I've lived on the east coast for nearly two years but it still is a confusing place to navigate at times. Place names, for one thing. Our local town Ver?n is alternately spelt as Ber?n. The local s?ndica is the owner of a company called Ber?n Taxi but calls herself "Mar?a Ver?n" for campaign purposes.
Looking at the new residential developments one would think there is a strictly limited name quota. Almost every one of them includes the word B?varo, Punta, Cana - we have Pueblo B?varo, Residencial Punta Cana-B?varo, Punta Cana Village and a new one called Punta B?varo. Punta Cana, Cap Cana, Vista Cana...
Maybe you have to pay extra for calling your project something daringly different like Cueva Ta?na or Cocotal?
I know these are marketing decisions aimed at riding the wave of the Punta Cana/B?varo magic but it is downright confusing. There are one or two other combinations that as far as I know still haven't been used, but it's just a matter of time before a B?varo Cana or a Cap B?varo springs up.
The hotels are no better. Yesterday evening we had to deliver some photos to a guest at one of the B?varo hotels. When we had asked him to be more specific he just looked at his bracelet and confidently pronounced "Barcel? Premium!"
We also have the eternal confusion between the exclusive "Corales" (where Julio, Oscar and co live) and the more down to earth "Los Corales", site of our favourite restaurant BaliCana (even they're at it). People think we're shameless namedropping social climbers when we mention we had dinner at "Los Corales".
We drove up to the main Barcel? complex (the one with about 5 hotels and a convention centre) and told the security guys we were heading for the "Barcel? Premium" - they shook their heads and said the "Premium" was 15 miles to the north, past the Punta Blanca golf club.
We cursed and made the trip, and when we arrived at the hotel, which was called Barcel? Punta Cana Premium even though it is 30 kms north of Punta Cana, we phoned the client - "we're in the reception" - "so am I" he said. But turns out he was in fact 15 kilometres to the south, at the Barcel? Palace Premium, which is the one right next to the convention centre.
"This happens all the damn time", said the nice lady at reception, with an air of sympathetic resignation.
I'm sure it goes down a treat with hotel guests who have just driven all the way from Santo Domingo, or foreign tourists who intrepidly rent a car or extravagantly take a taxi from Punta Cana airport. Maybe the hotel security guards do it to amuse themselves, or could it be, as a friend suggested, "the result of 500 years of eating pl?tanos".
Or are they just out to confuse the enemy?
Looking at the new residential developments one would think there is a strictly limited name quota. Almost every one of them includes the word B?varo, Punta, Cana - we have Pueblo B?varo, Residencial Punta Cana-B?varo, Punta Cana Village and a new one called Punta B?varo. Punta Cana, Cap Cana, Vista Cana...
Maybe you have to pay extra for calling your project something daringly different like Cueva Ta?na or Cocotal?
I know these are marketing decisions aimed at riding the wave of the Punta Cana/B?varo magic but it is downright confusing. There are one or two other combinations that as far as I know still haven't been used, but it's just a matter of time before a B?varo Cana or a Cap B?varo springs up.
The hotels are no better. Yesterday evening we had to deliver some photos to a guest at one of the B?varo hotels. When we had asked him to be more specific he just looked at his bracelet and confidently pronounced "Barcel? Premium!"
We also have the eternal confusion between the exclusive "Corales" (where Julio, Oscar and co live) and the more down to earth "Los Corales", site of our favourite restaurant BaliCana (even they're at it). People think we're shameless namedropping social climbers when we mention we had dinner at "Los Corales".
We drove up to the main Barcel? complex (the one with about 5 hotels and a convention centre) and told the security guys we were heading for the "Barcel? Premium" - they shook their heads and said the "Premium" was 15 miles to the north, past the Punta Blanca golf club.
We cursed and made the trip, and when we arrived at the hotel, which was called Barcel? Punta Cana Premium even though it is 30 kms north of Punta Cana, we phoned the client - "we're in the reception" - "so am I" he said. But turns out he was in fact 15 kilometres to the south, at the Barcel? Palace Premium, which is the one right next to the convention centre.
"This happens all the damn time", said the nice lady at reception, with an air of sympathetic resignation.
I'm sure it goes down a treat with hotel guests who have just driven all the way from Santo Domingo, or foreign tourists who intrepidly rent a car or extravagantly take a taxi from Punta Cana airport. Maybe the hotel security guards do it to amuse themselves, or could it be, as a friend suggested, "the result of 500 years of eating pl?tanos".
Or are they just out to confuse the enemy?