Travel to Juan Dolio - Page 3

Matilda · #21 02-06-2007, 09:36 PM

The Freedom bar is run by an Englsih girl called Sue, with her dominican husband, Almonte. They do good food, including chilli, nachos, fried chicken, burgers and curry. Colonial tropical will be closing soon as it is to be turned into apartments. personally I would go for Capella over costa Caribe, only because it si right next to other bars and restaurants, and while the Costa Caribe is near to old Juan Dolio it is a bit of a walk at night.

Matilda

maestro · #22 02-06-2007, 09:57 PM

do all inclusives allow outside guests to stay? whats the usual rate?

MommC · #23 02-06-2007, 10:47 PM

OOppss! Matilda is right.....knew my mind was pre-occupied! Used to be the "American Bar" run by an American.......hasn't been that for several years now....
Of course ChiquitaBanana may have been referring to the other place (in the opposite direction) that also has live music (very loud)! Don't know if they do food tho' and can't for the life of me remember the name of the place......

chiquittabanana · #24 02-07-2007, 12:44 PM

That is the place next to Capella. I was booked at Colonial, but when we got there we moved to Capella, the same thing happend last September when I was also booked at Colonial and moved to Capella.

There is no difference, the rooms at Capella and Colonial are about the same, both places are CLEAN as everything in the DR if you tip ur cleaning lady she will leave extra towels, make sure to make this a personal thing, don't leave the tip on your dresser, make sure if u give them even a buck, give it to them in their hands, and say GRACIAS, being nice to them goes long way. I cannot believe what my cleaning lady did for the baby when she found out it was her b-day in Jan. I didn't want to accept the gift, but it was some "dominican medicine", (my child has a genetic condition) and she wished the best for my kid.

Yes, they will allow u visitors at Capella, we had a babysitter for the baby and as long as she was staying in our room we just had to pay the rate for a 3rd. person in the room, which I think it was 1700 pesos/night. U can ask for the suites by the SPA with a kitchen and a nice sofa-bed, even if you don't use the kitchen,,, but it is a lot more space and it feels like a little aparment.

Be safe, and have fun, u are not a kid anymore!!!!!!

CB

World.traveller · #25 03-08-2007, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexi

HI Everyone!

Can anyone tell me what San Pedro de macoris is like?

Yes. When we stayed at resort at Punta Cana, we have rented a car and went by ourselves to Santo Domingo. There were 2 roads leading there and as we didn't know we took the worst road going through San Pedro. It was 6 hours ride from Punta Cana to Santo Domingo and San Pedro is right in the middle. To mention the road, it was horrible, with large and deep holes all over the road and my husband felt like formula-3 driver having to avoid them.
It was dangerous also to drive as Dominicans didn't follow the driving rules
and we saw lots of trucks almost falling apart, 2 of those trucks were loaded with gasoline and inspite of this they were competing for being the first on the very narrow road. I made a quick look at San Pedro when we drove through it. There is really nothing to see there, the city is situated in non-tourist area, lots of 1 floor huts and buildings, dirt, nothing more special. Yes, it's very dangerous to travel there alone, we were told that we should see that we return back before it got dark to avoid being robbed or kidnapped.
Be careful, take care of yourself and watch out. If you take a bus provided by a travel agency which transports only tourists from A to B - it's ok, don't take a bus which locals use as public transportation. As woman and a foreigner standing out of the crowd - you are always a target and will have a problem of street salesmen running to you and forcing to buy something, or children running after you and begging and all the rest watching you very attentively. You can go for a walk on your own in the historical center of Santo Domingo where the monuments and shops are situated, but I wouldn't do it in San Pedro. When we drove and I watched the country it was then when I realised how difficult it will be to go for a walk on my own there without attracting anyone's attention and without having to fear.

World.traveller · #26 03-08-2007, 04:35 AM

You can check the hotels here reading reports of other people:
Holiday Reviews & Hotel Reviews on Holiday Watchdog
It's in English.

