by KentJarrett on February 14, 2009
As some of you know us my now, we are Kent & Sharon. We travel somewhere warm the last week of January every year for our anniversary. We got married on the beach in St. Lucia 2003, I promised her we would go somewhere warm every year. So needless to say I use tripadvisior to find the best bang for the buck.We traveled to the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana from 1/25/09 – 2/1/09.Beach: Best yet, 24 miles of white sand beach. We walked two hours in both directions. People friendly and lots of topless gals, not necessarily the ones your wanted to see topless, but they are out there non the less.Food : the buffet was a bit repetitive. We ate the breakfast every morning for breakfast, and were able to get into the specialty restaurants 6 of our 7 nights. Travel Tip, book your 3 reservations as soon as you get there, then go the restaurant around 6 pm, and talk to the Maitre d. I would simple tell them we were on our anniversary trip. The gourmet was by far the best, as we ate there 3 times. After the third time, my wife stated she didn’t think she could eat any more lobster. A really pleasant surprise was the grouper at the tropical seafood restaurant. We did not eat at the steak house because we live in the Midwest and don’t travel that far to eat a steak that couldn’t be as good as we get at home. Rooms: when we checked in I asked if we could be upgraded, and presented the check in person with a small gift from our country / state. I gave them a bag of beer nuts made in our hometown. She upgraded us to a junior suite at not extra cost. The mini bar was stocked with Beer and soft drinks. Since we booked via apple vacations the safe was included and we used it a lot. I did set traps to see if anybody was going though the safe, nothing was every out of place. Our maid was lovely and appreciated our tip. I tipped her 2 US everyday, and folded her a towel animal. By the end of the week it looked like the arch in there, she was leaving us 2 of 3 a day. She even asked me to show her how to fold the monkey I left for her.Pool: sun beds by the pool and on the beach are plentiful. The pool are can get very noisy with very loud people. Staff: I tipped my waiter well on the first day and he followed us around all week, my glass was never empty. I took 100 in ones, and used about 75 in tips, but the extra service it gets you is more than worth it. Remember the local are working 11 straight days at 11 hour days for 150 a week. So when you give then 2 – 3 dollars a day, they LOVE it! The entertainment in the evenings was a bit disappointing. Casino: we were warned by our apple rep not to use the casino as it is rigged and you can’t win, so we never went in. Mafia Mall: on the beach is quiet a riot! We ended up buying most of our stuff there, the cigars I bought day one started out at 180 for 25, by the 3rd day, I had him down to 20 US for 25. NEVER paid asking price! Weather: This was as far north as we have been, I was somewhat worried if it would be warm enough, but it was 84 – 85 everyday and 70 – 72 every night. Perfect. The first 5 days of our trip the wind was 25 – 35 MPH in from the east, which was very unusually. The locals said the ocean was angry, therefore, we didn’t book any trips outside of the resort. The last two days I did snorkel the rocks out front of the Riu. I took an empty water bottle from the room, and filled it full of bread, and saw lots of fish. The best snorkeling was outside the ropes, but there was a TON of boats zipping by and felt a little threatened beyond the rope.Overall a great holiday, Great bang for the buck! The Iberostar resorts have moved to the top of my list.Here is a link to all photos that I can share on a public site.http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=p36j33j.5f0s9bir&x=1&y=n59wsq&localeid=en_USHope this help!Kent & Sharon.
http://www.igougo.com/review-r1358567-Great_Bang_for_the_Buck_Best_Beach_So_Far.html
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