C
Cramden
Guest
I just returned from a Very Special vacation to the Melia Paradisus Resort in Punta Cana. The reason the trip was so special to me was that on our second night at the Resort I proposed to my VERY patient Girlfriend. We will be returning to the Paradisus for our Honeymoon in September of 2001. I will rate the Resort in categories on a 1-10 scale, as I have found this sort of review to be the most informative.
Check in: 9 Our first glimpse of the Paradisus told us we were in for a treat. You are met at the front of the Hotel by Porters who take your bags and put them to the side and direct you to the front desk. The lobby is open air with marble everywhere and an orange wooden walkway leading to the Check in area. The walkway is situated in between 4 ponds full of Colorful Fish, Turtles and the occasional hungry Crane looking for a snack. Check in was prompt and while going through the formalities, we were given a very refreshing Fruit Drink and a cool washcloth to wash our faces with. I had made a few requests prior to our arrival, such as dinner reservations and a Corner Unit Room near the Pool. I recommend this highly, as some people we met failed to get reservations at some of the nicer Restaurants.
Rooms-9
We were brought with our luggage to our room on a Tram. The porter carried our Luggage in for us, and I tipped him $1.00 per bag. It was not necessary to tip, and at no time on the trip did we feel the service we received was any less when we didn't tip, so use your own discretion. But if your inclined to tip, bring lots of $1.00 as they were impossible to find at the resort. We ended up tipping in Pesos toward the end of the trip. The room was a split level. The bathroom is to the right as you walk in. The bathroom consisted of 2 rooms. The first containing a large Closet with sliding mirrored doors. Inside the closet was the safe. Across from the closet was a large sink surrounded by mirrors extending from the sink to ceiling. If your into mirrors, you'll like this bathroom. On the wall was a Hairdryer, so there is no need to pack one. The second room contained the Shower, Toilet and a Bidet. Heading out of the Bathroom brings you to the sleeping area. Large , Colorful and lots of plants. The air conditioner was VERY powerful, and we found ourselves running it on low most of the time. To the right was a large King-sized Bed surrounded by Mosquito netting (more for show), with a ceiling fan directly above the bed. You walk down 2 steps into the sunken living room which contained 2 Love seats, a Coffee Table, T.V. and the Mini Bar. The Mini Bar contained 2 Presidente Beers, 4 Sodas 4 bottles of Water and 3 Candy Bars. Not much, but enough. Off of the living area were sliding glass doors which led to a sizable patio (corner unit), with 2 chairs and a table.
Grounds-10+
Gorgeous !!! Beautifully manicured everywhere we walked. Tons of Coconut Palms and Hibiscus and Banana Trees. A red brick road winds its way through the Resort, and everywhere we went there were groundskeepers who were raking, sweeping, watering, pruning, you name it they were doing it. It amazed me how many people were actually working on the grounds, but come to think of it, after viewing the end result, I believe it. One word of advice. If you decide to walk to town from the Paradisus and are walking the sidewalks leading from the Resort and see the water sprinklers come on, AVOID THEM. We were heading back to the Resort when the sprinklers came on and immediately caught a smell of sewerage. It took us a few seconds to notice that the water coming from the sprinklers had a brownish tint to it. We finally put 2 and 2 together and realized that at the least the water had some type of fertilizer added to it and at the worst was sewerage water. We were slightly disgusted, but had a good laugh about it. At no time wandering the grounds INSIDE the Resort did we encounter this so feel safe inside.
Beach-10
I've been fortunate enough to have had the ability and means to do some extensive traveling and I think the beach in front of the Paradisus was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen in all of my travels. Approaching the beach you pass through a row of lush palms. In front of the palms are dozens of Palapas and hundreds of Blue Lounge Chairs. The sand was very soft and fine, so walking barefoot was a pleasure. The Ocean was a beautiful Turquoise Blue and the waves were fairly large at times but very inviting. I prefer a Beach with breaking waves as opposed to a calm, lakelike beach like Negril, so this to me was a pleasure. Everyday we walked for miles and miles both North and South of the Paradisus looking at other Resorts. In our opinion, of the 12 or so other Resorts we checked out, the Paradisus was the most beautiful we encountered, and the Beach in front of it was the cleanest and widest we encountered.
