Casa Marina Bay Samana

[Thegirlnextdoor]

Hi,
Has anyone been to The Casa Marina Bay?
Reviews would be very welcome
Also what is Samana like? I normally go to Rio San Juan...
Thankyou

 

[mountainfrog]

Preferences

...Also what is Samana like? I normally go to Rio San Juan...

We know.
Saman??
Landscape, weather, beaches, men....?

m'frog

 

[bryanb]

There are a few reviews posted on TA and Debbies. I was there in Feb for a wedding and while we had a good time (rooms were clean, grounds were nicely laid out, etc) at this point I wouldn't return to this particualr resort.

One of the French tour companies has an almost monopoly on this resort and the staff have been told to "Keep the French gusests happy or lose your jobs". While it didn't stop us from getting what we wanted it explained the fact that the French guests seemed to get served first at some bars and the majority of staff (outside of Reception) don't speak much English - some bar tenders speak no English at all) - not really a problem but you may have to point to the drink menu for them to understand what it is you are asking for.

Don't get me wrong, it was a great trip and once the resort realizes that the guests of the other tour companies also paid to go there and treat everyone as an equal I'd go back to it again.

I will say that the landscape you see on the way in from the new airport to the resort is breathtaking at times. The area seems to be very nice.

 

[mountainfrog]

Nailbiting Question

... the staff have been told to "Keep the French gusests happy or lose your jobs". While it didn't stop us from getting what we wanted....

Now, will Thegirlnextdoor get what she wants?
Will we ever find out?
Does she speak French?

m'frog

 

[Thegirlnextdoor]

Are you stalking me? LOL

 

[Thegirlnextdoor]

There are a few reviews posted on TA and Debbies. I was there in Feb for a wedding and while we had a good time (rooms were clean, grounds were nicely laid out, etc) at this point I wouldn't return to this particualr resort.

One of the French tour companies has an almost monopoly on this resort and the staff have been told to "Keep the French gusests happy or lose your jobs". While it didn't stop us from getting what we wanted it explained the fact that the French guests seemed to get served first at some bars and the majority of staff (outside of Reception) don't speak much English - some bar tenders speak no English at all) - not really a problem but you may have to point to the drink menu for them to understand what it is you are asking for.

Don't get me wrong, it was a great trip and once the resort realizes that the guests of the other tour companies also paid to go there and treat everyone as an equal I'd go back to it again.

I will say that the landscape you see on the way in from the new airport to the resort is breathtaking at times. The area seems to be very nice.

Thanks for that, where are you from? Did you have to go to a international airport then get an internal flight? Coz looks like I have to go to Pop and get a shuttle transfer that takes 4 hrs :-(

 

[mountainfrog]

The Other Way Round

Are you stalking me? LOL

No, it seems you are hunting me.
Saman? is 'froglandia'. :laugh:

m'frog

 

[mountainfrog]

Maybe Not

...Coz looks like I have to go to Pop and get a shuttle transfer that takes 4 hrs :-(

From where do you set out?

m'frog

 

[Andy B]

There's several other oceanfront hotels in Las Galeras that will take good care of you and not put someone else before you: Todo Blanco, el Marinique and Villa Serena. Casa Marina Bay is what's referred to as a "paradise prison" or cattle ranch, if you may. Look further on the net and you will find a number of reviews of the place.

 

[Thegirlnextdoor]

I dont wanna be surrounded by French people really, Im English LOL

m'frog you actually gonna help me? hehe
I start in London England normally Gatwick airport, I'm assuming the nearest international airport is POP???

 

[Thegirlnextdoor]

Also this is probablly a dumb question but Casa Marina Bay and Amhsa Casa Marina Bay, thats the same place right?

 

[bryanb]

CMB is run by Amhsa Marina Resorts so it is the same place.

I'm from Ottawa, Canada so we had a flight to the new International Airport (El-Catey) and then a 1.5 hr bus ride to the resort.

You will get everything you ask for, at least we did, you may just need to be a bit more patient. Coming from Ottawa where we do have a lot of French I never found it to be "in your face" - mind you maybe I'm a bit more used to it.

As I said in my last post, we had fun while we were there.

As beautiful as the scenry is I do wish we were closer to the town of Samana so that we could go and walk about but we weren't keen on the 30 - 40 minute taxi ride. We did go into Las Galeras for a day though and did some shopping. The is a restaurant called The Ruby Cafe - great Chicken Kabobs & Fries.

Oh! The only real "weird" thing was that if you want the early sitting of the supper buffet (6:30 pm) you need to make reservations. They open it up for a free for all at 8:30 pm.

 

[mountainfrog]

Alternative

.... I'm assuming the nearest international airport is POP???

