Coral Costa Caribe Resort & Spa

Costa Caribe Resort v Dominikánské Republice je nejlepší hotel který si jen v dané lokalitě můžete vybrat. Nádherné pláže, luxusní jídlo a nejlepší animátoři široko daleko keří se už o Vás postarají.

Smaller resort. Nothing flashy. Not much action and NOT GOOD for children but otherwise we enjoyed our stay. The Staff here make all the difference. Carlos, Blondie and Ana at the Mediterranean Restaurant, Laudis, Supervisors Jorge and Jose, Katrine Cafe Cafe, Daniel, Hector, Emely and Manuela, at the buffet, Marileyni, Shantel, Yenifer and Yarelyn from Customer Service. Frankie at the snack bar and Fabrisio at the towel hut (toalla limpia, ha). Honorable mentions to Elvis at the beach bar, Henry in the Tex Mex and so many others who's name escapes me. Thanks to EVERYONE... Frank Leche Fria. Ha!!!

We came to CCC like we have done in past year, it wasn't always perfect but this year is the WORST. Let's start with the first day we got there. No wash rags, 2 hand and bath towels just as brown as they can be as if they have never been washed with clorox. We ended up getting some wash rags but the following days we got none and each time we call or go to the front desk, they tell us they've done a report to send us some, not a thing comes our way. The top shower doesn't work at all.. I went to the office to speak to the manager and I was asked to have a seat and he'll come over. After 45 minutes, I went back to the front desk to ask for his name and was told that he left for the day. After repeatedly asking for the name, I was told that it was Victor Pollantis/Poyantis. Well Mr. Poyantis, once you are done hiding behind you desk, we'll talk about my suggestion to better receive your guests.

Resort is so nice and clean. Food at the bufey very good, various and tasteful. My room was big, cleaned and the fridge in the room was stocked daily with pop and water. The first day on the beach was too much seagrass, but the rest of vacation was okay ( sometimes just small amount). The beach is too long on both sides( couple kilometers ), wide, with a lots of chairs and too many palmas that always provide enough shadow. There is a bar 24 hours ( inside the bar is disco too, but this time of year there was not too many people), coffee bar and grill which works ovenight too. There was not to many young people mostly 40+ and familes. Coral Costa Caribe is very, very good 4 star hotel. I will again return to Coral Costa Caribe because me and my friends enjoy there two weeks.....

CORAL COSTA CARIBE: Dominican Republic South Coast Gem After 3 weeks of shopping and 3 days to round up stuff and pack, I was off for a pre-summer vacation to explore a new place 1,875 miles from home (12 hours from my door to hotel door thanks to a 3 hr. flight delay) and the Dominican Republic's south coast, for an extra hour flying time more than my usual go-to-spots in Varadero, now effectively shut down thanks to you know who. Resort photos revealed a smaller scale less flashy place, not your family splash park resort you find in Punta Cana but one with lots of palm trees and from what I could tell, a nice spacious property and beach with a sports bar, a la carte restaurants, 24 hour snacks and lobby bar, in a place where if you want, you can smoke (unlike Mexico; talk about crazy nanny state ban). By the way, no tobacco smoker I know, smokes anywhere but on their balcony. Given all that and my prior great service and food at Bahia Principe Puerto Plata, I decided it may be worth checking out even if it also meant an uncomfortable 2 hour, 133-plus km bus ride to/from Punta Cana airport. Just as I went to book, the price rose by $188, a bummer, but because I was looking for a new "go to place" and wanted to go then - before the hot summer and fall hurricane season - I swallowed the "single supplement" charge. Surprising, when you think of it. Instead of catering to "solo travelers" and capturing the huge market they represent, this is how it often is even if the hotels never hit capacity, and nowadays, "single people" make up 43% of the Canadian and 50% of the U.S. populations. Seems marketing staff are behind the times and others "penny wise and pound foolish" with their zeal to double up every room. Not always though, in late January, dozens of us jumped at an Air Canada "no single supplement vacation" to Grand Aston Varadero Beach Resort, for an amazing $750. Here, my all inclusive package cost $1,225 for June 6 - 13th (and just six full clear days) but it was priced at $1,442 for the July 4th week when my flock flew over. FIRST TIME EXPERIENCE WITH AN A.I. DIRECTED ROOM REQUEST Didn't go well. A.I. is great for legal research and fact finding but maybe not for room requests as the "people input" may not be good. As per the robot's instructions I should ask for, "a quiet room not facing the courtyard and away from the entertainment stage." Although hotel staff deserve praise in replying to my request before I left, and presumably tried giving me what I would like, I landed in room at the FAR CORNER of the complex, looking out over a desolate space and a wall and homes beyond that. But that was all fixed by Estefany and Nicolás the NEXT DAY (exactly