Re: Casa Marina Reef/Puerto Plata *PIC*
Brian,
You must have different standards for food, beverage, and service. By the way, smiling and friendly do not equal service unless combined with attentiveness, speed, efficiency, and anticipating guests' needs.
I revisited the Casa Marina in October of 1999. Little had changed, from my observation. One E-mail I received from somebody that visited the Casa Marina resort and had later read my report said, "On the bus to the airport, everybody was raving about the resort. I wondered if perhaps I had been at a different resort."
It seems in general, that Europeans do find the resorts all across the Dominican Republic to be deserved of the stars they rate themselves, while many Americans and some Canadians are dismayed at what passes for high quality. Just read the reports on Debbies Dominican page. Europeans consistently make comments such as "it was amazing", ... That's just my observation.
When I see a duck, I call it a duck. I've visited some VERY nice resorts in the Dominican Republic, but the Casa Marina wasn't one of them. The Casa Marina is beautiful resort, and that is where it ends. It is a budget resort and a decent value. I never said we didn't enjoy our vacation at Casa Marina. We did. It was a good value. We didn't pay very much for it and received a lot. But it was still a budget vacation and the food, beverages, services, and ammenities received were in no way worthy of praise. The little places we found outside the resort, however, were. What does one expect for US$60 per person, all-inclusive? We got what we paid for.
For about the same price, one can book a room at the Hamaca Hotel in Boca Chica (via a tour agent), and I can tell you, the Hamaca blows the Casa Marina away in the quality of food and service under its current management.
I too have traveled all over the world, including North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. My point of reference for this report however was for resorts all across the Dominican Republic, the rest of the Caribbean, and Mexico.
If one were to go by the reports I see written on Debbies Dominican page, great as her web site is, one would think that every single resort in the Dominican Republic is "amazing", and that just isn't the case.
I too would not hesitate to recommend Casa Marina to friends visiting the north coast that were looking for something in that price range. As I said, it is a decent value. But I would not rave about the quality of the food and service, because it just wasn't worthy of praise.
We all have different ideas of what constitutes high quality food, service, and ammenties. Did you by chance sample "On the Waterfront", and if so, how would you compare it to the Casa Marina? I also ate many meals next door at Sosua by the Sea, which were low cost (US$10 typically), and I found the food, drink, and service at that small hotel to be far superior. Of course, Casa Marina has a far nicer looking property than either of the above mentioned businesses, and I can't criticize the beauty of the place.
Below is a photo of the beach at Casa Marina from my trip in October 1999 to Sosua.
Jim Hinsch
JimHinsch@CSI.COM
thing OK? wen we all knows what are the all inclusive/Gourmet Restaurant