Not really, it's El Catey Saman? International Airport (as also mentioned above), which is about 60 km from Las Galeras.
Have you ever thought about staying at Las Terrenas?

m'frog

 

[Kiboko]

Casa Marina Bay

Casa Marina Bay is indeed one of the Amhsa hotels. We stayed there for a couple of nights in November and had a very pleasant time. The grounds are well looked after and the view of the bay is beautiful, although the beach is a little narrow and the pool is small. The rooms were clean and comfortable, the food was good but not amazing, and the service was efficient, although not the friendliest I've encountered. We spoke Spanish to all the staff, so I'm not sure if language would be a problem. In any case, all you need to do is learn a few phrases in Spanish and you'll be fine. It's true that most of the guests seemed to be European (French and German mostly), but I'm British and my husband is Japanese, and we didn't experience any "second class citizen" service. This is not a resort to go to if you are looking for a wild party. Most of the guests were older and it was very quiet at night (although they were building a disco while we were there, so that might change things). If you are just looking to relax and chill out in a beautiful location, this is a great resort, and there's lots to do in the Samana area. There are no direct flights from the UK to Samana, so you'll have to fly to POP and then take the shuttle bus from there.

 

[Thegirlnextdoor]

Hmmmm This El Catey Samana has never come up on any of my searches, maybe Uk flights dont go there, :-(
Why Las Terrenas froggy?

Bryanb, that is kinda strange with the food, I dont lik eating late, are some guest not AI coz I see they have bungalows there. Is it a big resort? Whats the entertainment like, is there stuff to do at night after the shows or whatever or do you need to go out of resort?

Thankyou both

 

[Thegirlnextdoor]

Casa Marina Bay is indeed one of the Amhsa hotels. We stayed there for a couple of nights in November and had a very pleasant time. The grounds are well looked after and the view of the bay is beautiful, although the beach is a little narrow and the pool is small. The rooms were clean and comfortable, the food was good but not amazing, and the service was efficient, although not the friendliest I've encountered. We spoke Spanish to all the staff, so I'm not sure if language would be a problem. In any case, all you need to do is learn a few phrases in Spanish and you'll be fine. It's true that most of the guests seemed to be European (French and German mostly), but I'm British and my husband is Japanese, and we didn't experience any "second class citizen" service. This is not a resort to go to if you are looking for a wild party. Most of the guests were older and it was very quiet at night (although they were building a disco while we were there, so that might change things). If you are just looking to relax and chill out in a beautiful location, this is a great resort, and there's lots to do in the Samana area. There are no direct flights from the UK to Samana, so you'll have to fly to POP and then take the shuttle bus from there.

Does it really take 4hours?? Do they check you in on the bus or do you still have to do all that when you arrive, did you stop at any other hotels?
Can I ask who you booked through? Ive only found one place where I can get a flight, transfer and that specific hotel

 

[Kiboko]

Casa Marina Bay

Sorry, I don't know. We live in the Dominican Republic, so we drove there in our own car. We booked just the hotel on Expedia I seem to remember, but I wouldn't recommend that because you can get a package including flights for a much cheaper price than buying seperately. British tour operators tend not to go to Samana, so the one you found might be the only one.

 

[cobraboy]

Alida used to work there in management, and we stayed there for a few days as our "base of operations" exploring Samana in October. It's fine, nothing off the wall special. OK food, OK service, clean, etc. Not especially expensive. We only slept and ate a couple of meals there.

We stayed at El Marinique December, and prefer the personal service Andy and Nicole provide. That's our Samana "home" now on.

 

[mountainfrog]

LT vs. LG

...Why Las Terrenas froggy?

There're more things to do, more restaurants to choose from, more sankies, too.
It's not the end of the world like LG.

m'frog
near LT

 

[bryanb]

To my knowledge all guest at CMB are on the All Inclusive plan. I belive the break up the dinner sitting as they do not have enough space to accomodate everyone at 6:30 (We had a bungalow as I had emailed and asked for a free room upgrade and they were able to accomodate the request).

As for travelling from POP, I've heard it is 4 hours and then you check in at the resort. Check in for us took all of 5 minutes but it depends on how many of you are arriving at the time. The question about stopping at other resorts will depend on teh number of people going to the CMB that are on the bus. If it is only a small group they may bunch you up with others, it's up to the tour operator to maek that call.

It is a fairly big resort, so big (land wise) I was told they are about to undertake an expansion that would double it's accomodations.

There was a nightly show that is done by the resorts animation staff and for the most part they were okay but the Pool Party one was by far the best one I've seen at any resort. After the entertainment they have a Disco down by the beach but from what I saw not many people were making use of it. It's a closed in room next to the Sports Bar and the air wasn't the freshest in there if you know what I mean.