what you want) who found me a 3rd floor room with a shaded (perfect) balcony and nice view of the front courtyard (with a partial glimpse of the ocean), in a great location, and far enough away from the stage that the evening entertainment was no problem. Turned out looking out over the courtyard was much better and not noisy where I was. HOTEL DESCRIPTION - "Authentic feel and charm" The 4 star, recently renovated 447 room CORAL COSTA CARIBE resort lies halfway between the popular tourist hotspot of Punta Cana and the capital city of Santo Domingo. Unlike the ritzy adult and family oriented hotels, Caribe is more compact yet spacious, smartly laid out and decorated with mature palm trees and overall, gives off an "authentic feel and charm," if not more character. Of interest is the fact that D. R. hotels built in the 1990s have larger rooms and more spacious grounds than the newer resorts. Although I heard the area doesn't offer much to see and do (mostly privatized condo complexes shut off to the public), the resort offers enough that you may never want to leave. I didn't. Plus, there are some tours you can book from the hotel including of the capital city. The hotel's MAIN COURTYARD, embraced by a horseshoe shaped set of three interconnected low rise buildings, is a blessing for those who want to relax with a drink in shade at covered tables where you're not far from the courtyard bar, coffee bar, and AIR CONDITIONED bathrooms (yahoo, clean as a whistle), and enjoy a cigar or cigarette while socializing in the fresh blowing sea breeze coming in off the ocean. It's numerous, palm trees provide that "tropical island feel" you want and cooler, shaded places. "Paradise," is what my friend said when he saw my photos. AMENITIES The hotel features an AIR CONDITIONED SPORTS BAR, a newly renovated spa ($), fitness center, a plain dance club/disco, various activities and nightly entertainment. There's a "Kids Club" (ages 4 - 12) with kid's activities, and a souvenir, snack, alcohol and tobacco shop but when I asked for cigarette prices, I kept getting different prices for the same thing and the cost was more than expected. It did have some nice men's 100% cotton shirts at decent prices though.Tip: Bring your own sunscreen. ROOMS SUPERIOR rooms are either garden, street and possibly courtyard view. My experience with the rooms I slept in was they are basic, no furniture or dresser drawers but both had overhead fans and good air conditioning, a fridge, safe (great), balcony (essential), small bath, and enough closet space albeit you may want to bring extra hangers because of the absence of drawers for clothes. The smart TV features enough channels for decent viewing including English language ones. Toiletries, soap, toilet paper and towels are stocked and the fridge worked well. They start you off with a sampling of small water bottles and soft drinks. Water pressure and hot water were fine. Toilet too. I did have a SCARE when water began dripping from my bathroom ceiling but maintenance responded right away and fixed the problem. It was a crack in a clamp that developed. Once replaced, it was fine. Moving to a third room would not have been good, that takes time and work. As you can see from my balcony photo, there's decent space, two chairs, and small plastic table. And shade, what I want. Rooms in the CENTRE BLOCK ROOMS face the ocean but have sun filled balconies all day long, if that's what you want. Room categories not often advertised include: Pool view, partial ocean view, "direct ocean view" and suites found in the quieter S block building or area where you have a honeymoon suite and the kids club (see photos). If you want a wake up call, make sure you go to the reception to book it because after hours, the customer service line is not available. As for loud nighttime entertainment, there's not much you can do except get a room far enough away from the area so that if you go to bed early or like watching TV during the evenings, it won't be a bother. If this is a big issue for you, a room in the building ACROSS THE STREET would be your safest bet but not best choice. Otherwise, enjoy the show or hang out in the sports bar and courtyard until it's over. SWIMMING POOLS You have a choice of two relatively small swimming pools - the main one with a swim up bar, music, a few area tables, and another, on the other side of the buffer restaurant that's for those who want QUIET. So whereas one reviewer said reading is impossible, this MAY be true at the main pool but there are places you can read like at the quiet pool and on the beach. The "covered" tables around the pool area and tables by the pool bar counter are great. You can sit with people and talk, play games, put your things down. There are plenty of lounge chairs around the pool perimeter but on a couple of days, not quite enough for everyone, so this can be a problem. I did see a Dominican guest get one of the pool guards to fetch her a couple from the beach (which I hope he would do for anybody if asked, not sure). THE BEACH AND SWIMMING Juan Dolio Beach runs the length of the property stretching down the coastline so there's ample space for everyone. Shade is under tree top canopies, not