My recent holiday bought through Lunn Poly’s web site (a Thomson Holiday), was to a place called Playa Dorada on the Northern (Amber) Coast of República Dominicana (Dominican Republic to us English!) I bought this holiday from Lunn Poly (Thomson) because of their reputation in the holiday industry and I must say that they were as good as they claimed in the adverts! The rep was extremely helpful and informative and she was very pleasant too.
This part of the island is called the Amber Coast because of the abundance of amber found there, you will find a huge amount of amber jewellery to buy, along with black jade and the gem that is unique to the Dominican Republic, larimar, which is a gorgeous sea-blue stone. Beware though, larimar jewellery can be quite expensive but, if you are getting engaged as a couple did whilst I was there, then it is worth it to get something extra special and unique to the place.
I found Playa Dorada to be an absolutely beautiful place and one that I would recommend to others and to which I will definitely go again. I had been a bit sceptical about going after listening to others who kindly informed me that I may experience hurricanes, tropical rain, illness from the food and/or malaria tablets, etc., etc. But I must say that to anyone who has heard any negative rumours - DO NOT LISTEN - It is a wonderful place- truly magnificent, full of exotic flowers, palm trees, aqua-blue ocean, white sands. I saw humming birds hovering in the trees and vivid coloured fish swimming around my legs.
My hotel was called Amhsa Paradise Beach Club & Casino and was extremely lovely, the food was great - hot food was boiling hot and cold food was on ice, they provided all our purified water and the ice was also made from this. Not a tummy upset in sight! The accommodation was spotlessly clean and bedding and towels were changed daily, they also provided clean beach towels daily so there is no need to take any towels at all - I didn’t know this and packed loads and duly lugged them home again unused !!
I found the Spanish speaking locals who worked at the hotel to be extremely friendly, warm people always willing to help and great fun. They are pretty good at English but really appreciate you trying your hand at Spanish. The hotel organised fun hours around the pool every day and shows every night - my children had a great time participating in the games. Being an All Inclusive holiday I needed very little spending money, simply some for gifts and T-shirts for the children. There are trips that you can go on if you wish which average around 30-40 $US per person (reductions for children), so if you are into this, then obviously you’ll need extra spending money. The local currency is the Dominican Peso (my hotel had it’s own Bureau de Change where you could change most currencies into Pesos), but you can also spend US Dollars in most places.
The only negative that I could say about the place is that the insect bites are a pain but this is only a minor irritation and worth suffering for the wonderful time to be had. They can’t be that bad - we have only been home four weeks and are already desperate to go again, so I think this illustrates the calibre of the place.
If you want to experience the true definition of paradise then visit the beautiful North Coast of the Dominican Republic and PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU !!!