puerto plata, casa marina reef hotel review

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By jammiedodger on 10th Nov 2006

jammiedodger's Ratings

Date of stay	October/November 2006
Board Basis	All inclusive
Tour Operator	n/a
Accommodation	9/10
Customer Service	10/10
Food	10/10
Resort	10/10
Location	8/10
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	10/10
jammiedodger's recommendation

Good Points

The staff
The food
The pools
The Jacuzzis
The entertainment
The rooms
Drinks

Bad Points

Watch out for Dominican public holidays
Some of the trips were a disappointment

General Comments

My boyfriend and I stayed at this resort for 10 nights from 27/10/06 and had a great time.

The rooms (not that you spend much time there) are basic but clean. There is a safe you can hire (cost us in the region of $30 for 10 days). Shower is powerful and hot. We saw two cockroaches during our stay, one on the balcony and one in the corridor, but they were dying/dead. The lighting isn't great, but if you take the lampshades off it does improve.

The staff at the Casa Marina Reef Hotel in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic are very friendly and helpful. They try to get you involved in the activities, but if you say no, they won't keep pestering you. They work very long hours but always put in 110%. Bar staff and waiters are also very friendly, creating a nice atmosphere. There are lots of activities to do such as football, volleyball and lots of games in the pool.

Absolutely no complaints whatsoever about the food! There is plenty of variety for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The 3 a la carte restaurants are also very good. We found the Mexican our favourite, followed by the Italian and then the Seafood. You do need to pay for wine at these restaurants (you can have other drinks for free) but it's very reasonable, starting at just $12.

During the day there are 3 main places to go to:-

The Pools:
There are 3 main pools - the main one (that's on all the pictures) is by far the biggest. There are plenty of sun loungers around, and therefore they don't get reserved at silly-o-clock in the morning. The pools are all 4 foot deep, so no diving!

The Jacuzzis & Patio areas:
There are 3 Jacuzzis along the seafront (there are rocks between the Jacuzzis and sea). These are fabulous to sit and relax in, watching the waves splash up against the rocks. The area around these is all patio-ed and is made of lots of levels/steps. so it creates lots of little secluded and private areas, both in and out of the shade.

The Beaches:
There are two beaches - the private beach (technically in the Reef hotel) and the other beach (technically in the Beach hotel). Both are only accessible to people staying at the resort. The Beach hotel beach has sun loungers and natural shade, and is generally livelier than the Reef beach which has no loungers or shade.

The hotel is kept very clean, and they daily wash down the paved areas.

It is worth pointing out at this point that Casa Marina Reef and Casa Marina Beach are basically the same, so the wristbands are valid in both restaurants and bars, and unless you knew they were two hotels, you wouldn't guess. In fact, the 2 of the a la carte restaurants are in the Beach. They have separate receptions and that's about it!

At night there are two shows. The first starts about 9pm and is in the main amphitheatre. We were there for 10 days and didn't see the same show twice. All the productions were very well put together and in English (as well as other languages). The second show is on the second smaller stage (in the Beach) and starts at 11pm. This is karaoke, magicians, comedy and strongest man competitions etc. The bars around the resort are open until 11, and it was nice to sit outside in the warmth. There are some cash bars open later (until 1am I think). The drinks here are approximately 120 Peso's each (about £2). There is also a 'night club', which is fairly small but good fun. They play a range of music from Caribbean to 80's.

We went on 3 trips during our stay, all booked through the hotel (found near Kiko's centre), and each trip was no more than $50pp.

The first trip we went on was a Jeep safari. You visit a number of places including a waterfall, which, if you want, you can climb up the first 7 levels of it (there are 21 levels) with the help of the water guides, and take the slide back down - great fun!

The second trip was quad biking (aka funny bikes), and having done this on previous holidays and really enjoyed it, we didn't think much of this trip at all. Between the 2 of us we went through 6 bikes, they kept braking or getting punctures. They also didn't supply goggles which made it rather uncomfortable at times. The guide didn't speak the best English (not his fault) either, which meant it lacked a bit of atmosphere.

The third trip we did was Paradise Island, where they take you to this amazing little 'Island' which is just sand, and you can snorkel there (the best snorkeling I've ever seen). However, the day included 8 hours on a coach, and 2 of these included dropping off and picking up from hotels, but it made it a very long and tiring day. It says in the brochure 1 1/2 hours each way, which we were prepared for, but it was more than double that.

Finally, check the Dominican public holidays before you book. Our last weekend was not as good as the rest of the holiday because there was a bank holiday on the Monday, and for this weekend the hotel was full of Dominicans, which meant that you have to be fast at lunch to get a decent choice from the buffet, and it was impossible to get into the nightclub on the evening. Also, the Jacuzzis were full and very loud, which was not the case during the week. The show in the evening was also aimed at the Dominican's, and was entirely in Spanish.

Few more words of warning - It didn't happen to us, but some people had things stolen from their room/ground floor balcony. We kept most of our things locked in our suitcases. The seafood restaurant is hot (room temperature wise), so ask for a seat nearest the sea! We booked our taxi to and from the airport before on the internet, at £40 return (it was a very good and efficient service). However, it should only cost $20 each way, as with most resorts outside of the hotel there are 'looky looky' men, which can be annoying.

Please don't let the last couple of points put you off. It was a wonderful holiday, and I'd recommend October/November time, as the weather and number of people was perfect. Apparently December is their busiest time of year. If you go, I hope you enjoy it.

Sarah & Anthony

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