I am writing this review after visiting the Occidental Allegro Playa Grande from Mar 6-13 2004. In the past I have visited various islands and resorts such as Sans Souci, Jamaica, Decameron Panama, RIU Tequila Mayan Coast etc. This was my fourth trip to the DR with past visits to the areas of Santo Domingo, Boca Chica, Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and Sosua.
This resort is located a good two hour drive East from the Puerto Plata airport. It is located just past the town of Rio San Juan. The next closest resort is located about 40 minutes West and is called the Bahia Principe. The drive to the resort gave you a great opportunity to see the buetiful Dominican countryside as well as view a few towns such as Sosua and Cabarette along the way.
The week we were there the resort was very slow. At most I would say there were maybe 100 people staying there. On the bus trip to the resort there were only two people going to Playa Grande. The remainder got off at Bahia Principe.
Our room was basic but very clean and had two double beds. The view from the deck looked out onto to Pepita?s Garden. Some rooms did have golf course views and partial ocean views but most looked onto garden areas. The rooms had everything that you would need including a safe and satellite television. Our maid did a great job of cleaning each day and on a scale of 10 I would rate the room a 7. A small fridge in the room would have been nice.
The food for the week was very good. We ate the buffet each night for supper. There are two specialty resteraunts at this resort: an Italian and a Brazilian. We did not make it to either during the stay but others commented that both were very good. Each night the buffet had great variety. Most nights there was seafood (my favorite) available. During the week I had shrimp many times, squid, octopus, and many varieties of fish. As well they had duck, roast beef, steak, spare ribs, chicken etc. to choose from. I ate lunch most days at the beach barbeque. Here you had a selection of chicken, pizza, hotdogs, hamburgs, pork chops and sausages. The chicken with ?salsa picante? and pork chops were great. The pork chops were cured like bacon and were probably the best I have ever had. The service at both the buffet and beach were both outstanding. Never did make it to breakfest so I am unable to comment on it. I did however consume a great deal of their Great Dominican coffee which is always a treat ?uno caf? Negro Por Fabor?. On a scale of 10 I would rate the food a 9.
The best part of this resort is the beach. It is truly picturesque and probably rates as the best I have ever visited. The beach is about 1.5 miles long with cliffs at both ends. The beach for the resort is located down a flight of stairs and the public beach is located at the far end about 1 mile away. The public beach was very busy on the Sunday with many local families enjoying a day at the beach. There are food and cerveza stands located at the public beach. During our stay we saw the ocean go from very rough to calm to very rough again. We had two yellow flag days, two green and two red flag days. The boogie boarding was great. During the yellow and red flag days, we saw some waves as high as 14 feet so caution should be taken swimming here. Snorkeling was limited because of the high surf. This beach is a definite 10. One of the best I have ever been to. The beach bar always had plenty of bottles of Presidente and pop to quench your thirst after doing battle with the ocean. A must see beach.
Bar service was also very good. Bartenders Sammy Sosa, Cecelia, Armando and Junior were always happy to see you and gave us to notch service. For friendliness and service I would again rate the bar service a 10. Had a great time with all of my new amigos.
The only down point to this resort was that the pool was nothing special. It was okay but lacked the appeal of many other resort pools I have been to. The shows as well were only okay as half of them involved audience participaton which in most cases turns it into an amateur affair. Closest casino is located at the Bahia Principe. A trip into Rio San Juan is worth while. Also heard from other guests that the trip to Samana to see the whales was incredible.
I am going to write a separate review on the golf course in the golf section. The golf here is definitely rated a 10 out of 10. A must do if you are into golf at all.
I was very pleased with this resort and my stay here. The highlights are definitely the people, the beach and the golf course. For the money this resort is truly a great value. I will definitely return and would give it an overall rating of 9 out of 10. If you are into the beach and golf, you will have a great stay here.
If you would like further information, please don?t hesitate to email me at twhitehead@wightman.ca
Hasta Luego? :knockedou
This resort is located a good two hour drive East from the Puerto Plata airport. It is located just past the town of Rio San Juan. The next closest resort is located about 40 minutes West and is called the Bahia Principe. The drive to the resort gave you a great opportunity to see the buetiful Dominican countryside as well as view a few towns such as Sosua and Cabarette along the way.
The week we were there the resort was very slow. At most I would say there were maybe 100 people staying there. On the bus trip to the resort there were only two people going to Playa Grande. The remainder got off at Bahia Principe.
Our room was basic but very clean and had two double beds. The view from the deck looked out onto to Pepita?s Garden. Some rooms did have golf course views and partial ocean views but most looked onto garden areas. The rooms had everything that you would need including a safe and satellite television. Our maid did a great job of cleaning each day and on a scale of 10 I would rate the room a 7. A small fridge in the room would have been nice.
The food for the week was very good. We ate the buffet each night for supper. There are two specialty resteraunts at this resort: an Italian and a Brazilian. We did not make it to either during the stay but others commented that both were very good. Each night the buffet had great variety. Most nights there was seafood (my favorite) available. During the week I had shrimp many times, squid, octopus, and many varieties of fish. As well they had duck, roast beef, steak, spare ribs, chicken etc. to choose from. I ate lunch most days at the beach barbeque. Here you had a selection of chicken, pizza, hotdogs, hamburgs, pork chops and sausages. The chicken with ?salsa picante? and pork chops were great. The pork chops were cured like bacon and were probably the best I have ever had. The service at both the buffet and beach were both outstanding. Never did make it to breakfest so I am unable to comment on it. I did however consume a great deal of their Great Dominican coffee which is always a treat ?uno caf? Negro Por Fabor?. On a scale of 10 I would rate the food a 9.
The best part of this resort is the beach. It is truly picturesque and probably rates as the best I have ever visited. The beach is about 1.5 miles long with cliffs at both ends. The beach for the resort is located down a flight of stairs and the public beach is located at the far end about 1 mile away. The public beach was very busy on the Sunday with many local families enjoying a day at the beach. There are food and cerveza stands located at the public beach. During our stay we saw the ocean go from very rough to calm to very rough again. We had two yellow flag days, two green and two red flag days. The boogie boarding was great. During the yellow and red flag days, we saw some waves as high as 14 feet so caution should be taken swimming here. Snorkeling was limited because of the high surf. This beach is a definite 10. One of the best I have ever been to. The beach bar always had plenty of bottles of Presidente and pop to quench your thirst after doing battle with the ocean. A must see beach.
Bar service was also very good. Bartenders Sammy Sosa, Cecelia, Armando and Junior were always happy to see you and gave us to notch service. For friendliness and service I would again rate the bar service a 10. Had a great time with all of my new amigos.
The only down point to this resort was that the pool was nothing special. It was okay but lacked the appeal of many other resort pools I have been to. The shows as well were only okay as half of them involved audience participaton which in most cases turns it into an amateur affair. Closest casino is located at the Bahia Principe. A trip into Rio San Juan is worth while. Also heard from other guests that the trip to Samana to see the whales was incredible.
I am going to write a separate review on the golf course in the golf section. The golf here is definitely rated a 10 out of 10. A must do if you are into golf at all.
I was very pleased with this resort and my stay here. The highlights are definitely the people, the beach and the golf course. For the money this resort is truly a great value. I will definitely return and would give it an overall rating of 9 out of 10. If you are into the beach and golf, you will have a great stay here.
If you would like further information, please don?t hesitate to email me at twhitehead@wightman.ca
Hasta Luego? :knockedou
