What's with all the negativity here people? Bizarre.
This has nothing to do with what the laws in DR are, or the fact that this is a third world country. Not everybody is as savvy as the people on this board in terms of what to expect in a country like DR. Many punters walk into their high street holiday makers and hear about the DR for the first time.
If the representations in the sales and marketing collateral in said retailer set false expectations, or don't adequately disclose the risks associated with coming to a place like this, then it seems perfectly acceptable to pursue some form of remedy if something goes wrong.
Put another way, the fact that everybody here is claiming that Dominican hotels are negligent about health and safety and that it's buyer beware -- could in it's own be grounds for a remedy - ie. the holiday maker could be liable for not disclosing the systemic negligence in this country when it comes to safety standards.
Anyways, Mike85! I can share just 2 things from personal experience:
1. I shared a flight with an exec from Air Canada Vacations a few years ago. His comment was that ACV every year reviews and audits the resorts in Punta Cana that they list in their catalogs and frequently removes ones that don't pass their safety requirements.
Some scenarios and requirements he discussed (from memory, and may seem random) were things like:
a) what the ratio of rooms to de-fibrulators was
b) accessibility to a firetruck - if there was going to be new years eve fireworks at the hotel
c) vendor management process for local 'excursion tour operators'
d) review of domestic planes used (some tour operators were offering short day flights + diving experiences) etc.
My recommendation would be -- if you're pursuing a legal remedy against a tour operator, surely the same or other tour operator would have their own internal safety review of each resort that they package/sell to consumers in the UK.
2. I've only stayed at 3 local hotels/pools that are western friendly (let's say 4 or 5 star joints). All the pools have some documentation on the side in english, things like 'no running, no naked sun bathing etc'. Nobody pays attention, but there is documentation there. Which would suggest that there's probably internal documentation for the cleanliness of said pools.
If you're physically here, you could go down to some of the American owned chains like Hotel Jaragua (marriot) or maybe the hilton, and ask the pool people nicely if they have a manual that discusses health and safety procedures...
my 2 cents.