And if you speak German:
Hotelbewertungen von Hotels, Reisen, Urlaub und Tipps von Urlaubern fÃ¼r Urlaubern fÃ¼r Ihre nÃ¤chste Reise bei HolidayCheck - travel reports from people and photos of hotels
In English:
Holidaycheck hotel reviews, holiday pictures and travel tips from traveler to traveler. unbiased hotel reviews from hotels with picture, photos and travel offeres and price check by HolidayCheck - but there you will see only photos as all
reports are in German and on German variant of site

nightrider · #27 03-08-2007, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexi

Okay, here are the 2 choices I am looking at now and would LOVE to hear what you think would be best..

Flying in to PC and then taking the 3 hr bus ride to either:
1. Coral Costa Caribe
2. Barcelo Capella

Any thoughts??

HOTEL CAPELLA I CAN RECOMMEND AS GREAT HOTEL HAVING SPENT 10 NIGHTS AT,ALL DRINKS FREE FROM MORNING UNTIL 02.00 AM,FOOD ONE OF BEST I HAVE TASTED AS MUCH VARIETY TO CHOOSE FROM,CABERET UNTIL 11.00PM,THEN DISCO UNTIL 02.00 AM NEAR BEACH,EVERY NIGHT,,,,VISA POINT FROM HOTEL 10 MINS WALK....ENJOY

MommC · #28 03-08-2007, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by World.traveller

Yes. When we stayed at resort at Punta Cana, we have rented a car and went by ourselves to Santo Domingo. There were 2 roads leading there and as we didn't know we took the worst road going through San Pedro. It was 6 hours ride from Punta Cana to Santo Domingo and San Pedro is right in the middle. To mention the road, it was horrible, with large and deep holes all over the road and my husband felt like formula-3 driver having to avoid them.
It was dangerous also to drive as Dominicans didn't follow the driving rules
and we saw lots of trucks almost falling apart, 2 of those trucks were loaded with gasoline and inspite of this they were competing for being the first on the very narrow road. I made a quick look at San Pedro when we drove through it. There is really nothing to see there, the city is situated in non-tourist area, lots of 1 floor huts and buildings, dirt, nothing more special. Yes, it's very dangerous to travel there alone, we were told that we should see that we return back before it got dark to avoid being robbed or kidnapped.
Be careful, take care of yourself and watch out. If you take a bus provided by a travel agency which transports only tourists from A to B - it's ok, don't take a bus which locals use as public transportation. As woman and a foreigner standing out of the crowd - you are always a target and will have a problem of street salesmen running to you and forcing to buy something, or children running after you and begging and all the rest watching you very attentively. You can go for a walk on your own in the historical center of Santo Domingo where the monuments and shops are situated, but I wouldn't do it in San Pedro. When we drove and I watched the country it was then when I realised how difficult it will be to go for a walk on my own there without attracting anyone's attention and without having to fear.

I don't know which road you took but you certainly weren't on the autopista!!
I travel from Juan Dolio to SPM at least twice a week and the autopista is amazing. Also when we travel to La Romana the road from SPM is under construction for the new section of autopista but 'full of holes' -Not!! At least not for the past 8-10 yrs........
don't know which barrio you ended up in SPM but the main comercial center is modern with several large supermarkets, Payless shoe store (plus several other excellent shoe stores), banks,large furniture stores etc.etc.
Yes it's true I wouldn't drive back late at night due to recent car-jackings
but if you travel wisely those won't be a problem.

As for walking around SPM - during the day no problem (assuming you are not in a bario but in the center or along the malecon) and evenings along the malecon are very nice indeed with small bars and restaurants and music to be enjoyed.
As for things to see in SPM the cathedral is lovely as is the Georgian fire hall and central park is a great place to visit. Of course Jumbo is the place to go for modern shopping convenience and the malecon is always worth a look especially if there is a special event taking place (like carneval).