Ciao - for people with opinions

Latest reviews Latest questions
Write a review Latest videos
Special offers
Home > Travel > Caribbean > Dominican Republic > Dominican Republic Experience > General: Dominican Republic

User Reviews

for General: Dominican Republic

Rating Summary based on 43 reviews

  • 5 Stars
    		30
  • 4 Stars
    		9
  • 3 Stars
    		3
  • 2 Stars
    		1
  • 1 Star
    		0

Detailed rating

  • Ease of getting around
  • Family Friendly
  • Nightlife
  • Shopping
  • Sightseeing
  		• 2.8
  		• 4.5
  		• 3.5
  		• 3.0
  		• 4.5
Previous page Next page Page 1 of 5 | 1 to 10 out of 43 Review(s)
  • 55 of 55 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Kingseany

    Level 5 Kingseany

    Member since 04/03/2003

    Reviews written: 99

    4 Stars More than just sun, sea and sand Review with images 21/02/2004
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Ideal holiday for anyone

    Disadvantages Disadvantages This is a poor country

    As with most of my travel opinions, they don't go into detail about the history, the geographical statistics or the polictical state, you can get that information from any travel related site. I'll also not be spending any time describing the hotel in any depth, having already written a full review on the Riu Merengue. I will however detail some of our observations and experiences of a recent trip (January 2004) to the Dominican Republic, once we got outside of the hotel gates. This was a 10 hour plus flight, and still being daylight on landing, we got a glimpse of a fraction of the island ... more
  • 24 of 24 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Mickm9

    Mickm9

    4 Stars Caribean Butlins complete with the birdie song 11/06/2001
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Hot and sunny, beautiful setting

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Poor entertainment, cold food

    This review is all about the Bhia Principe complex near Sosua and how I could not help thinking I was in Butlins a lot of the time .... Now depending on your experiences of Butlins the above comment could be construed as either being positive or negative. It’s not really meant to be either, its just that walking around the complex the manner of the set up reminded me of an up market version of this popular English holiday camp. This was mainly based on the way the apartments were set out and the way the “entertainment” and main areas were all in a central location. However, I ... more
  • 22 of 22 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of wendy155

    wendy155

    5 Stars Cabarete - Dominican Republic (north) Review with images 09/11/2004
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages nice relaxing holiday, friendly people, great weather.

    Disadvantages Disadvantages hassle by the beach vendors, some shop keepers and time share people

    We have just spent two fabulous weeks in Cabarete on the North coast of Dominican Republic, and I want to tell you all about it. We flew with Thomson and it cost us approx £600 each. Spending money, we probably spent around £400, not including our diving course. First off a bit of geography, DomRep occupies one half of the island of Hispaniola. One of the larger islands in the Caribean. The other half of it being Haiti. It is approximately 8 1/2 hrs away from the UK, but is well worth the time taken to get there. Remember hurricane Jeanne, of September 2004 hitting and devastating Haiti and ... more
  • 22 of 22 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of KathEv

    KathEv

    5 Stars Fun, Fun, Fun 02/12/2009
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Great location, resort, weather and people

    Disadvantages Disadvantages None..apart from the occasional short sharp rain you get late afternoon

    I have been to Dominican Republic twice now and both times have stayed in the North of the Island at a place called Puerto Plata. The first time we went we travelled with First Choice and decided that as our holiday was a success the first time we would go with them again a few years later. We visited Puerto Plata in May 2009 and we stayed in a resort called Gran Ventana. The Hotel was lovely with great accommodation, good food and the staff were wonderful. Not only was the resort wonderful so were the Dominican people. This Carribean island is a third world country and it is made all the more ... more
  • 14 of 14 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of shaminalinda

    shaminalinda

    5 Stars Playa Dorada - All Inclusive Coast Resort. 28/05/2003
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages beautiful, relaxing, friendly people, nice weather.

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Not white sands and turquoise seas.

