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Latest News On Sosua Bar Revovation
O,K. lets agree that maybe frankie boy can be a little annoying at times:tired: But how can you knock him for saying the truth...Yea he gives me a headache at times telling us how great Cabarete is all the time, but how can you disagree with him for not being to excited about the same hooker hangouts putting some new chair covers and some new paint and flooring.These so called improvements will not help bring in more tourist but just try to attract to customers who are already there. Do you guys really think that some travel agent in Iowa is showing some redneck family a brochure of all the new and great improved bars of Sosua? I really doubt that.
It is a big waste of one beautiful beach.
It is a big waste of one beautiful beach.
let's suppose for a minute that sosua beach was open at night like caberete. wouldn't that not open up another fierce competition between pedro clisante businesses and the beach area ? caberete is "the beach" whereas sosua is the beach and more.
i also think that the money needed to be put into sosua beach is probably not worth the return in tourist and locals dollars.
lastly, not to get off subject but other areas of the dominican republic are starting to grow....
i also think that the money needed to be put into sosua beach is probably not worth the return in tourist and locals dollars.
lastly, not to get off subject but other areas of the dominican republic are starting to grow....
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I don't believe it would hold any competition between PC and the beach at all. You have families wanting to spend an evening on the beach with friends and you have whore mongerers looking for beaver and behaving like idiots. Show me why they would want to go down to the beach and hang on when all the poontang is still on PC?
I believe with the new Cruise port opening up that you could get the tourist dollars. Where else quite this close to POP can you get a tranquil beach with no waves, decent snorkeling, excursions all around?
Great for other areas of the DR to grow, but don't you want the part of the island that you live on to grow and prosper as well?
I live here is Sosua so I figure I have a vested interest in it's future I would love to see it flourish and survive.
i see your point but beaver hunting is not illegal nor is it X-rated. i never see families on the beaches except for local families and they don't care.
maimon depends on carnival's intentions for the port. whether it's a port of embarkation/debarkation/one day excursion(stop over), who knows. it's not like 1000's of tourists will be getting off ships daily.
POP has less to offer than sosua or caberete.
i'm a tourist so i go where the "action" is but i do understand your points.
maimon depends on carnival's intentions for the port. whether it's a port of embarkation/debarkation/one day excursion(stop over), who knows. it's not like 1000's of tourists will be getting off ships daily.
POP has less to offer than sosua or caberete.
i'm a tourist so i go where the "action" is but i do understand your points.
It is what it is. It will never be the family destination people hope it to be. You can build theaters, parks and hold festivals but you aren't going to attract that kind of tourist with the calibre of hotel rooms available in Sosua. Family vacations are usually planned by mom and women tend to put a lot importance on the quality of the hotel. Even the nicest hotels in Sosua do not offer the quality of experience to compete with other destinations even at lower prices. There are tourist destinations in Brazil, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Colombia that attract a healthy amount of family tourists that have as much or more hookers than Sosua. Earlier this year I was in Coco Beach in Guanacaste, Costa Rica a small beach town like Sosua with many young women plying their trade at the clubs at night yet there were plenty of the type of the tourists that is elusive to Sosua up and about having a good old time. Coco Beach had the same stigma as Sosua for the local women who weren't in the trade but it didn't have a problem attracting tourists in neighboring resorts looking for a night out. Sosua is no longer attractive to the budget conscious European on a long holiday because there are better options closer to home and for the American looking for that 3 days, 4 nights vacation it doesn't offer the luxury required of that once a year family splurge. So folks can cry all want about the homies from NY or aging frat boys but they are the only thing keep that little town a float. I recommended the north coast to two female coworkers who went with their family to Puerto Plata. They had a blast and enjoyed the DR but hated their hotel rooms. One even ended up in a Puerto Plata hooker spot with her husband and enjoyed it immensely. They loved the off resort tours and water sports but hated their hotel room with its tiny bed, worn out pillows and paper thin towels. Now they go to Punta Cana.
and now that El Catey is open to american flights, there is another dagger in the north coast heart. although their nightlife is nothing compared to sosua, they have damn good hotels in the area.
no need to renovate sosua, soon you will be the ghost town boca chica is and Las Terrenas will be the new hot spot.
no need to renovate sosua, soon you will be the ghost town boca chica is and Las Terrenas will be the new hot spot.
xamaicano: the thing is POP area need a renovation full stop. hotel rooms are fine, they are large as built back in the day when space was cheap. all that is needed is new paint, new furniture, new fixtures. but who is going to invest when there is no hope of return?
Where is that new "Chez Mon Real" bar located? By the pic on Sosua news, it looks like its on the corner across from PJ's.
Folks are so hard on Sosua, it's actually quite interesting. It's kind of like the way some people scrunch their faces when they hear about Las Vegas, but the city just keeps plugging along.
Sosua will continue to be fine. It survived the invasions of the cheap Germans, budget conscious eurotrash, over-the-hill fratboys, NA mongers, and now NY-homies, it should be good in the years to come. Sosua really is more than just 100 meters on Pedro Clisante.
Same with Cabarete. They are both two nice towns with two very different feels to them. Cabarete has a nice beach and some cool restaurants, but the playa isn't very swimmable, and the whole "one road town" thing gets a bit wearisome after a while. That's why I tend to look at everything from Costambar to Cabrera as more or less one big town. Collectively, it's a lot of fun.
