Just back from a FABulous trip

kjr1 · #1 07-09-2002, 05:19 PM

Just got back Sunday from a wonderful, fabulous trip to the DR. We arrived last Saturday at the Santo Domingo airport and picked up our Rental Van. I was traveling w/ my baby boomer parents, my two adult sisters and their boyfriends. One of the boyfriends is actually from La Romana, where we were staying at Casa De Campo.

The resort is beautiful. We stayed in a villa (Las Pinas #3) that was huge and perfectly decorated. It had a small pool and sitting area, and 4 bedrooms. We used golf carts to get around - or our van which held us all nice and tightly.

It's a little more difficult if you don't speak any Spanish - but we had two who did, so any miscommunication was quickly figured out.

The food was good...not great but good for an all inclusive. We had a big homemade breakfast every morning in the villa which was wonderfully spoiling. No need for lunch at all! Dinner varied - some of the restaurants were closed for the off season, but we enjoyed the Tropicana and La Piazzetta. El Patio wasn't so good...but the little poolside cafe was nice for a quick bite. We enjoyed Altos de Chavón the most on the night there was a concert in the amphitheater (Alejandro Sanz)...we hung around like a bunch of teenagers listening to the music over the wall

The beach was nice - lots of people said it was too small in their reviews, but it was plenty big enough for us. Lots and lots of kids, which we don't mind at all. Seemed like family season. We could do some snorkeling right along the rocks near the beach - lots of sea urchins, fish, etc.

We spent one day at Catalina Island (spelling?). It was deserted and beautiful. We met a wonderful couple from NY, originally from Haiti, and had a great time talking to them.

My sister's boyfriend invited us to his family's home in La Romana for lunch. We met the entire extended family and had a great time, even if our Spanish was nil to none (except for my sis)

It was nice to see the town. My dad and the boys even went to a cock fight. They thought it was violent, but were glad they did it once.

All and all, a fabulous time. Perfect weather, nice people. I would definitely go back!

Meredith · #2 07-09-2002, 10:38 PM

Kj, it's great to see you back! Glad you had such a wonderful time!!!

mondongo · #3 07-09-2002, 11:24 PM

Hi kj, glad to see you enjoyed your vacation. I'd like to ask you a couple of questions, if thats ok. You mention that the food was good but not great. Is that compared to a Four Season's Resort type quality and service? We have been debating going to Casa de Campo for a while now, but we have some strict dietary restrictions that require a very attentive staff. How did you you find the restaurant staff? We would also bring a couple of rug rats, so i'm glad to see that there were plenty of families there.

thanks in advance

Jane J. · #4 07-09-2002, 11:48 PM

That sounded like an amazing trip. That's the kind of vacation I would kill to have. Yes, kill. (YES! KILL.)

But seriously - family, friends, snorkeling, restaurants, cockfights (!), and Alejandro Sanz. Niiiice.

Pib · #5 07-10-2002, 07:32 AM

That's the expresssion that best fits Casa de Campo.

Unfortunately you missed the best of Casa de Campo: the food. Some might argue the best of CDC is the service, or the golf, but I think it is the food. I guess that the best restaurants, that serve world class cuisine, were the ones that were closed . La Piazzetta, and the French restaurant (something "del Rio") are my favorites; both are in Altos de Chavón. But "El Pescador" also serves great seafood (although not as fancy).

I guess you mileage did vary. But it's nice to hear you enjoyed it. Like, who wouldn't?!

mondongo · #6 07-10-2002, 01:34 PM

psst..psst...J.J....secret rendez-vous @ CDC... will post details later...must go now....

Pib...thanks for posting your take on CDC. the real issue for us is to be able to customize the ingredients to the dishes..namely to remove all grains (especially wheat) and grain derivatives from certain dishes....

mondongo

kjr1 · #7 07-10-2002, 05:34 PM

To answer Mondongo's questions:

I don't know how I might compare the food to a 4 star type resort - haven't been to any!!!

But that said, I live in DC and tend to like adventurous food. We have sooo many great resturants, and I tend to like cheaper, ethnic, and/or spicy food. But by another benchmark, the food at Casa De Campo's resturants was very well made, the service was very good, and they seemed willing to accomodate the few special requests we did have (we made very few, however!). Everything seemed cooked to order, so I would imagine that they would accomodate.

I just think that resort food in general is kinda boring

El Pescador did have good pizza and seafood...but we ate there twice and my father (he of the iron stomach) got really sick after a mushroom pizza...we don't know if that's why he got sick, but we didn't want to take a chance and eat there again. It could have been totally unrelated and I really enjoyed what I ate there.

We didn't eat at Cafe del Sol, which was closed several nights we were there; there was also a French resturant that was closed the entire time we were there that we would have liked to try.

La Piazzetta had very good food - the veal shank was good as was the lobster. Everything at the Tropicana was nice, except the flank steak which was so tough it was actually hilarious. We made jokes all week about it.

El Sombrero was like every good 'bad' Mexican resturant you've ever visited. But we had a great time, had a tequila shot at the door, and enjoyed the appetizers and the wanderering singers. We were tickled by the atmosphere...but the food wasn't near as good as the little Mexican place down the street from me.

Don't get me wrong...I never wanted for good food. Especially our homemade breakfasts. I would say I enjoyed the local food I had more than the resort food...But I expected that! I didn't mind at all

I couldn't recommend Casa de Campo more! We really enjoyed ourselves.

mondongo · #8 07-10-2002, 10:13 PM

Thanks for the response, kjr1.

mondongo

Charlene G. Pic · #9 07-13-2002, 11:32 AM

kjr1,

just wondering what the road was like to La Romana. Some friends and I are planning a trip to Punta Cana
and will be renting a van to travel in. Looking at the map it looks like the best route would be to travel to La Romana and then go to Bayahibe, and north to Higuey/Punta Cana (Picking up van at Santo Domingo )We've been to the DR several times and would like to see some of the country now. Was it safe driving, signs easy to follow. We're studing up on our spanish. Any info would be helpful. Thanks Char

MommC · #10 07-13-2002, 01:17 PM

The road is not bad at all and signage has greatly improved. There are some areas of construction but all in all it was a good "ride" (coming from someone with a very bad neck and back that means it was more than good for most!!).
Have fun and enjoy your trip. Be sure to post a "REVIEW" for us when you get back!!