I've just returned from spending a couple of nights in Boca Chica at Hotel Garant. I got advice from some folks here (most suggested Candil), but I chose Garant because it was a little closer to the beach, and every report I read about the place commented on how clean it was. Also, since I was traveling with a small child, I was concerned about going up and down that hill to Candil.
I was not disappointed at all, the Garant was very clean just as reported. I paid $50 per night for a regular room with AC. There is a little pool that is very nice, too. My daughter really enjoyed the pool. We also walked to the beach, which was nice because she got to play with the other kids (no other kids at the hotel). As someone else said, it's certainly not the nicest beach in the Caribbean, but the water was calm and warm and if you want for anything, just wait a minute and someone will be walking by selling it.
I was looking for some good Dominican food on Duarte (forgot to investigate that before I left), but couldn't find anyplace that looked great. We ended up eating mostly at Toucan (sp?). The food was really good, nice staff, great service, and good prices. My daughter and I shared a big plate of pasta with meat sauce for 130 pesos, roughly $4 US.
One time walking back to the hotel, we were stopped by some kind of police officer in a military type uniform who asked me a bunch of questions about my daughter. I'm not sure what his deal was, he wasn't being friendly, but he didn't ask me for any documents either. My daughter's father is Dominican, I'm white, and she definitely looks Dominican. I don't know if this was the reason, but it was just odd.
As far as the prostitutes, this really doesn't bother me and my daughter is 2 and too young to know what's going on or ask any questions. So, that really wasn't an issue for me.
I'm sure I'll be back to Boca Chica and other parts of the island soon! Thanks again for the help of this board.
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Hotel Garant