parasols, but of the "hundreds" of lounge chairs on the beach, only about one third of them are in shaded areas. Regarding swimming, my photos show the long sandy strip where you can go out more or less waist deep before you hit a wall of weeds. Beyond that is a coral reef. So, you can get in, cool off, submerge and swim but it's not ideal for kids or those who want to swim a half kilometre from shore. Keep in mind it can get windy and wavy and you wouldn't want to go far out then and when the water gets churned up and murky. When I was there, staff cleared the sargassum from the shoreline nearest the main walkway to the beach, so we could enter and exit the water without walking over the washed up weeds further down the beach. When you want to really relax and lie down, you can head to the sunbed area surrounded by white sand, that for some reason was always vacant while I was there (no complaints). Overall, it's a decent, walkable beach but not great for swimming or kids and not your typical Varadero beach but how many are? BUFFET RESTAURANT Like your usual buffet, there's things you may never eat but always stuff you'll find and enjoy. That's most often the case at dinner. Loved the small roasted potatoes. Always found chicken, precooked and grilled. Good. Full marks for precooked scrambled eggs and boiled eggs each morning, although I would've liked more poached eggs. I hate lining up for an omelette or eggs in the morning. No tiempo! Fruit, including pineapple, bananas, papaya and fresh ripened tomatoes, my favourites, were always available and lettuce for salads. Pre cooked pasta in tomato sauce was missing and the sauce at the pan fry grill was watery. I could have used parmesan and fried mushrooms with my spaghetti too. Check out my wholesome breakfasts that kept me going 'til dinner. Seating is both INDOOR and OUTDOOR and covered. SERVICE was excellent. In particular, Jose, who always greeted me and made sure I got my morning beverages and so on. If you like sparkling wine or mimosa with breakfast or dinner, just ask. Background MUSIC is very enjoyable - mellow, relaxing - including good, soft piano, jazz and old standards. So nice that on some days, I remained working there while enjoying the ocean view from my table. A LA CARTE DINING A la carte restaurants I knew of included Tex Mex, BBQ Grill and Mediterranean. All are indoors except for the Grill which is outdoors nightly at the snack bar. The Mediterranean featured good food, great service and air conditioning! The Grill served up a good large cut of Angus steak with cheese filled baked potato and a morsel of veggies. My only complaint was staff tried cutting out my desert although my full order was placed the moment I arrived. In the end, I got my desert but they turned off the lights before I could finish. As for the second floor Tex Mex restaurant with a view, I never ate there. Reservations are required and can be made just off the lobby area near the courtyard. SNACK BAR Essential. Alternative to the buffet too. Ocean view setting. 24 hours I suppose but food can be hit and miss. French fries were good (clean oil), southern style breaded chicken was tender and yummy (see photo of my great lunch one day) but the burgers and hot dogs burnt and pizza rare (only available one day). Buns were fresh. No sandwiches. Draft beer and soft drinks are available but not necessarily ketchup or mustard. SPORTS BAR AND DISCO The 24 hour AIR CONDITIONED sports bar was great - a must-have. You need a place to cool off! There are bar chairs (good) for people who like to cozy up to the bar when not sitting or working at a table. BARTENDING SERVICE was the best here; you always felt welcome. Liliana deserves special praise but everyone was great. The guys at the pool bar work the hardest though when the hotel is busy. Music featured BACCHATA (more Antony Santos please), salsa, some pop music, and cheerful traditional Cuban music which was great and reminded me of good times in Cuba! Overall, pleasant music at a reasonable volume that allows conversation. Similar music also plays on the Beach (wow, I heard UB40)! There are three TVs and a giant screen TV they fire up like they did for the Knicks NBA playoff game. Watched FIFA World Cup and a Toronto Blue Jays game there ... More BLUE JAYS would be better! After all, they are the Dominican Republic's team too (Vladdy Guerrero Jr. is only one of a huge number of Dominicans who have played for Toronto) !! Just don't necessarily expect to hear the games (sound was off when I was there) - and come disco time - the adjoining room can take over. Less volume and bass would be better or a new location. Keeping the adjoining door closed would help too. On a sour note, we asked the lady at the door if she could close it so we could watch the game with less noise and she obliged, only for another staffer to come - right away - and prop it back open! CLIENTELE A mature clientele varying in age (no lone teenagers) but it's not adults only so there can be families with kids. On weekends, you get Dominican visitors who easily fill up most of the pool and all of the swim-up bar. A large contingent also arrived from nearby Puerto Rico after a 14 hour overnight