large marina and casino next door. I'm sure they will do very well in the future. Both food and service were excellent.
The general manager (Angel Martinez) joined our table almost every time he could and he made our visits very enjoyable, like the rest of his team, waiters, waitresses and Chefs. Angel has lived in New York for several years and travels frequently.
We had the opportunity to discuss the economic situation in Puerto Plata, due to the "all inclusive" resorts, which makes difficult for travelers like us to venture outside the hotel and discover great places, like we did.
I recommended that several restaurants, shops, taxi companies, etc. get their act together and create a brochure "KNOW THE REAL PUERTO PLATA OUTSIDE THE "ALL INCLUSIVE'S", advertising their existance and offering special promotions and discounts to hotel residents. The "all inclusive" resorts, on the other hand, should welcome the iniciative and display the brochures in their lobbies, for a simple economic reason: One guest out to dinner, one more meal paid for and not served.
Both Angel and "Capirolo" are working on the idea. I hope I can see it implemented soon.
We realize that what we did in our trip, is not suited for all budgets; however, I will argue that what we spent in our visits to restaurants and shops, not only it was worth it, but a lot less that you would spend in your own city.
The true value of our trip was the human aspect and the values shown by all the dominicans that we came across. All of them, Restaurant owners, bartenders, waiters, waitresses, shop owners and employees, people in the street, etc.
We were already missing all of it, before we boarded our plane back to New York.
Thank you Dominican Republic for your people.
Araceli & Rafael Rothschild
I found the resort excellent at all levels, considering the cost. The grounds are very well maintained, the beach is very nice, the service was good and in general my wife and I had a great time.
However, I believe that just like us, there must be a small percentge of people, staying at "all inclusive" resorts, who like to go out and discover the town, the shops, the restaurants, and talk with the locals.
Well... that's just what we did and, with the help of a local taxi driver (now our friend) named "Capirolo" (his real name is Miguez Diaz) we really had a ball.
In Puerto Plata (a 20 minute drive from our hotel) we had lunch at La Ponderosa, a very nice lobster restaurant and one of the few remaining in business in Puerto Plata.
Next day we went to Sosua (45 minute drive) where we visited the beach, (too crowded and too many vendors for our taste), the center of town and
the beautiful Victorian Hotel Piergiorgio, where we had lunch in their restaurant, by the sea, with impressive views of the Sosua coastline. We highly recommend a visit.
In our way back to the hotel, we stopped by the offices of "Constructora Martinez Castillo" a developer in Puerto Plata, where we visited some of the model homes and apartments.
Another day we went back to Puerto Plata to "La Canoa" a manufacturer and retailer of fine caribbean jewelry, where we purchased several items for my wife and friends back in New York. They specialize working with "Larimar" and most of the items are made in gold or silver with this stone, which we were told is unique to the Dominican Republic. They also have beautiful pieces of jewelry in black coral. This stop is more than worth the time with the price difference, when compared to local gift shops in hotels and other tourist areas.
One night, we had dinner in Playa Dorada's Al Fresco Pasta & Grill Restaurant
(this restaurant is just across from Hemingway's). Great food and service in a very nice setting.
The last day of our stay we had dinner with "Capirolo" and his wife Luz Maria
at Cofresi Bar & Grill Restaurant. This restaurant is just next to SeaWorld and
just 3 miles from our hotel. The restaurant has been open for only 2 months, and, every day we had either lunch or dinner, we had the restaurant for ourselves; except one night, that the owners of SeaWorld had a party of six.
They are building a large marina and casino next door. I'm sure they will do very well in the future. Both food and service were excellent.
The general manager (Angel Martinez) joined our table almost every time he could and he made our visits very enjoyable, like the rest of his team, waiters, waitresses and Chefs. Angel has lived in New York for several years and travels frequently.
We had the opportunity to discuss the economic situation in Puerto Plata, due to the "all inclusive" resorts, which makes difficult for travelers like us to venture outside the hotel and discover great places, like we did.
I recommended that several restaurants, shops, taxi companies, etc. get their act together and create a brochure "KNOW THE REAL PUERTO PLATA OUTSIDE THE "ALL INCLUSIVE'S", advertising their existance and offering special promotions and discounts to hotel residents. The "all inclusive" resorts, on the other hand, should welcome the iniciative and display the brochures in their lobbies, for a simple economic reason: One guest out to dinner, one more meal paid for and not served.
Both Angel and "Capirolo" are working on the idea. I hope I can see it implemented soon.
We realize that what we did in our trip, is not suited for all budgets; however, I will argue that what we spent in our visits to restaurants and shops, not only it was worth it, but a lot less that you would spend in your own city.
The true value of our trip was the human aspect and the values shown by all the dominicans that we came across. All of them, Restaurant owners, bartenders, waiters, waitresses, shop owners and employees, people in the street, etc.
We were already missing all of it, before we boarded our plane back to New York.
Thank you Dominican Republic for your people.
Araceli & Rafael Rothschild