- Thread starter ju10prd
- Start date
Punta Rucia/Monte Cristi
Trip Report
I’ve found what I think is heaven in the Dominican Republic.
A small special hotel but within the ambience of a location.
That place is Punta Rucia Lodge.
http://www.puntarucialodge.com/
I’ve travelled extensively in the tropics and in DR, and this small French owner hotel deserves the highest accolade when it comes to hospitality, location and real value. My expertise is in the design and construction of hospitality properties and I was fully appreciative of so much that the owner had put in place on a sandy beachfront between the two known beaches of Punta Rucia which are both within a lazy beach stroll in either direction.
The vistas that surround the bay are supreme…..those lovely rolling and unevenly shaped hills.
The hotel has a jetty to take you out to deeper water short of the reef. This jetty becomes a focus from wherever you are in the resort and especially the lovely infinity edge pool. It was a focus from one of the beach facing bungalows I chose too.
The hotel is small and has an occupancy of only mid-thirties when full and at weekend this is often the case. Mid-week in April was perfect with only four couples on vacation.
The rooms are spacious and the bed king sized. Simple construction throughout with masonry and concrete frame and cana roof covering to give an authentic look. A/c was sized to suit the room and a small balcony provided private laziness. I took several bottles of wine to wine away evenings and that is ok in the rooms but no corking service exists elsewhere.
The bar and restaurant are ideally located at the end of the pool with just the right amount of deck area and pool side beds. There is a pool table and one NA who was entertaining his younger tattooed guest for the same period enjoyed this facility.
One didn’t want to leave the hotel other than beach walks. There was the option of a boat trip to Cayo Arena which is a sand bar with a few wooden shacks for shade and attracts coach tours from elsewhere, but that got a miss.
The star turn is to visit the manatee sanctuary as promoted by dv8 (super thanks for this pearl of advice). Not readily signposted nor promoted but a must see. It lies a few kilometers north of the town with a battered sign only for incoming traffic. You head down a dirt road for a kilometer and reach a small lodge. You can find a guide there and he will walk you to a new under construction wood viewing platform over the salt water channel…but nothing much on view yet…..so we were told to go see the regular platform which is two levels and short car ride away. Now with claps of hands we see all manner of contortions from the small manatee population in the mid-thirties. You see snouts and flippers in the brackish water on hand clap call. Not surprising there are so few if they only mate every 5 years!! The area is a wetland and there is plenty to watch out for if you are so inclined……seeing so many owls was a pleasure.
We tried both beaches and had some wonderful fresh dorado cooked for lunch. There is nothing much in the small town/village other than dusty unpaved roads
Playa La Ensenada was lovely and picturesque to see but has become a typical Dominican playground with plenty of covered tables and beach chairs serving all manner of food and drinks with music to a visiting crown and especially apparently at weekends. For us it was a beach walk away and hidden around the point.
I apparently chose the worst road option to arrive at the resort via Villa Elisa…and in wet weather the last few kilometers would be tricky without 4-wheel drive. The best way in is from Laguna Salada apparently.
On our last day we went to Monte Cristi, again via the inferior road to Villa Elisa to save time. Seems selling goat is a big thing in the area adjacent Villa Elisa…plenty of skinned goat hung up along the road……much better than the roadside shacks in Haina on Sanchez with skinned goats alongside living goats.
Did as much as we could for a day trip to Monte Cristi. Saw the centre of town, the clock tower, a closed museum, some older buildings, the bay views, the salt works (no so good as Las Salinas), and El Morro which is worth the visit alone and those pictures are real on how it looks. Ate at the recommended restaurant (Coco Mar) and enjoyed albondigas de pescado. Didn’t have time for a detour to Buen Hombre this time…hope the road is good.
The experience at Punta Rucia Lodge was so very good that we will be back and being less than four hours from the capital it is well worth it.
Best of DR….YES
I’ve found what I think is heaven in the Dominican Republic.
A small special hotel but within the ambience of a location.
That place is Punta Rucia Lodge.
http://www.puntarucialodge.com/
I’ve travelled extensively in the tropics and in DR, and this small French owner hotel deserves the highest accolade when it comes to hospitality, location and real value. My expertise is in the design and construction of hospitality properties and I was fully appreciative of so much that the owner had put in place on a sandy beachfront between the two known beaches of Punta Rucia which are both within a lazy beach stroll in either direction.
The vistas that surround the bay are supreme…..those lovely rolling and unevenly shaped hills.
The hotel has a jetty to take you out to deeper water short of the reef. This jetty becomes a focus from wherever you are in the resort and especially the lovely infinity edge pool. It was a focus from one of the beach facing bungalows I chose too.
The hotel is small and has an occupancy of only mid-thirties when full and at weekend this is often the case. Mid-week in April was perfect with only four couples on vacation.
The rooms are spacious and the bed king sized. Simple construction throughout with masonry and concrete frame and cana roof covering to give an authentic look. A/c was sized to suit the room and a small balcony provided private laziness. I took several bottles of wine to wine away evenings and that is ok in the rooms but no corking service exists elsewhere.
The bar and restaurant are ideally located at the end of the pool with just the right amount of deck area and pool side beds. There is a pool table and one NA who was entertaining his younger tattooed guest for the same period enjoyed this facility.
One didn’t want to leave the hotel other than beach walks. There was the option of a boat trip to Cayo Arena which is a sand bar with a few wooden shacks for shade and attracts coach tours from elsewhere, but that got a miss.
The star turn is to visit the manatee sanctuary as promoted by dv8 (super thanks for this pearl of advice). Not readily signposted nor promoted but a must see. It lies a few kilometers north of the town with a battered sign only for incoming traffic. You head down a dirt road for a kilometer and reach a small lodge. You can find a guide there and he will walk you to a new under construction wood viewing platform over the salt water channel…but nothing much on view yet…..so we were told to go see the regular platform which is two levels and short car ride away. Now with claps of hands we see all manner of contortions from the small manatee population in the mid-thirties. You see snouts and flippers in the brackish water on hand clap call. Not surprising there are so few if they only mate every 5 years!! The area is a wetland and there is plenty to watch out for if you are so inclined……seeing so many owls was a pleasure.
We tried both beaches and had some wonderful fresh dorado cooked for lunch. There is nothing much in the small town/village other than dusty unpaved roads
Playa La Ensenada was lovely and picturesque to see but has become a typical Dominican playground with plenty of covered tables and beach chairs serving all manner of food and drinks with music to a visiting crown and especially apparently at weekends. For us it was a beach walk away and hidden around the point.
I apparently chose the worst road option to arrive at the resort via Villa Elisa…and in wet weather the last few kilometers would be tricky without 4-wheel drive. The best way in is from Laguna Salada apparently.
On our last day we went to Monte Cristi, again via the inferior road to Villa Elisa to save time. Seems selling goat is a big thing in the area adjacent Villa Elisa…plenty of skinned goat hung up along the road……much better than the roadside shacks in Haina on Sanchez with skinned goats alongside living goats.
Did as much as we could for a day trip to Monte Cristi. Saw the centre of town, the clock tower, a closed museum, some older buildings, the bay views, the salt works (no so good as Las Salinas), and El Morro which is worth the visit alone and those pictures are real on how it looks. Ate at the recommended restaurant (Coco Mar) and enjoyed albondigas de pescado. Didn’t have time for a detour to Buen Hombre this time…hope the road is good.
The experience at Punta Rucia Lodge was so very good that we will be back and being less than four hours from the capital it is well worth it.
Best of DR….YES
Yes that is the name it is called in the old Rough Guide to Dominican Republic that I have.
Punta Rucia Lodge is apparently 5 years old
