we stayed at the melia march 7th -14th 2006

Let me start by saying that after all of the negative things I read I was a bit worried about my trip but had an awesome tiime. My husband and I are from South Carolina and went July 7-14 without our kids and really enjoyed ourselves. If you are Paris Hilton you probably aren't going to like the resort and you are going to have problems and have a bad experience. Keep in mind that this is a different county and it isn't like home. Go with the flow and enjoy the breath taking scenary and you will have a great time.

We visited Melia Caribe for the first time on the above dates. After reading many of the unfavorable reviews posted on your site, I must admit, I was apprehensive. However, it turned out to be a fabulous vacation and a definite "do again". I am not a fan of air travel, so the 3 hours an 20 minutes was just enough. The PC airport check in does have something to be desired, but I have gone through worse. The transfer to the hotel could also be sped up, but again, we are on vacation. Once at the hotel, check-in was easy (approx 10 minutes) with complimentary beer/cocktails at the asking. We were then asked where we would like to stary and what type of room we wanted. As not being there before, we asked for their suggestion and were placed in building 27. Once in the rom which was very clean and ready, or luggage showed up within 20 minutes. We then decided to get the safety box and called the office. This took approx 15 minutes-no delays anywhere.

We took a walk on the grounds which are absolutely magnificant. The colors of the flowers, the different types of trees, the peacocks, the grass totally manacured- breathtaking. The pools are clean and clear; the beach clean and walkable. There wasn't one mosquito during the entire week!

Dinner: this does need some work. We were able to make reservations in all the restaurants we chose. However, on the last night, they lost our reservation for the French restaurant. We managed to have this taken care of even after being told they were booked. But once we went in, the place barely had 5 couples and did not fill up at all. It appears that they tell you they are booked and have resrved times, when in fact, this is not the case.

Service: we did not have any trouble at all except for dinner in the Dominican restuarant. Again, they did not seem busy, but it took us over an hour to get our main course- still not sure why.

Casino: open for 8pm-3am. Not very large, but all the comforts. Enjoyed.

This is a definite for another trip as the Melia Caribe is so large, they even after a week, we did not get to see all of it. The trains or golf carts are constantly around, so getting to and from is not a problem. Again, this was off season and not as crowded as it can get. If is packed to capacity, I could see where there could be delays, service problems, etc.

We chose the Melia after doing a bit of research on this and some other sites, primarily for the kids amenities as we have a 14 month old. Ironically we didn't end up using any kids' services partly because we wanted to vacation as a family not leaving him alone etc.. That being said of what we saw of the "Flinstones" area we were impressed.

I should also note that if you're traveling from the West Coast make sure your layover is more than 45 minutes. We booked through Apple Vacations from Seattle with a 45 minute layover (transfer) in JFK - due to a crew delay and another delay in landing we missed our connection by 5 minutes resulting in a 24 hour stay in an airport hotel! Not recommended.

But that has nothing to do with the Melia hotel so now on to the review:

Check in took about 10 minutes total. We arrived at around 12 noon on a Friday, knowing that official check in time was 3pm we weren't expecting a room but they had it ready for us right away! We were also met by a waitress who took a drink order while in line - very nice. Unfortunately our luggage took 3 hours to arrive at our room so my tip for anyone (generally for anywhere) is to pack a carry on with your swimsuits and everything you need for the first few hours. I had this ready to go but mistakenly gave to the bellman to send to the room.. my bad.

We were given a room in building 25 on the Caribe side. This was great as buildings 24-27 are all steps from the pool and within a couple of minutes from both the beach and the breakfast/lunch buffet restaurant. Very convenient because of the nap schedule for the baby and easy trips back to the room for forgotten items. Initially I had requested the Tropical side due to the "kids" areas, but really both pools are virtually identical so in hindsight I'm glad we stayed where we did. Nothing wrong with the Tropical side I just preferred the location where we were.

Breakfasts and lunches are all buffet style. Breakfasts there is pretty much anything you want - eggs to order, omelettes to order, fresh fruit, salads the works. Lunch was open at 12:30 in the same place with made to order burgers, good selection of meats and cheeses and of course fruit. Unless you're an extremely picky eater there is something for every taste, and very tasty it was! I also have to say the servers and staff at the buffet restaurant were amazing with our 14 month old. A few of them after a day remembered his name and always took time to stop and pay attention to him, he loved it!

Dinners we ate out at two a la carte restaurants: Pagoda which is now a Thai restauarant (used to be chinese), and Hokkaido the Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. Quality of food was excellent but we couldn't really enjoy too much as we decided to bring along our infant son. Japanese was probably the best as we sat with 8 other people so was quite social. Most of the restaurants were located near the Caribe lobby. The 5 or 6pm times they gave me when I asked for a restaurant reservation the night before worked out well for us, however if you don't like eating that early it seemed the only other option was 10pm.

The trains were good at getting people from the pools/beach to the lobbies. We had a train stop steps from our front door so that was quite convenient as it ran every 15 minutes. We were also picked up once by someone in a cart, I tipped him a couple of bucks - but that was the only time we didn't take the train.

I dropped by the casino to check it out one night. About 20-25 slot machines, a few blackjack tables, 2 roullette, and one or two casino poker tables. I had hoped they would have had at least one holdem table but the poker was simply dealing out 5 cards with a 2nd bet and you had to beat the dealers hand - pretty basic. The table minimums were $5 & $10 up to I think $100. Slot machines were all quarters from what I saw.