Pool- 10
We didn't spend much time at the Pool as the Beach was so nice, but we enjoyed the time we did spend there. You almost get the feeling when your at the Pool that you are in an entirely different Resort. It's HUGE. 5 1/2 feet at it's deepest, but it goes on forever. It's sectioned off in several different little lagoons which are all interconnected. The Pool Bar was a large Palapa which had about a dozen seats in the water, and another dozen to the backside outside of the water. Between 10 am and noon we found out you could get special drinks served in a Coconut. Very nice touch. It's funny, because it seemed every day by far the largest group of Americans we encountered was at the Pool. Singing Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley and songs from the Grease soundtrack, it was like being at home.
Service Staff-9
Outside of a few times we had to call to have the Mini Bar restocked, and once room service not showing up at all after we called, the service was great. Many people have commented that service is very slow, but we found it more than satisfactory for us. Our Maid, Maria Sol was wonderful. Everyday she did little extras for us such as making a heart out of a towel and filling it with flowers and leaving it on our bed. Something unique everyday. Compres, at the Hybiscus Bar was also great. He saw me smoking a Cigar at the Bar and gave me several Paradisus private label Cigars. They were surprisingly good, and are also available free of charge just by asking at the El Romantico Restaurant. Amaurey, in the El Romantico was also great. These are just a few of the names I remember, but like I said EVERYONE tried very hard to please. Communication was never that much of a problem. Don't go there with the attitude that you've paid allot of money for your vacation, so they should speak English. If that's your attitude go to the Virgin Islands or Aruba. We heard more than a few Americans express this attitude and it ticked us off that some people could be so small minded. Enjoy the diversity. We loved trying to make ourselves understood and trying to understand others(French, German, Spanish). Smile, and treat it like a game. Some Spanish does help, but if the staff can't understand you, the will find someone who can.
Food-8 For the most part the food was very good. I'll break it down by individual Restaurants that we tried.
El Romantico- We ate there twice. Classical French. The Restaurant is beautiful. Like the name says, it's very romantic. The service is impeccable. Waiters in black suits with white gloves were attentive by not intrusive. The wine list is OK, but not great. I didn't imagine that we would find Opus 1 at an All Inclusive, so it wasn't unexpected. We had Appetizers of Red Peppers stuffed with a Lobster Mousse and their version of a Shrimp Cocktail. Both were great. For our entree's I had Lamb Loin Medallions and Denise had the Filet Mignon with Lobster tails. Both also wonderful. The only disappointment was the Dessert Cart. The Desserts looked like they were bought in a supermarket Bakery, and the cake we tried tasted like it. The second night we had the same Appetizers followed by the Crab Bisque. Also very good. We followed this with the Chateau Briand for 2 which was carved and plated tableside. A very nice touch. The Tenderloin was not quite as tender as we get here in the States, but the flavor was OUTSTANDING. We decided to have the Flambe for dessert. It was very good. The show of them making it tableside was great, the actual dessert, good. Grade 9
Chino-Chinese, as the name would suggest. Open aired near the pool and illuminated by Red Chinese Lanterns. We started with Fried Chicken Dumplings with a soy dipping sauce and hot mustard. Very Good. Following this was Hot and Sour Soup which was full of mushrooms, bamboo shoots and tofu but a little thin tasting. A splash of soy helped. For Entree's , I had the Chinese Duck and Denise had the Pork and Chicken Chow Mein. The Duck was very good, and the Chow Mein OK. We had a Banana dessert served a flame with rum. Again it looked better than it tasted. Grade 8
