I love Casa Marina Reef this was the 2nd year I've been and I'm hoping to come many more times. I thought the entertainment was absolutely brilliant. There was no bad points

Me and my friend have stayed at the Casa Marina beach 4 times and are booked to go again. We love the area, its safe for us to go to the local clubs though it can be daunting when coming home at night but its worth paying for a motorcycle the short distance. The hotel is nice the food good and the staff are friendly and they recognise you. The entertainment is good though sometimes when the dancers have a night off it can be boring!
Overall there is something for all ages to do during the day.

We stayed at the Casa Marina Reef in January 2007 and after a couple of hiccups had a fantastic time!

We booked through an internet travel company and flew from Manchester with Thompson. The flight facilities were not as good as expected for a long haul flight i.e. no individual TVs.

There were 6 of us altogether, including 3 couples, with ages from 24-44.

When we arrived at Puerto Plata Airport we were met by the VIP rep team and some locals tried to help us with our bags, expecting a tip of course. The journey to the hotel took no longer then 15 minutes.

When we got to the hotel we discovered that the company in the UK, Global Late Deals, that we had booked with had not booked our rooms at the hotel. Luckily we had all of our paperwork to show the hotel, who said they had no rooms in the Reef so they would put us in the Beach. After about half an hour we got to our rooms and were not impressed at all. They were terrible, situated in the C block, they had what looked to be mould coming out of the air con fan. The bathrooms were in desperate need of being ripped out and started again. As soon as we got in the rooms we went back to the reception to complain. At first we were told that we would have to wait a couple of days before we could be moved but after sticking to our guns we were told that we could move the next day. We think that the block we stayed in is an overflow block, only used when necessary! We met our Rep Sonya the next day who was very good, we explained what had happened and what the hotel were doing and she went to go double check everything for us so that she could send details of what had happened to the travel company in the UK. We were then moved back to the Reef in block L, two couples got a pool view room and we got a garden view room which was a lot nicer. The room got cleaned each day and fresh towels if you wanted them. We were welcomed into our room with a bottle of rum and a fresh plate of fruit!
The hotel also provides beach towels, which you can change every day at Kiko's shack.

There are lots of places to eat, two buffet restaurants with a different theme each night, two snack bars that were great for lunch and three a la carte restaurants offering Seafood, Mexican and Italian, the latter two being the best! You are only meant to eat there once a week but we managed three visits to each in two weeks! The food did get a little boring by the end of two weeks, after we had tried everything, but it was still good!

There are plenty of bars around the hotel offering a wide variety of drinks including lager, soft drinks, spirits and cocktails. I recommend the Sea Breeze! The only drawback was that the all inclusive drinks ended at 11pm, so quite often we would make several visits to the bar to stock up for after 11. They do have some cash bars that sell imported spirits i.e. Jack Daniels and of course the Calypso Disco that is open until 3am. It is a good laugh down there!

The entertainment is great, there is lots to do during the day from the funny throw the coconut games to table tennis and volleyball. The animation team are great, they work really hard and very long hours. You see them at breakfast, lunch, dinner and in the Calypso Disco. They are always great fun, especially Norberto. The main evening entertainment is in the amphitheatre. The stage scenery, costumes and content of the show are above average for a hotel like this and although I do not personally go out of my way to watch this type of entertainment I thought it was very good! The Queen tribute was fantastic!

All of the facilities, pool, Jacuzzis and beach are really good. Beware of the sea, the current can be really strong and when the red flag is up the waves are spectacular to watch!

We booked our excursions through Mel, not too sure if we got the best ones though, we chose the funny buggies and horse riding. Compared to the photos we saw from people who went though their reps we felt that we had gone for the cheap option and our excursions were not as good. The Jungle Safari was fantastic, we climbed up waterfalls and slid back down them, brilliant! A big let down was Ocean World at night. We were meant to see a Sea Lion Show, our bus was late so we missed it, which was not our fault. The Dolphin Show only lasted about 5 minutes. Dinner with Lobster was a cheap buffet and some lobster that was not cooked properly. A Las Vegas style show, we were really annoyed about the first part of the evening which spoilt our meal, a visit to their Casino was finally good fun! We had been told that we could have a choice of buses back at either 12, 1 or 2am this was not true, we had to leave at 12am. On top of this, our trip was for two birthdays in our group and we had a terrible time, we complained and each received a free Rum and Coke. No good if you don't like that drink! If I had to go back I would go throughout the day, not the night trip.

There were a few power cuts but within 20 seconds you heard the backup generator whir into action. On the day we chose to do the funny buggies, which get you really muddy so wear old clothes, the hotel had a problem with the water supply for one day and we could not shower!

We did go out and explore using taxis (which are very reliable), on foot and using the hotel bikes. The local shop/stall owners are quite funny at first, trying to hassle you into their shop and then guilt tripping you into buying things from them. Remember to haggle and don't buy from the stall holders who come to the hotel, as they are more expensive then the hotel shop!

All in all, if we were the type of people who like to go back to the same country and hotel each year I would go back to Casa Marina Reef. We enjoyed ourselves and I was really sad to leave the sun and come back to cold, dark England!

Overall we had a fantastic two weeks. It was our first trip to the Dominican Republic and I think Casa Marina Reef, Sosua, is a good base to explore the rest of the island. Although we were told to be wary if leaving our hotel, we went out on various occasions and had no trouble. The locals are friendly and there are some good bargains to be had especially at the Sosua Beach Market, which is approximately 5-10 minutes walk through the town. We also took an organised coach trip to ocean world, where we swam with dolphins and had a fantastic day. We would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who wants a great holiday in a fantastic location.

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

I stayed in Casa Marina Reef from 29th august for two weeks and loved every minute of it!
Kiko's team are funny and really friendly. The shows at night were amazing!!
The pools are cleaned every morning and there are games to play in and around the pool all day, also some games on the beach!
My room was always keept clean and beds made everyday.
The hotel is a 3 star but to me it was more like a 5 star!!
Also you might hear people say that its not safe outside the hotel DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!! It's not true!! Get out and see as much as you can!!

The Casa Marina Reef Hotel in the Dominican Republic is a fantastic place! The staff and food were awesome!

We went from the 14th to the 28th of September 2005, and I proposed to my Fiance while we were out there. We are going there again on the 13th September 2006 for our honeymoon.

Puerto Plata, Casa Marina Reef Hotel - It was the best holiday I ever went on! I met so many people and made very good friends. All the animators where so helpful and kind people that worked there talked to you. I met some very special people out there and am still in contact. I am so glad I went and will definitely be going again in the future with my friends.

My husband and I went to Casa Marina Reef Hotel last July for our honeymoon it was great the weather was hot the food was good the staff were all excellent. We even left our unused toiletries to the staff knowing that it was expensive out there for them to buy them. They had a good variety of trips to go on, wherever you went every thing was always clean. All in all we would give it 10 out of 10 and we are looking forward to going back out there soon.
from Rachel in Essex

The Marina Reef Hotel hotel was fantastic. Everything was good, the food, the people there were so friendly, the shows were amazing and the restaurants were great. The weather was fantastic a little rain a night. You have to make it fun on vacation, fun doesn't come to you. We participated almost every night at the shows we had loads of fun, we were the couple of the week...........10 big stars for the place..............

It was brill the hotel was on the beach so you could just walk there in 1 min there was food being served all day everything was good!