John:

Although Boca Chica, mainly the main town off the beach, has some seedy neighborhoods, the beachfront area is of prohibitive value in terms of real estate. Just to give you an idea, an empty lot right across from the Pelicano Restaurant on Prol. Calle Duarte was selling for US$800,000! The houses on that row are all mansions with beachfronts exclusively for the very rich high class of DR.

The restaurants in that street, Neptunos, Pelicano, and Boca Marina require advance reservation and are frequented by the high society of Santo Domingo. You visit Neptuno for instance on a Saturday for lunch and any car parked outside will cost over $US50,000.

Hotel Coral Hamaca in the same street is among the most expensive of the all-inclusives in DR. It rarely has low occupancy. It has a fine disco(OLAS) and very nice people. The same is true of Don Juan Hotel and other smaller resort places by the beach.

Not too far from there in Juan Dolio, some of the big names in DR including President Hipolito Mejia, Anthony Hache and others have their vacation homes there.

True, Boca Chica is not Punta Cana. But BC is only minutes away from Santo Domingo and if you stick to the right places and have a full wallet, you can get exclusive attention. In fact, at Neptuno, you can jump from your table to the beach and take a swim without any vendors or husslers. You can also arrive there in your boat, jump in the water and walk from the beach!!! not from the street, into the restaurant.

TW