Dolce Vita- Italian. We ate here for Dinner our first night, but later discovered we could get lunch here a la carte as opposed to the Buffets at the Hybiscus and Palapa Grill, as well as Pizza and Calzone delivered to our room up until 10pm or picked up until 3am. Reservations are not needed here, so you can wear shorts as opposed to the others (Hybiscus excluded) which require a collared shirt and long pants. We were seated and handed a wine list (all of the wines are on display at the front of the Restaurant so you can see them) and brought a basket of Grilled Garlic Bread, Grissini Breadsticks and a Fresh Cold Tomato dipping sauce. We ordered Apps of Parma Prosciutto and White Asparagus (canned) and a Fresh Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad. Both Good. For our Entree's I had the Osso Bucco Milanese and Denise had the Farfalle with Smoked Salmon. The Osso Bucco was wonderful, except for the fact it was served with Bow Tie Pasta in a Bolognaise Sauce as opposed to Risotto. The Farfalle was excellent. We split an order of Profiteroles (cream puffs) for dessert. Later in the week we tried the Calzone, Paradisus Pizza, Agnolotti which was actually Tortellini, and Grilled Cannelloni. All were very good, especially the late night Pizza and Calzone (now can you see why we walked for hours each day?
. Grade-9
Antojitos- This is their Mexican Restaurant located up near the lobby. We chose to sit outside on the patio and this was the only place that i received any type of mosquito bites. It was only a few, but if your concerned bring repellent. We started with the Tortilla Soup which was a Tomato based soup with strips of corn tortillas tossed in. Very Good. we followed this with the Paradisus Platter which was sort of a Mexican Pu Pu platter. For our entree's I had the Smothered Sirloin which was tasty but tough, and Denise had the Saut?ed Shrimp. It was excellent. For dessert we had 2 Flaming Coffees. They were also excellent. Grade-8
Sakura- This was the brand new Japanese Restaurant. Having just opened 2 weeks ago, I expected problems and there were. The Restaurant was beautiful. We were led to a waiting area upon arrival and handed a small cup of warm Sake. They try to sit you with others who speak your language, so we waited until all of the reservation arrived. 10 of us were led to another room and seated around a table with a flat top grill in the middle. We had a choice of Seafood Tempura or a Tofu Salad for Apps. I had the Tempura which consisted of Lobster, Crab, Calimari and I think Snapper. It was great. Denise had the Salad and it was not very good. Iceberg lettuce chopped fine with a not terrible vinaigrette and lightly fried soggy Tofu chunks on top. For your entree you had a choice of Beef, Chicken of Seafood. I had the Chicken and Denise had the Beef. The Chef needs to work on his skills. Most of the food stuck to the grill and had to be scraped off of the grill and put on our plates, and the flavors were pretty bland. With some practice and time to get the kinks out it should be good, but for now I would avoid it. For dessert you're brought to another room so they can use the grill room for another group. We had the Fried Ice Cream and an Espresso. Grade-6
Palapa Grill- We only had lunch here but it was very good. Try to get the grilled Lobster Tails early. There always seemed to be a line waiting for them. If your idea of Lobster is a Big Maine Lobster, you may be disappointed. The warm water Lobster found in the Caribbean is similar but not as good as it's Northern Cold Water Cousin. Grade-7
Hybiscus Buffet- For a Buffet it was great. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner were all tasty and plentiful. I'm not big on Buffets, so we only ate dinner here once. In the morning be careful. The Blackbirds will dive-bomb your table in search of food. Actually it's not as bad as I make it sound. It was quite entertaining watching them carry away cookies almost as big as they were from the pastry table. Grade-7
Casino-8
Very small but entertaining. It consisted of 1 room with maybe 5 blackjack tables, 2 or 3 Caribbean Poker tables, 2 Roulette tables and 6 or 7 Slot Machines. I was told you had to pay for drinks in here, but they were free when we were there, Maybe their policy changed. My first night there I won $150 playing blackjack, but gave most of it back during the course of the week. That's OK though, I had fun and played with House Money all week!!
