My review for Paraiso del Sol

[Boh]

We arrived on Jan. 17. We had our bags taken up to our room and unpacked. I went to turn on the hot water tap in the sink and nothing came out. Both the tub and sink plugs would not hold water. We had to hold the showerhead by hand to prevent water from splashing on the floor, and the air-conditioning wasn’t working properly.

I brought the above problems to the attention of the front desk. He radioed someone right away and I thought great service! Someone came up to the room checked the air-conditioning and said “normal”. I showed him the sink and shower problem, he looked at it then left. It was 10:30 p.m. so I thought someone would be in to repair it in the morning.

The next day no one showed so I went to the front desk and asked if we could change rooms. He asked why, to which I began to explain the disrepair with the plumbing and air-conditioner. He called someone right away and said they would check it. Someone arrived at about.10:00 p.m. that night. He got the hot water faucet to work by turning the valve on from beneath the sink. In order to run the hot water I would have to turn it on and off using the valve beneath the sink. He put his hand on the conditioner vent then left.

I had a shower and as I was stepping out water dripped on me from the ceiling. I hoped it was coming from the shower above and not the toilet. The dripping ceiling would occur daily for a period in the morning and at night. The sink was also dripping from beneath when the hot water was turned on. The next day I requested a room change from the front desk. Once again he asked why and I explained the problems we were having. He immediately called someone. By this time I wasn’t expecting much. In the end nothing was repaired and I stopped complaining about it. We just wanted to get on with our vacation.

There was only one bar open in the evening and it was always a long wait to get a drink. I had a glass of rum straight up and it was badly watered down. In the evening there were two buffet restaurants to eat at. They only served wine at the one restaurant and there was always a line up there. In the morning you could only have toast at the one buffet, the other one didn’t have a toaster.

I cut my finger on some glass one night and went to the front desk for a band-aid. He told me I could buy some at the store. I would have thought they would have a least had a basic first aid kit. A first aid kit would not be a huge expense but would go a long way for customer service.

On a couple occasions I had asked the front desk if they could give me change for 50 pesos. They said no and pointed to the store that was closed. Now some of this may sound petty but the point I’m trying to get across is that the customer service sucked big time. If someone at the front desk would have smiled I’m sure his or her face would have cracked.

The general appearance of the room was ok and room service was fine. The one improvement they could make would be exchanging the towels when they clean the rooms rather then, collecting the towels in the morning and returning the towels in the late afternoon. We would have to hide a towel so we had something to use in the meantime. If you want a face cloth bring your own because they don’t provide them. You may want to bring your own pillows. Their pillows have worn down to little balls of fibre.

The gardens and grounds were well manicured and kept clean. There were far more mosquitoes on this visit then there was on our last visit to the resort in 2002. This was a huge problem for me because some of the bites were getting infected. The mosquitoes were very hard to avoid and they were everywhere!

My general impression was that the staff didn’t seem happy. Now there were some shining stars like Jesus who would always greet us with a big smile, seat us and bring us a drink. This guy should be put in charge of staff training for customer service.

I thought the food was ok but was pretty much the same every day. After two weeks it was getting tiresome. If they had had more variety this would have made a huge difference. They would remove the coffee pot at about 10:30 a.m. until about noon. So you could have a beer or drink but not a coffee. It’s little things like this that they could improve on without a lot of expense. One night they ran out of wine at 8:45 p.m. They should have served wine at both locations. I’m sure this would have eliminated the line-up in the one buffet that was serving wine.

I had spoken with other guests that told me they did not have any of the plumbing problems we did. All guests I spoke with were very unhappy with customer service issues and said they would not return. As I mentioned earlier we did stay at the resort in 2002. My final impression is that the resort is in deep decline and I wouldn’t be surprised if it went into bankruptcy.

In spite of some of the problems with the resort we still had a good time on the island. We hope to return again next year but will not be revisiting Paraiso del Sol. For me the mosquitoes were the final straw.

Former guest of Paraiso del Sol room 5202
Puerto Plata Dominican Republic

[bettyboop2006]

I'm sory to hear that, and glad that you posted this. My first trip to the DR in 2003, we stayed at Parisio and I thought it was a really nice hotel and was planning to return to it. Thanks for posting this, I think we will stay somewhere else next time. When looking for new spots, DON'T stay at Occidental Grand Flamenco, we are now former guests of that hotel.

[CC@Langham]

Last trip to the DR was in 2004, that was our second trip. Both times we went to Cabarete and really enjoyed it. We are planning on going to the DR in 2007 and figured we would try somewhere else.

Glad to have read this post so we do not end up choosing the Pariso del Sol. We would rather return to Azzuro Club/Cabarete Bay Resort (a few of the name they have had).

We have had no problems that were not taken care of right away. One time we asked for a room change because we didn't like where we were and we were changed right away, without having to pay the front desk for the favour.

[Piso Mojado]

"Now there were some shining stars like Jesus who would always greet us with a big smile, seat us and bring us a drink. This guy should be put in charge of staff training for customer service."

--You can always count on Jesus!

Now, seriously, it's too bad that you were dissatisfied with resort. But, that's AI's for you. Corporate gives you that screamin' deal to bring you in, then Corporate badgers resort management to keep costs low. Once you're there, there's no competition (i.e. no refunds). Not a good equation for the traveler or the resort worker.

Sounds to me like you should try non-AI accommodations the next time. Put's you in control. You pick the hotel. You pick the dining. I've never heard of a bar or restaurant running out of wine for a paying customer.

Better luck on your next adventure.

Cuidado,
Piso Mojado

[Boh]

"--You can always count on Jesus!"


It’s too bad they didn’t call Jesus when they ran out of wine. I’ll bet he could have saved the night. It’s also too bad three wise men weren’t in the position of management.

[laurapasinifan]

You know the hotles are large and there is always things to fix-repair.....so problems with the rooms I can understand...maybe the food isnt the greatest...sometimes you have to live with that.............BUT

what i cant live with is the little crap that is free to the hotel to fix, but they are bone headed and resist...like changing rooms!!!!!!! just do it!!!!!

like ahving wine when they say they will...like having towels all day....like making sure the bar is staffed enough...........I saw the same problems at other hotels........its free to make these changes basically and the clientel is happy... and their reports get better....lets face it most people are looking for some prior information before booking a hotle.. they read and will find these neagtive reports.... negative reports KILLS a place

positive reports are ok...but we all know they dont carry the weight of a negative report!!!!!!!!!!!

maybe itsa the dominican hard headedness that these people resist understanding consumer relations

bob

[Boh]

Most hotels I’ve stayed at usually ask you (upon check out) if you have enjoyed your stay. Not at this one. I was really hoping he would have asked because I would have given him an abbreviated version of my review.

[Boh]

Hi CC@Langham

Glad to hear you enjoyed your vacation. Did you have any problems with mosquitoes? I have walked through Azzuro Club a couple years ago. It’s in a good location, nice and close to the beach.

[CC@Langham]

Hi Boh:

No problems with the mosquitos on that trip, had heard a lot about them though. All else was great: food, wine, drinks, room service, etc. On the second trip we were promised one section and were put else where, went to the desk and told them and they changed our room right away.

Even though everything went so well I think it is time we tried elsewhere, maybe Sousa. Any suggestions?

Tks.

[Boh]

CC@Langham,
We stayed at Casa Marina Beach in Jan. 2004, it was ok then. I believe it’s owned by the same company that owns Paraiso del Sol. I liked the location because it was right in Sosua. Hopefully this resort is still in the hands of good management.