    Total Holiday Cost £500!!!! This was our first visit to the Caribbean island of Dominican Republic and at we loved it! We got a last minute deal through Airtours for only £325 all-inclusive! We took the 8-hour flight from Gatwick to Puerto Plata, which is in the North East of the island. The price included coach transfers and it was only about 15 minutes drive to the resort. The resort itself was massive consisting of many hotels, some beach side and golf courses. Our hotel was the 3* Hotetur Villas Doradas. Initially we were a bit down when we saw our rooms but mainly because we’ve stayed in ... more
  • 21 of 21 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of notionlogic

    notionlogic

    5 Stars Everything I wanted and more 19/09/2001
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages climate, friendly people, good value

    Disadvantages Disadvantages long flight

    I notice that many of the opinions posted on the Dominican Republic seem to be describing holidays taken a while ago so I thought I would post an up to date opinion Since I only got back from there 3 weeks ago! A little bit of history to start my story... Now that the kids are getting that little bit older (18, 16 and 14) and since I was feeling a little flush earlier this year, it was decided to go for the BIG one - an all-inclusive Carribean holiday!! We reviewed the brochures and to my intial dismay, everyone chose the most expensive one - the Dominican Republic. Where's that I thought ... more
  • 34 of 34 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of SouthernComfort

    SouthernComfort

    4 Stars Catalonia Bavaro Resort Dominican Republic 19/05/2003
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Entertainment, The Brits, Excellent food, Amazing location and great Excursions

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Mosquitoes eat you alive, Sambuka after a Japanese meal, Staffs lack of English and being hassled off the resort while shopping

    Total Holiday Cost £2600 or £3200 inc spending money. All Inclusive South East Coast Resort: This was our first visit to the Dom Rep and at first we were well impressed, the atmosphere at the upon arrival was excellent. The check in service was very professional at reception and the assisting staff were helpful and friendly. Without delay our bags were marked with our room numbers and we were given our magnetic key, security box key, towel cards and a full information guide to the resort. The food at the resort was brilliant and wherever you went on the resort, everything was kept so clean and ... more
  • 34 of 35 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of pagan

    pagan

    2 Stars Beware machete wielding muggers 01/05/2001
    User doesn't recommend the product

    Advantages Advantages warm weather - I believe it has improved

    Disadvantages Disadvantages muggings, food poisoning, touts, machete wielding muggers!

    I see by reading the other op’s on the Dominican Republic it appears to have improved since we visited. I’ll tell you my tale anyway; it may make you think of things to ask when booking, to ensure you get the exact holiday you are hoping for. We went with ScareTours (sorry, AirTours) – who began our holiday by getting my meal wrong on the plane, now I’m not a finicky sort of person who moans at the slightest thing, but, we paid £5.00 to pre-book our meals and seats. As I am allergic to milk, and this was a long haul flight this was quite important to me. So what did ... more
  • 14 of 14 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of melmel

    melmel

    4 Stars Discover the Dominican Republic 19/08/2001
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Beautiful beaches and greenary

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Too many beggars

    When I saw the photos for the Dominican Republic, in the brochure, I thought ‘I want to go there!’ Where better than to spend two weeks in the glorious sunshine in the middle of December! So we (Michael and I) splashed out £700 for an all-inclusive deal of unlimited food and drink (both of which appeals to us) to the destination of Sousa. The flight was a very long 9 ½ hours and I would recommend getting first class if you can stretch your money that far. We were crammed in like sardines with elbows and sweaty arm pits everywhere. I definitely envied those sat at the front in their ... more
  • 16 of 16 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of miggle

    miggle

    5 Stars 169 SQUID CARIBBEAN 03/07/2001
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages It's hot, mainly unspoilt, superb windsurfing & cheap.

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Scare stories from the press... not really for families.

    Well is it machete wielding muggers, or a cheap paradisical destination? Probably both... -which in a sordid way is almost a good thing. The Dom Rep seems to have had some pretty bad press recently :-< (don't those little sidewqays faces annoy you !) the result of which is less demand for holidays over there, which in turn means I can afford to go! :>) I spent 2 weeks in Caberete, the windsurfing capital of the Caribbean, for the sum total of £169 (+ Cuba Libre (rum and coke) money (almost the same again)!) Go to www.cheapflights.com and have a look. We went slightly end of season (which is ... more
Previous page Next page Page 1 of 5 | 1 to 10 out of 43 Review(s)