Bars-9
There were bars in the Casino, Lobby, Hybiscus, Pool, Palapa Grill and Beach as well as the Fun Pub, in the Lobby which didn't open until 11:30pm. My favorites were the Hybiscus, which was very large and service friendly and fast, and the Lobby Bar which was Open Air and had a nice breeze at night as well as a Piano Player taking requests. The seats in the Lounge at the Lobby Bar are very Comfortable oversized Wicker Chairs. A great place to have a drink and Smoke a Faux Cuban Cigar. The Pool Bar, of course was very nice.
Other Items of interest.
There are 4 very nice Tennis Courts at the front of the Hotel. You have to make reservations to play and I would suggest to wait until after 6pm. The courts are lighted so it's better to play later in the day, We tried playing at 4pm and wilted from the heat.
Shopping is very expensive at the Resort. For example, suntan lotion was $15 a bottle so bring everything that you need. Walking up and down the beach you will find T-Shirts, Stone Carvings, Cigars, Rum, Seashells, Jewelry and other such trinkets for sale. Settle for about 1/2 of the original price before you buy. If they say no, walk to the next store. They will stop You before You leave and agree to your price. Be Firm, your not insulting them, that's just the way they do business. If you want Cigars, the best place I found for reasonably good ones was Captain Cooks, about 1 mile south down the beach. Avoid any Cohiba's in a Glass top box.
Some people have complained about the lack of Top Shelf Liquor in the past. It seemed the Resort has listened to those complaints. Absolute, Dewars, Grand Marnier, Tia Maria, Jack Daniel's etc..as well as Heineken and Beck's were available, so the problem seems to be somewhat solved.
In Closing- I would like to thank all members of this Forum for any information they have contributed while I was researching our trip. I would not think twice about recommending the Paradisus to anyone considering a vacation to the D.R. If anyone has any questions feel free to e-mail me at cramden@vgernet.net.
Thanks, Cramden & Denise April 2000.
Check in: 9 Our first glimpse of the Paradisus told us we were in for a treat. You are met at the front of the Hotel by Porters who take your bags and put them to the side and direct you to the front desk. The lobby is open air with marble everywhere and an orange wooden walkway leading to the Check in area. The walkway is situated in between 4 ponds full of Colorful Fish, Turtles and the occasional hungry Crane looking for a snack. Check in was prompt and while going through the formalities, we were given a very refreshing Fruit Drink and a cool washcloth to wash our faces with. I had made a few requests prior to our arrival, such as dinner reservations and a Corner Unit Room near the Pool. I recommend this highly, as some people we met failed to get reservations at some of the nicer Restaurants.
Rooms-9
We were brought with our luggage to our room on a Tram. The porter carried our Luggage in for us, and I tipped him $1.00 per bag. It was not necessary to tip, and at no time on the trip did we feel the service we received was any less when we didn't tip, so use your own discretion. But if your inclined to tip, bring lots of $1.00 as they were impossible to find at the resort. We ended up tipping in Pesos toward the end of the trip. The room was a split level. The bathroom is to the right as you walk in. The bathroom consisted of 2 rooms. The first containing a large Closet with sliding mirrored doors. Inside the closet was the safe. Across from the closet was a large sink surrounded by mirrors extending from the sink to ceiling. If your into mirrors, you'll like this bathroom. On the wall was a Hairdryer, so there is no need to pack one. The second room contained the Shower, Toilet and a Bidet. Heading out of the Bathroom brings you to the sleeping area. Large , Colorful and lots of plants. The air conditioner was VERY powerful, and we found ourselves running it on low most of the time. To the right was a large King-sized Bed surrounded by Mosquito netting (more for show), with a ceiling fan directly above the bed. You walk down 2 steps into the sunken living room which contained 2 Love seats, a Coffee Table, T.V. and the Mini Bar. The Mini Bar contained 2 Presidente Beers, 4 Sodas 4 bottles of Water and 3 Candy Bars. Not much, but enough. Off of the living area were sliding glass doors which led to a sizable patio (corner unit), with 2 chairs and a table.
