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.

Sadly on arrival we didn't get off to a good start. I arrived to find the assigned room was a different type of room to what was booked. I had booked a superior room (on the hotel's own website these clearly indicate these are rooms with a balcony). Instead I was assigned what appeared to be a standard room (no balcony) on the 7th floor. The 7th floor is beyond the lifts so from the 6th floor to the room up a steep set of steps with no handrail. In this room the safe didn't work, the shower water was cold, you could hear everything from outside and adjoining rooms due to being underneath a wooden roof and the TV had no signal (although don't use this much on holidays). I also got badly bitten by bed bugs (and no I didn't bring these with me). I did bring it to the immediate attention of the hotel reception that I was assigned the wrong room. They tried to tell me that some of their superior rooms don't have balconies (not what their own website says and I checked the room amenities against their website and this room was clearly a standard room) and that if I wanted a balcony I should have requested this when booking (I did by booking a superior room). They admitted that they had overbooked and were having to send some guests to their sister hotels (this shows that there is a serious problem and incompetence within the team taking bookings and is not the guests' problem that they overbooked). They agreed to look into changing my room but said I would need to come back in the morning when a manager/supervisor was around. I returned around 08:30 and was asked to come back at 09:30. I returned then and was asked to come back at 11:00am. I returned then and was asked again to return in the afternoon as no manager available. I returned that afternoon and was asked to come back the following morning to hopefully confirm the room change. (What is noticeable here is middle management, especially for reception seems incredibly hard to get hold of here, are often not available and they don't seem to want to speak directly to guests. Instead they leave the poor reception staff not knowing when they will be available and leave junior staff to deal with all hotel guests and complaints. As a hotel guest and customer the impact of this was I felt that I was a nuisance, in the wrong (I wasn't) and not valued. This is poor leadership to leave your team not knowing about your availability and showing no willingness to show how to politely and professionally deal with customers yourself as a manager. No doubt this review will get a copy and pasted response from management promising action but not taking any responsibility themselves). I returned the following morning and they agreed to change my room and that this would happen in the afternoon, which it did. This room was on the 5th floor and incredibly was a hotel suite with a large sitting room with a sofa bed, two armchairs a coffee table, TV, large wardrobe, working safe, small iron and ironing board, decent air conditioning and a fully equipped bathroom next to the front door. There was a balcony that overlooked the garden area with a convenient foldable rack for drying clothes and two plastic chairs and a small table. The bedroom was huge with a well equipped ensuite bathroom with a good hot shower with two bedside cabinets, lights, good air conditioning, working TV, well stocked mini fridge bar (this contained bottled water, regular Coke, sugar free Coke and Sprite plus a bottle of Cava (I didn't drink that but it was nice to see). I learnt towards the end of my stay if you want more of something and less of something else e.g. more sugar free Coke and less regular Coke or Sprite or something then just leave a note in Spanish for housekeeping staff and they will happily follow this. Building a good relationship with housekeeping staff is a good idea anywhere and especially in the Dominican Republic.. Therefore, tips can make such a huge difference to these people and their families. Carrying lots of smaller notes are a good idea for these tips preferably in Dominican pesos but if not USD$. I stayed for 20 nights and tipped every day for housekeeping and more generously on Dominican Republic Independence Day and when I checked out with thank you notes. The housekeeping staff I bumped into were always very professional, polite and welcoming. I never had an issue with a shortage of towels. These were normally replaced straight away in the mornings. Sometimes they weren't (probably when busier around the weekends) however by early afternoon they would return with fresh towels. One day they knew that I had returned to my room briefly so not wanting to disturb me placed the towels in a bag on the door handle (I thought this was very thoughtful). Soraida (housekeeping) was one of the happiest and positive people I met and she did her best trying to teach me a bit of Spanish and was very patient with me, which I thought was very kind of her. The housekeeping team were definitely the best team here. Treat them respectfully and politely, definitely consider tipping them and you will have great housekeeping service. This suite was definitely an upgrade, above and beyond my needs and what I had booked and appreciated as so much better than the other room. However, first impressions and initial service matter. Although, unfortunately even in this room you could hear the bar / nightclub on the ground