From http://dr1.com/hotels/database/EasPunMeliVJ5LUOD1.htm: Plaza Bavaro On my first night out, I went to the disco at the Melia Bavaro, starting out about 11:30pm. There wasn?t a single guest in the disco, so the staff directed me to a more lively place which they said was located just around the corner outside of the resort. I hopped in a cab and 30 seconds later I was there. Yes, 30 seconds. It literally was right around the corner and if I had known, I could have walked the 500 yards. Around the corner from the hotel entrance is Plaza Bavaro. At night, there are 4 bars to choose from. Rincon Salsa is a shoe-box of a bar that is jam packed with Dominicans that work at the local resorts. It was too crowded for my taste and I didn?t like the style of music so next I went and had a beer at one of the two outdoor bars in the plaza across the street. These are open-air bars and the one was playing Bachata, my favorite kind of music. There weren?t but a few other people around so after I got bored, I went into Cocos?s Disco, which had a short line to get in and was charging RD$60 (US$3.75) cover charge. They said the cover charge included a free drink but I never got mine the first night. Inside it was large and modern with carved out coconuts for ash trays. They had a good sized dance floor and it was about 75% tourists and 25% locals, mostly young Dominicans hanging in groups, more women than men. It was casually elegant but the Dominicans were dressed in nightclub wear. Outside was a nice deck with a romantic setting but after having a taste of that air conditioning, I opted to stay inside and there wasn?t anybody else outside anyway. There was a bit of a crowd hanging out in the street as I was leaving so I spent my last half hour talking with locals that were hanging out, most trying to sell something. There were food vendors, motoconchos (taxi by motorcycle as is common for short distances in the Dominican Republic), a few beggars, etc. I walked back to the hotel, as I had been advised that if I were to use a motoconcho to go back, they could only take me as far as the hotel entrance (about 200 feet) and I?d still have to walk the long grand entrance way of about 300 feet to enter the hotel. I only considered it because I was hot and knew that once I reached the reception of the hotel, I still had about 1/4 mile walk through the resort back to the room. During the day, Veronica and I want back out to the plaza to check out the stores. There was a bank, a pharmacy, a couple of small grocery stores, but mostly it was filled with dozens and dozens of tourist type stores selling everything from bathing suits to paintings to wood carvings to Caribbean jewelry. Each and every store front and 1 or 2 people in front heckling us to come in an look at their stuff. It was a most annoying walk and we left. Also, Veronica felt the presence of armed guards was intimidating.