Grounds-10+
Gorgeous !!! Beautifully manicured everywhere we walked. Tons of Coconut Palms and Hibiscus and Banana Trees. A red brick road winds its way through the Resort, and everywhere we went there were groundskeepers who were raking, sweeping, watering, pruning, you name it they were doing it. It amazed me how many people were actually working on the grounds, but come to think of it, after viewing the end result, I believe it. One word of advice. If you decide to walk to town from the Paradisus and are walking the sidewalks leading from the Resort and see the water sprinklers come on, AVOID THEM. We were heading back to the Resort when the sprinklers came on and immediately caught a smell of sewerage. It took us a few seconds to notice that the water coming from the sprinklers had a brownish tint to it. We finally put 2 and 2 together and realized that at the least the water had some type of fertilizer added to it and at the worst was sewerage water. We were slightly disgusted, but had a good laugh about it. At no time wandering the grounds INSIDE the Resort did we encounter this so feel safe inside.
Beach-10
I've been fortunate enough to have had the ability and means to do some extensive traveling and I think the beach in front of the Paradisus was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen in all of my travels. Approaching the beach you pass through a row of lush palms. In front of the palms are dozens of Palapas and hundreds of Blue Lounge Chairs. The sand was very soft and fine, so walking barefoot was a pleasure. The Ocean was a beautiful Turquoise Blue and the waves were fairly large at times but very inviting. I prefer a Beach with breaking waves as opposed to a calm, lakelike beach like Negril, so this to me was a pleasure. Everyday we walked for miles and miles both North and South of the Paradisus looking at other Resorts. In our opinion, of the 12 or so other Resorts we checked out, the Paradisus was the most beautiful we encountered, and the Beach in front of it was the cleanest and widest we encountered.
Pool- 10
We didn't spend much time at the Pool as the Beach was so nice, but we enjoyed the time we did spend there. You almost get the feeling when your at the Pool that you are in an entirely different Resort. It's HUGE. 5 1/2 feet at it's deepest, but it goes on forever. It's sectioned off in several different little lagoons which are all interconnected. The Pool Bar was a large Palapa which had about a dozen seats in the water, and another dozen to the backside outside of the water. Between 10 am and noon we found out you could get special drinks served in a Coconut. Very nice touch. It's funny, because it seemed every day by far the largest group of Americans we encountered was at the Pool. Singing Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley and songs from the Grease soundtrack, it was like being at home.
Service Staff-9
Outside of a few times we had to call to have the Mini Bar restocked, and once room service not showing up at all after we called, the service was great. Many people have commented that service is very slow, but we found it more than satisfactory for us. Our Maid, Maria Sol was wonderful. Everyday she did little extras for us such as making a heart out of a towel and filling it with flowers and leaving it on our bed. Something unique everyday. Compres, at the Hybiscus Bar was also great. He saw me smoking a Cigar at the Bar and gave me several Paradisus private label Cigars. They were surprisingly good, and are also available free of charge just by asking at the El Romantico Restaurant. Amaurey, in the El Romantico was also great. These are just a few of the names I remember, but like I said EVERYONE tried very hard to please. Communication was never that much of a problem. Don't go there with the attitude that you've paid allot of money for your vacation, so they should speak English. If that's your attitude go to the Virgin Islands or Aruba. We heard more than a few Americans express this attitude and it ticked us off that some people could be so small minded. Enjoy the diversity. We loved trying to make ourselves understood and trying to understand others(French, German, Spanish). Smile, and treat it like a game. Some Spanish does help, but if the staff can't understand you, the will find someone who can.