floor pumping out music and vibrating through the floors until the early hours of the morning. So, for around 3 nights of the week kept awake until 2am. Boom night is the worst as that goes on until 3am. Great if you are waiting to rave and dance the night away not so great if you want to get some sleep. Even during the day you can't escape the noise created by the entertainment team. I found the sun loungers and the hammocks at the end of the resort were better as less busy and noisy. But even here most afternoons when trying to relax, read and rest disturbed by one of the entertainment team shouting numbers into a microphone or repeatedly saying the same phrases. This was normally for a game happening right in front of him. I don't know why it had to be so loud or why a microphone is even necessary unless the participants were very hard of hearing. What is the point of having hammocks and comfortable beds if you can't sleep or relax in them? The DJ pumping out music into the early hours of the morning is very unpleasant and probably breaks the legal noise limits. The only decent entertainment put on was the Dominican shows and the merengue dancing and music. The Dominican show on Saturday nights were quite impressive, especially the chap drinking rum then making it look like he was breathing out fire. I would have loved to have seen more displays of Dominican culture like this. However, the ice breakers and audience participation beforehand was quite cringe and awkward and not needed. I never really found much of an issue with sun lounger availability. Although, there were a couple of days it got quite busy with day visitors. If the hotel is fully booked they shouldn't take in day visitors. The food was plentiful, a lot of choices in the buffet restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I did find service varied a bit though. Some staff were very pleasant and friendly and keen to offer you drinks etc. and others less so and just hurriedly poured water out and left. So, I tipped if the service was good and didn't if it wasn't. I was going to leave a bigger tip with staff at the entrance to the buffet for the whole team there. However, I don't know why but the lady that was normally there ignored me, wasn't that friendly and one time seemed to be sharing a joke with a colleague about me so I didn't. Although, I noticed with some guests she was very friendly so this seemed selective. They often had welcome drinks at the entrance to the buffet but these were never put out at the start and would sometimes run out before they had finished the meal service. I noticed towards the end of my stay the hotel seemed to have a lot of day conference guests in. Sadly they had to use the buffet for their lunch which a) must be annoying having to find somewhere to sit amongst all us tourists and b) might at times there was a lack of seats for hotel guests staying overnight. There are also restaurants you can book. I tried the Tex-Mex, Mediterranean and Dominican ones. The Dominican one had the best food, decor and service. I tipped generously in these restaurants. Although, it's disappointing to see whole groups leaving without leaving any tips. Although, in both the Tex-Mex and Mediterranean ones served the wrong main course and the wrong dessert in the Dominican one compared to what I had ordered. I would recommend they explain what they are serving and check the order when taking it and again when serving it. These menus for these restaurants were a bit limited so only ate at them a few times, although there was more choice at the Mediterranean one. Unfortunately though to make reservations for these you have to queue up in the morning from 7am in the hotel lobby and they can get fully booked quickly. They should make this booking system easier with online booking. Also, you might want to book restaurants depending on what cuisine the buffet restaurant is serving. For example, the buffet's oriental service is probably the night I would book a restaurant instead. The grill bar also turns into a restaurant you can book for dinner but I didn't make any reservations here as I tried their food during the day and it was awful - tasteless salad, cheap burger buns, dry and overcooked burgers - only edible food were the chips/fries. They serve pizza as well but never saw this available. There are toilets/restrooms near the coffee shop/gift shop (these were redecorated whilst I was here which was nice to see) plus by the grill (quite modern and clean) and by the main pool below the buffet (these need to be cleaned more regularly plus need updating including making the cubicles more private). There are also toilets near the hammocks / water sports shack but these weren't always open and need cleaning and maintenance as well/complete refurbishment. On the beach there are numerous beach vendors. Most of these will leave you alone if you tell them you aren't interested, have already bought what they are selling etc. However, the man selling knock off cigarettes and cigars was quite intrusive and annoying. I told him repeatedly that I don't smoke but every day he would come and ask again and invade my personal space. Hotel security staff should speak to him and ask him to give people space. Also, I would be very wary of the young men selling excursions on the beach. Hotel security clearly don't like them as much as will try and split them up and unlike the other vendors keep them at the edge of