Most cruise stopover points are generally 9-to-5 or 9-to-7 type deals, and the line will do what it can to limit their movements towards "sponsored" excursions. That means golfing, ferry rides, the waterpark, ziplining, tours of puerto plata and maybe going to Rio San Juan. Relatively little non-beach specific traffic will likely be directed to Sosua, although I imagine quite a few guys on "golfing" trips will find their way to Pedro Clisante.
That could, of course, change dramatically if Sosua develops more touristy stuff to pull the cruisers in. They're making good progress, let's give them the credit they deserve. Turning a touristy area around takes time, let's show patience and support.
That said, one trip to DR usually leads to many more. In terms of cost, proximity, and just being all-out fun, it's a great deal.
Sosua will continue to be fine. It survived the invasions of the cheap Germans, budget conscious eurotrash, over-the-hill fratboys, NA mongers, and now NY-homies, it should be good in the years to come. Sosua really is more than just 100 meters on Pedro Clisante.
Same with Cabarete. They are both two nice towns with two very different feels to them. Cabarete has a nice beach and some cool restaurants, but the playa isn't very swimmable, and the whole "one road town" thing gets a bit wearisome after a while. That's why I tend to look at everything from Costambar to Cabrera as more or less one big town. Collectively, it's a lot of fun.
Most cruise stopover points are generally 9-to-5 or 9-to-7 type deals, and the line will do what it can to limit their movements towards "sponsored" excursions. That means golfing, ferry rides, the waterpark, ziplining, tours of puerto plata and maybe going to Rio San Juan. Relatively little non-beach specific traffic will likely be directed to Sosua, although I imagine quite a few guys on "golfing" trips will find their way to Pedro Clisante.
That could, of course, change dramatically if Sosua develops more touristy stuff to pull the cruisers in. They're making good progress, let's give them the credit they deserve. Turning a touristy area around takes time, let's show patience and support.
That said, one trip to DR usually leads to many more. In terms of cost, proximity, and just being all-out fun, it's a great deal.
There is a section in my town where a strip of storefronts are owned by the same landlord. He has "non-competition" clause in his leases so that if someone is selling burgers in one store, none of his other tenants can sell burgers. Another place is Korean food and a third is Mid-eastern and so on.
It's in the landlord's interest because the diversity brings more people to the storefronts and there is less head to head competition so there is little turnover provided the store owners are doing a good job. It's a win-win for everyone.
But on Playa Sosua, the competition is so bad, only a few storefronts make a real profit because they are in constant price wars. I remember two beach bars that were side by side that had nearly identical menus and all the same prices. Same thing with the tourist shops. But if there was ONE t-shirt shop, ONE jewelry store ONE painting store and ONE CD store, the store owners could ask for higher prices because there wouldn't be someone 20 ft away with the same product for less. The tourists would pay more, but on the plus side there would be a much greater selection of goods as each storefront specializes.
I don't have that much of an issue with the number of shops as much as they are all selling the same crap.
Of course you could limit the number of places that sell beer or rum, but you could make a de facto liquor license by charging much more for the places that sell booze and have a limit of say 30 bars on Playa Sosua.
Isn't the entire beach under the control of the same association?
It's in the landlord's interest because the diversity brings more people to the storefronts and there is less head to head competition so there is little turnover provided the store owners are doing a good job. It's a win-win for everyone.
But on Playa Sosua, the competition is so bad, only a few storefronts make a real profit because they are in constant price wars. I remember two beach bars that were side by side that had nearly identical menus and all the same prices. Same thing with the tourist shops. But if there was ONE t-shirt shop, ONE jewelry store ONE painting store and ONE CD store, the store owners could ask for higher prices because there wouldn't be someone 20 ft away with the same product for less. The tourists would pay more, but on the plus side there would be a much greater selection of goods as each storefront specializes.
I don't have that much of an issue with the number of shops as much as they are all selling the same crap.
Of course you could limit the number of places that sell beer or rum, but you could make a de facto liquor license by charging much more for the places that sell booze and have a limit of say 30 bars on Playa Sosua.
Isn't the entire beach under the control of the same association?
agree/disagree
I agree that a lot can be done with the beac. leave the shops & bars on the beach alone. install better bathroom & shower facilities. disagree with you on pedro clisante bars.if you don't care for ambiance go to the queiter bars. I agree that the music should drop a few decibels. I"m a 73 yr. old guy who enjoys the vibrancy of Sosua nite life.
it is across from the old merengue! Ilived in sosua for 7 yrs. moved to fl. a big mistake! moving back in june, can't wait. even in central fl., there are hookers. either very, very expensive, or skanky crack hos's. at least the chicas in sosua are mostly beautiful.
If all you do is dress up the bathrooms and put in some more shower heads, you've really done nothing. It's the same as the bar owners on PC doing a makeover on the same tired old bar - and thinking it's going to make them rich.
The beach is very close to being a shanty town, with vendors. What gringo family of four is going to take a repeat vacation to come there? Very few, thats why it's empty all week. From the water line to Rt 5, you've got tons of mature growth trees. Does anybody realize what you could do with that if you drew up the right plan? It could be one giant beachfront park designed to cater to families.
Sosua Beach needs a complete makeover, starting with one guy on a bulldozer.