Villa de las Americas is shelter, though very basic. It is not as nice as it was a year ago (new management) but it does have air conditioning in every room, TV, and a pool. The staff is very friendly and the desk people spoke english well. They dont have room safes, but I have stayed there 3 times, and my brother another 4, and we have never had problems. You will be about 15 minutes from the capital building and about 25 from the US Embassy. Add about 15 more minutes for rush hour. Its about $30/night. It is in a safe but non-touristy neigborhood. Several pizza joints, chineese restaurants and a Wendy's are within easy walking distance.
Closer to the palace and most government buildings is Hotel Cervantes, which is closer to something you would find in the US. It's facilities are better maintianed and is in a pretty nice neighborhood. You are walking distance (5 blocks) from the Malecon (seaside drive) and near most of the government offices on the west side of town. The built in restaurant is over priced. The desk staff is unpredictable, I had to argue with them once, and also heard other bad things in DR1's hotel review section, where you should be checking.
If this is your first time down there, book yourself at a bigger international hotel for the first couple of nights if you can afford it, print out some reviews from DR1, and get a taxi driver to show you some of them. See who would give you a good rate. I wouldnt want you to book somewhere crummy just because its cheap, then you get a bad impression of the country, which is really great.
Check DR1's resort reviews which also include hotels, if you are going there on business, make sure to take time out and enjoy yourself!