the resort area. In the early evenings I then saw them changed their tactics when less hotel staff were around. They would then approach young women on their own in bikinis talking to them about the excursions but also with their phones pretending to use these for their business but it looked very much like they were taking close up photos of these women without their consent. What I don't understand is why on some of the public beaches in DR beach vendors are prohibited but here around the hotel they aren't. In fact the resort almost seems to actively encourage them, allows them to set up on the edge of the resort and allows most of them to wander up and down the sun loungers. Therefore, I suspect they have some kind of business arrangement with the hotel. Sadly these beach vendors aren't allowed to use the hotel toilets/restrooms so some of them I saw using bottles to urinate into or going beyond the hedge/planting on the beach near the water sports shack (not that pleasant when you are trying to enjoy your holiday. I would rather the hotel let them use their toilets). I was amazed at all the different hotel teams - reception staff, housekeeping, cleaning, life guards, security, bell boys (I tipped them as well), bar staff (they definitely appreciate tips), waiters, chefs, cooks, kitchen staff, entertainment team a gardening and maintenance team. I was very impressed one day to see they had got someone in to prune the very tall palm trees (he was up a tree 12+ metres off the ground making the trees safe for guests whilst gardeners made sure guests were out of the way on the ground and clearing up the branches cut off. I was also impressed with the hotel trying to keep on top of maintenance and repainting some areas like the bridge over the pond. Hopefully other parts are on the agenda like cleaning and repainting the fish pond. There was definitely no shortage of staff. Also, no issues with availability of beach towels. I only had to wait 5 mins one day whilst they went to fetch a whole cart full of clean warm towels. I tipped the chap providing clean towels when I checked out. I would avoid the gift shop as it is very expensive and one of the men who works there will try and charge people ridiculous prices e.g. $75 USD for a reusable coffee cup that I didn't want. I walked out and he tried to go after me still trying to sell this to me. Again not sure why the hotel tolerates allowing people like this to harass and try and extort money from guests. There were parts of this hotel that were of 4 star service, including housekeeping that I would actually say was 5 star service and the food selection available and quality for the buffet was nearly always 4 star. Safety in the hotel room and hotel itself 4 stars. However, there are several parts of this hotel that I have described above that aren't what you would expect from a 4-star hotel. That includes being assigned the wrong room when checking-in, poor communication from the reception staff, lack of middle management at reception and none that would speak to you directly, being bothered multiple times a day by beach vendors and worst of all being subjected to a sound system night and day, especially at night until 3am. Some might say I should have done my research better, checked with the hotel first etc. and maybe some of that is true. However, I tried. Online photos on both TripAdvisor and the hotel's own website sells it as somewhere that is peaceful, calm and professional. I also tried to email the hotel before my visit to ask about the local area and would have followed this up with other emails and questions prior to my visit but I had no response. I went on a few excursion trips outside of the resort to places like Santo Domingo, Bayaguana, La Romana, San Pedro and Monkeyland. These were nearly always quite interesting and nice to get outside of the resort. I would avoid tour company reps in the hotel lobby and the beach and instead book these online direct with the company running the excursion. In my case this was with Runners Adventures. You will get a better deal doing it that way and can then use available online discount codes and promotions. I booked one trip with José from Nexus Tours in the hotel lobby but the 2nd one overcharged me and tried to say the online price I had seen didn't cover transport (not true) thankfully he did give me a full refund for the 2nd trip that I then booked myself online at a much better price. Again not sure why the hotel lets these reps work in quite an uncontrolled and unregulated manner inside their hotel. I didn't use facilities like watersports, mini golf and tennis courts. However, what I saw looked run down, neglected, limited resources and in need of investment. Staff tried their best to keep the beach around the hotel clean (would help if some guests / tourists didn't drop litter). However, you only have to walk outside the resort area and there is rubbish everywhere. I tried to pick up some of this and disposed of in a bin but it is never ending. I wish the local government kept the beaches cleaner. Also, I couldn't see any recycling going on within the resort, which is a shame given the amount of plastic bottles and disposable crockery and cutlery that is used. Great hotel resort if wanting to have a good time partying with your mates until 2-3am and not too bothered about much else but not a good choice if primarily looking for a relaxing peaceful Carribbean beach holiday.