Food-8 For the most part the food was very good. I'll break it down by individual Restaurants that we tried.
El Romantico- We ate there twice. Classical French. The Restaurant is beautiful. Like the name says, it's very romantic. The service is impeccable. Waiters in black suits with white gloves were attentive by not intrusive. The wine list is OK, but not great. I didn't imagine that we would find Opus 1 at an All Inclusive, so it wasn't unexpected. We had Appetizers of Red Peppers stuffed with a Lobster Mousse and their version of a Shrimp Cocktail. Both were great. For our entree's I had Lamb Loin Medallions and Denise had the Filet Mignon with Lobster tails. Both also wonderful. The only disappointment was the Dessert Cart. The Desserts looked like they were bought in a supermarket Bakery, and the cake we tried tasted like it. The second night we had the same Appetizers followed by the Crab Bisque. Also very good. We followed this with the Chateau Briand for 2 which was carved and plated tableside. A very nice touch. The Tenderloin was not quite as tender as we get here in the States, but the flavor was OUTSTANDING. We decided to have the Flambe for dessert. It was very good. The show of them making it tableside was great, the actual dessert, good. Grade 9
Chino-Chinese, as the name would suggest. Open aired near the pool and illuminated by Red Chinese Lanterns. We started with Fried Chicken Dumplings with a soy dipping sauce and hot mustard. Very Good. Following this was Hot and Sour Soup which was full of mushrooms, bamboo shoots and tofu but a little thin tasting. A splash of soy helped. For Entree's , I had the Chinese Duck and Denise had the Pork and Chicken Chow Mein. The Duck was very good, and the Chow Mein OK. We had a Banana dessert served a flame with rum. Again it looked better than it tasted. Grade 8
Dolce Vita- Italian. We ate here for Dinner our first night, but later discovered we could get lunch here a la carte as opposed to the Buffets at the Hybiscus and Palapa Grill, as well as Pizza and Calzone delivered to our room up until 10pm or picked up until 3am. Reservations are not needed here, so you can wear shorts as opposed to the others (Hybiscus excluded) which require a collared shirt and long pants. We were seated and handed a wine list (all of the wines are on display at the front of the Restaurant so you can see them) and brought a basket of Grilled Garlic Bread, Grissini Breadsticks and a Fresh Cold Tomato dipping sauce. We ordered Apps of Parma Prosciutto and White Asparagus (canned) and a Fresh Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad. Both Good. For our Entree's I had the Osso Bucco Milanese and Denise had the Farfalle with Smoked Salmon. The Osso Bucco was wonderful, except for the fact it was served with Bow Tie Pasta in a Bolognaise Sauce as opposed to Risotto. The Farfalle was excellent. We split an order of Profiteroles (cream puffs) for dessert. Later in the week we tried the Calzone, Paradisus Pizza, Agnolotti which was actually Tortellini, and Grilled Cannelloni. All were very good, especially the late night Pizza and Calzone (now can you see why we walked for hours each day?