FERRY RIDE. Great enthusiasm and welcome party! Others I met came from as far away as Barcelona, Spain (a special gal), her nice friend from Tenerife, families with older kids from Italy, the U.K. and Rotterdam, a visitor from Ireland on a day pass, and at least 10 Canadians who personally traveled with me from the airport (I expect more will come especially people looking for another place, like me). And, there was Philip from the Florida Keys (fundraiser for Haitian orphans and pianist) who made for good company; he too, a solo traveler and avid tennis player. CLEANLINESS AND PESTS The hotel and property was clean. Garbage cans are located around the resort and clean up crews work most of the day. Bathrooms were immaculate and AIR CONDITIONED too! How great, also keeps mosquitos and bugs out. My usual concerns in tropical places centre around mosquitoes, cockroaches, mice, wild dogs, no-see-ums, sand fleas and jellyfish but these were NOT a concern. Never saw a single roach. I also sat out evenings without having to worry. The week I was there, I had just two mosquito bites; one night at dusk when I had shorts on. Mind you, I wore pants and shoes evenings but still, nothing was buzzing around my ears despite the periodic, short downpours that did occur a few times. ONLINE CUSTOMS FORMS AND CURRENCY PROBLEMS - Anxiety flying high before you even leave! The government's online customs forms and software can be a nightmare! You need to complete two forms, an entrance and exit one! I had problems myself, and friends who I recommended the hotel to - who arrived there this weekend - also had problems. ONE NEARLY SAID SCREW IT. I helped using the "modify button" after the first modification was done (and it looked good on the screen) but the change was all in reverse!! The system also didn't catch the original error even though the 7 day info didn't add up with the start and end dates entered. And the "send by email" and download buttons sometimes worked but you didn't know when because there was no confirmation. Plus, the website is at different addresses (what's fake, what's not), and it played differently on an iPad and Android Tablet! And then, you also know there will be little help at the airport!! It's the elephant in the room -- everyone is expected to have a cell a phone (I retired mine first chance I had), be tech savvy (ha) and supposedly, the online system is flawless! Takes all the fun out of traveling! Reminds me of the "dark age" we lived through called the "pandemic." I say dump it and rely on the customs personnel!! Like we always did! Btw, Canada ditched its made-for-the-pandemic ARRIVCAN app because of all the problems and because it's particularly hard on seniors who make up a huge junk of travelers. And I ask, if you do have an online system, why not take "next of kin info" in case something happens to the visitor? Surprisingly, nobody would accept CANADIAN CASH. Everything must be paid in U.S. currency and by credit card charged in American dollars. VISA likes it, not me! Last time I looked, the CDN DOLLAR is worth alot more than pesos! And, I was shocked their Duty Free Customs shops refused clean, crisp Canadian money even though I was willing to pay the exchange rate. What's worse, the airport currency exchange wanted to charge me an outrageous rate -- $100 bucks for just $45USD for an exchange rate of 55% when it should've been a little over $60! Nuts! Unfortunately, the hotel also couldn't break down my $20 and $50 bills in order to allow me to drop more tips, and since few Canadian travellers know about this place and aren't circulating here, neither is our money. So, bring Dominican Pesos or U.S. cash and small bills and a credit card (if you have one, not everyone does), and hope your own customs declarations experience is better than our's was, and hopefully, more simplified and improved going forward, if not scrapped altogether. CONCLUSION Coral Costa Caribe is off the beaten trail but for those who want a smartly laid out, charming resort with ample beach space, good food quality and choice in a clean environment among new management that aims to please, where you can relax in a palm tree courtyard or on a decent beach and air conditioned sports bar and restaurants, this may be your place. For those who may want to visit the historic capital city of Santa Domingo, the location is good. I concluded it was worth my long trek out here but hope not to have to do it again. Just pack patience if you're coming from Toronto and don't expect luxury rooms or ones directly facing the ocean (unless you want to upgrade once there). If your charter flies in and out of Santo Domingo, count it a blessing. Hopefully, our Canadian tour operators and airlines soon do (and to Cuba again too). Canadian money is not generally accepted, so bring Dominican Pesos or American cash unless you're willing to risk paying absurd exchange rates and a credit card. Hopefully, as the Dominican Republic and it's resorts focus more on welcoming Canadians looking for a new place to call home, things change for the better. Thanks go out to all who welcomed me! God willing and me able, I hope to return one day. Steve Anthony, Toronto, Ontario, Canada