Hello everyone! Here's our experience at Coral Costa Caribe The Resort ▪︎ The staff were all amazing. They were very kind, helpful and always presented with a smile ▪︎ The resort is a small resort ▪︎ the resort entrance including the reception area and public washrooms are very clean The Rooms ▪︎ When we got to our room we did notice a real musty odor. We let the front desk know several times and they made every attempt to fix the scent. Last attempt was for them to clean the AC and that seemed to have worked. So we were happy with that. ▪︎ The rooms are dated and are in need of an upgrade. In the washroom, the lighting isn't good. The floor was always wet from the shower, the towel mat was soaked before even stepping on it. ▪︎ the walls are very thin. We heard every conversation and song our neighbour sang 😂 ▪︎ The balconies don't have a mesh screen door. So we had to keep the door closed from insects coming in. ▪︎ there's no couch/chair to sit on in the room ▪︎ I'm that person that brings my own cleaning supplies. I suggest that you do because the surfaces were very dirty ▪︎ bathroom ceiling was cracked and had some mold ▪︎ Our housekeeper Mariela was GREAT! ▪︎ Housekeeping takes your all the used towels in the morning and brings back the clean towels in the late afternoon. So we couldn't shower or freshen up during the day. ▪︎ The morning upon heading to the airport there was no hot water at 6 am The Beach ▪︎ its close by. We didn't have any problem finding chairs. The water is clear and very shallow and absolutely beautiful. Seaweed appeared 3rd day. Staff cleaned up a lot of it Entertainment ▪︎ we didn't participate much to even give a review. We did stop by the Stage show but didn't stay long bc there were no seats. ▪︎ we went to the club and also didn't stay long as there were only a few people there Food ▪︎ the presentation was lovely. However, the food wasn't that good. There were food, here and there, that were flavourful but the majority was not good. My family and I were in the washroom often for the duration of our trip. I had taken the Dukoral prior to this trip to prevent this in which I had milder symptoms than my sister and niece did. ▪︎ The process of booking reservations and having to be up every morning at 7 am to line up and make a reservation for dinner that night while being on vacation is really silly to me. So we only did 1 dinner reservation bc we woke up too late and the restaurants were full The Bugs ▪︎ The sand flies and mosquitoes are savages lol ▪︎ There are a lot of flies in the buffet area on food and tables

Perfect, a hotel we have long favored in the Caribbean paradise, where you get very pleasant service at a reasonable price. A strategic location for trips to the capital as well as other natural sites. Helpful staff, excellent cuisine.

Had a real nice time staying here. The staff all the way from checkin to baggage help to cleaning staff, food staff, beach staff....all top notch and very friendly. When on the resort spent most of my time on beach instead of the pool...so cant review the pool-- but the beach area had plenty mix of sun and shade and available chairs to sit. The Carribbean Sea was so damn refreshing. Didnt want to come out. Also not as many "vendors" on the beach here as you will find at other beaches so that was nice as well. The only thing that was less than ideal was the type of flooring in the room, combined with the weather, airconditioning and fans-- the condensation would be on the floor in the room leaving wetness. I tried a few things including shutting off when not in room but just seemed to have that wetness on the floor. Minor issue for me--- this is a fun place to spend vacation time.