. Grade-9Antojitos- This is their Mexican Restaurant located up near the lobby. We chose to sit outside on the patio and this was the only place that i received any type of mosquito bites. It was only a few, but if your concerned bring repellent. We started with the Tortilla Soup which was a Tomato based soup with strips of corn tortillas tossed in. Very Good. we followed this with the Paradisus Platter which was sort of a Mexican Pu Pu platter. For our entree's I had the Smothered Sirloin which was tasty but tough, and Denise had the Saut?ed Shrimp. It was excellent. For dessert we had 2 Flaming Coffees. They were also excellent. Grade-8
Sakura- This was the brand new Japanese Restaurant. Having just opened 2 weeks ago, I expected problems and there were. The Restaurant was beautiful. We were led to a waiting area upon arrival and handed a small cup of warm Sake. They try to sit you with others who speak your language, so we waited until all of the reservation arrived. 10 of us were led to another room and seated around a table with a flat top grill in the middle. We had a choice of Seafood Tempura or a Tofu Salad for Apps. I had the Tempura which consisted of Lobster, Crab, Calimari and I think Snapper. It was great. Denise had the Salad and it was not very good. Iceberg lettuce chopped fine with a not terrible vinaigrette and lightly fried soggy Tofu chunks on top. For your entree you had a choice of Beef, Chicken of Seafood. I had the Chicken and Denise had the Beef. The Chef needs to work on his skills. Most of the food stuck to the grill and had to be scraped off of the grill and put on our plates, and the flavors were pretty bland. With some practice and time to get the kinks out it should be good, but for now I would avoid it. For dessert you're brought to another room so they can use the grill room for another group. We had the Fried Ice Cream and an Espresso. Grade-6
Palapa Grill- We only had lunch here but it was very good. Try to get the grilled Lobster Tails early. There always seemed to be a line waiting for them. If your idea of Lobster is a Big Maine Lobster, you may be disappointed. The warm water Lobster found in the Caribbean is similar but not as good as it's Northern Cold Water Cousin. Grade-7
Hybiscus Buffet- For a Buffet it was great. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner were all tasty and plentiful. I'm not big on Buffets, so we only ate dinner here once. In the morning be careful. The Blackbirds will dive-bomb your table in search of food. Actually it's not as bad as I make it sound. It was quite entertaining watching them carry away cookies almost as big as they were from the pastry table. Grade-7
Casino-8
Very small but entertaining. It consisted of 1 room with maybe 5 blackjack tables, 2 or 3 Caribbean Poker tables, 2 Roulette tables and 6 or 7 Slot Machines. I was told you had to pay for drinks in here, but they were free when we were there, Maybe their policy changed. My first night there I won $150 playing blackjack, but gave most of it back during the course of the week. That's OK though, I had fun and played with House Money all week!!
Bars-9
There were bars in the Casino, Lobby, Hybiscus, Pool, Palapa Grill and Beach as well as the Fun Pub, in the Lobby which didn't open until 11:30pm. My favorites were the Hybiscus, which was very large and service friendly and fast, and the Lobby Bar which was Open Air and had a nice breeze at night as well as a Piano Player taking requests. The seats in the Lounge at the Lobby Bar are very Comfortable oversized Wicker Chairs. A great place to have a drink and Smoke a Faux Cuban Cigar. The Pool Bar, of course was very nice.
Other Items of interest.
There are 4 very nice Tennis Courts at the front of the Hotel. You have to make reservations to play and I would suggest to wait until after 6pm. The courts are lighted so it's better to play later in the day, We tried playing at 4pm and wilted from the heat.
Shopping is very expensive at the Resort. For example, suntan lotion was $15 a bottle so bring everything that you need. Walking up and down the beach you will find T-Shirts, Stone Carvings, Cigars, Rum, Seashells, Jewelry and other such trinkets for sale. Settle for about 1/2 of the original price before you buy. If they say no, walk to the next store. They will stop You before You leave and agree to your price. Be Firm, your not insulting them, that's just the way they do business. If you want Cigars, the best place I found for reasonably good ones was Captain Cooks, about 1 mile south down the beach. Avoid any Cohiba's in a Glass top box.
Some people have complained about the lack of Top Shelf Liquor in the past. It seemed the Resort has listened to those complaints. Absolute, Dewars, Grand Marnier, Tia Maria, Jack Daniel's etc..as well as Heineken and Beck's were available, so the problem seems to be somewhat solved.
In Closing- I would like to thank all members of this Forum for any information they have contributed while I was researching our trip. I would not think twice about recommending the Paradisus to anyone considering a vacation to the D.R. If anyone has any questions feel free to e-mail me at cramden@vgernet.net.
Thanks, Cramden & Denise April 2000.