Natura Park Resort

C

carol

Guest
Has anyone been to this resort recently?(since Georges) We will be going there Feb 8th. All responses would be appreciated. Particularly interested in the condition of the beach. Thanks,Carol
 
M

martin

Guest
hi Carol , my name is Martin, just back from the catalonia resort ( about 20 minutes walking from natura park) we walk there one day and everything look great, but worry about George!!!!!!
 
J

Jean-Claude

Guest
Dear Carol: We came back from a two week stay at Natura Park last Monday. I will mail you a more detailed report, but here are the highlights: Natura Park is the best ressort we have stayed at so far. The staff is incredibly friendly and efficient. The grounds are immaculate and beautifully designed. The food is outstanding (and I am a Frenchman!) The rooms are neat, only make sure you get a top floor, because of the nice cathedral ceilings. Everything is in excellent working order, we only experienced a short (6 hours) hot water and air-conditioning shortage. As far as the beach is concerned, well, it has obviously lost a good two feet in depth to the hurricane. You can tell because an embankment was created between the beach itself and the palm-tree grove, and, unfortunately, that embankment is gathering a lot of trash, not on the hotel grounds, but everywhere between it and the Bavaro area, that is about one mile to the North. Besides, the beach is littered with sea-weeds that the ocean keeps pushing yo the shore. The staff do their best to remove it, but it is a minor nuisance. As for the palm-trees, only a few were destroyed by the hurricane, but all of them have lost betwen 25 and 33 % of their folliage, which is not bad, but worse than official statements wanted you to believe. The damage is particularly visible around the ressorts, so you should not expect any pleasant walks in the country-side... But, once again, this should not deter you from planning a nice vacation at N.P. The place is gorgeous. The tour to Saona Island is a must. The ressort itself is very quiet, family-oriented, and very, very cosmopolitan. Other than Spanish, the most widely languages spoken by the staff are German, Italian and French, in that order. As a result of this situation, no group would feel strong enough to steal the show and act rowdy, talk from table to table in a loud way, etc. Speak a little bit of Spanish and the locals will fall in your arms. Do not assume that people, either staff or guests, understand Englih. Ask them first in Spanish or their own language, if you can identify it. If not, you could trigger an adverse reaction. As far as that part of the world is concerned, the old principle "English is understood everywhere" is not valid any more. This might have to do with the emergence of United Europe as a world power, on an even keel with North America. And do not forget that other new principle: "Being illiterate means speaking only one language" (we Canadians are especially proud to have maintained that part of our heritage). Bring some gifts for the children of the employees. Colour pencils are a favourite. And tip heavily: the chamber-maids and the waiters earn about $ 200 a month, and they are charming people who must sometimes wonder how we can have so much money, so little class... The entertainment, at the ressort, is atrocious. Obviously, the board of directors tries and save on that part of the budget. The employees are the ones that perform, they do their best but they have obviously been instructed to please (?) the tourists, hence lip-singing, Casino de Paris or West Side Story types of show, etc... It is a pity, especially since the Dominican Republic has a lot to offer in terms of good music and dancing. Do not forget to mention that in the questionaire that they want you to fill out.

The swimming-pool is a dream. Nothing in the architecture or the decoration of the ressort betrays any kind of bad taste. This is no Florida. Enjoy it as much as we did.

Jean-Claude and Nathalie PS Say hi from us to Luis and Feliz, the best and most urbane waiters in the world... PS-2: I want to make it clear: the sea-weeds did not deter us from swimming. The beach, otherwise, is still beautiful, the lounge-chairs and towels very comfortable... Some souvenirs-sellers will occasionally show you their stuff, but they are not pushy, mainly because the ressort police keep an eye on them. PS-3: If you really want action, choose the Bavaro hotels instead. But what we have seen of them is not very appealing (loud music, "ressort" atmosphere in the vulgar sense of the terms - although the beach is definitely cleaner there.