We spent most of our time at the pool and beach. I have to say the pool was fantastic! There is a kiddie pool but basically they have areas within the pool that slope from less than a foot to a maximum of 5 feet. This was a great area for kids and adults alike. Also a great swim up bar which had daily drink specials The beach was beatiful white/brown sand with plenty of chairs, though the shady spots were usually taken by 7 in the morning. However people came and went so you could always find a spot. I was amazed that early every morning I saw men in green jumpsuits raking the fine seaweed into piles, they would then put into burlap bags and collect them using a tractor pulling a trailer. All this to ensure there was no seaweed for vacationers, amazing! These small touches were apparent also with the cleanliness of the manicured grounds as well. Beatiful plants, trees, flowers were everywhere - also peacocks roaming everywhere and pink flamingos in the pond by the tropical lobby.

We never did see the Royal Service area but chatted with a couple who were staying there. They said the service was excellent and well worth it. My take however is due to the location of the Royal Suites you weren't close to the beaches or pools. Yes they transported you anywhere you wanted to go but I much prefer where we were in relation to the beach as it was within walking distance. Also the beach area, while separate, wasn't anything too special.

Our room, being a standard junior suite (they're all like that) was large enough. King size bed, 20" TV with cable, couch and coffee table, and a fairly large bathroom. Much bigger than a standard hotel room for sure. So unless you're someone who needs VIP treatment the "regular" facilities were good enough for us for sure!

I think resort details aside what really left an impression with me was how friendly everyone was. All the staff were always saying hello and if asked would definitely go out of their way to make you happy.

So at the end of our vacation I'd have to say I really enjoyed being in this place. I haven't stayed in any other resort in the Dominican, but compared to another all inclusive stay in the Mayan Riviera which was similarly priced, I'd have to say this was so much better. Yes I'd go back in a heartbeat.

P.S. we were pleasantly surprised, near the kids pool on the Caribe side there was someone selling jewellery and paintings in a covered building. We ended up getting a necklace, earrings and a matching ring for $45! These were all Larimar which is a stone only found in the DR, similar looking to turquoise. Similar jewellery at the gift store was easily $100+ for each piece, so a great idea for an inexpensive souvenir for sure.

This resort was all we expected and more. I have read so many reviews, good and bad, and I disagree with all the bad reviews. The employees were so nice and friendly. The food was good and it was nice to have such a great selection of restaurants for evening meals. There were supposed to be 4 buffets for breakfast and lunch and snacks, but one of them was under construction, so one of the a la carte restaurants had a buffet for breakfast and lunch. But the other buffet was never open. So you had three buffet restaurants for breakfast and lunch. They all served pretty much the same things. They had an omelet/egg bar for breakfast everyday, along with pancakes, waffles, French toast and a lot more. I noticed that every other day they offered bacon. Lunch was burgers, hot dogs, pizza, breads and meats for sandwiches, along with a lot of different chicken, pork and beef dishes. We never ate the buffet for dinner except for the day we arrived and it was good. We chose the ala carte restaurants for dinner the rest of the trip. We tried the Capri(seafood), The American Grill (American food), Hokkaido (Japanese), Pagoda (Chinese/Asian Fusion), Le Gourmet (gourmet) and Ma Maison (French).They were all good. And don’t be afraid to ask for special items. The Capri offers certain combinations, but my boyfriend only wanted lobster. So he asked for just lobster and that’s what they gave him, lots of lobster. We both had never tried Mahi Mahi, so we asked if we could try it, so we got that. We ended up with three entrees. They will give you as much as you want. You can design your dinner to your tastes. Don’t be afraid to ask because it is all inclusive and they will cater to you. At the Pagoda, their spring rolls were awesome, so we asked for more of them and they gladly brought more. We noticed entire ducks roasted, and asked if we could take one with us. Our waiter told us that he would package one up for us, but when we got done eating, we were so full we told him to cancel the duck.

The best thing we did, and I read this in other reviews, is take a few hundred one dollar bills. This will get you where you want to go. They say tipping is not necessary, but if you don’t want to wait for the train, there are lots of employees driving around golf carts. Wave them down, give them a buck or two and they will get you where you want to go very quickly. A few bucks are a lot of money to these people and they helped to make our trip what it was. We got to know quite a few of them and they were extremely wonderful people. We always tipped the bartenders too. Again, this is not necessary, but we felt that they did such an awesome job that we wanted to tip them.

Everything in the gift shops is extremely expensive. There is a mall across the street, and they were also expensive.

They have lots of excursions. My boyfriend did the deep sea fishing, which was only $95 for a 4 hour trip. He has been on other deep sea fishing trips and it was a lot more expensive. He didn’t catch anything, as it was off season, but he said it they did everything the other deep sea fishing charters did that he has been on. He still had a great time. We also took out a Hoby Cat (free) and did the Scuba doos (underwater motorized vehicle-$65 per person). That was a riot. Another couple did an all day safari and said it was the best money they spent ($90 per person). They also have scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, parasailing, and so much more. We were more into laying in the sun and hanging at the pool bar.

We visited Melia Caribe in April 2007 and we will definitely return. We are a couple of Canadians who happened to have a smooth visit. However, if there are serious problems with check in there is no excuse and must be improved promptly by this resort and there should be absolutely no horror stories about people wasting half a day just to get room and we truly sympathize with them. We would be also pretty upset if this happened to us.

But then again the combination of what was available at this resort was the right combination for us. We loved the pool, the beach, the restaurants (did not get sick from food – very important to us), the garden. We thought the rooms were lovely and well supplied and maid service perfect. We are willing to compromise then regarding poor English (they do try), some fumes from the vehicles and perhaps a slow bartender. We do not believe we would find a really a perfect place. Maybe the food would be contaminated, (we heard a lot of diarrhea stories and experienced intestinal troubles elsewhere ourselves) and we came home healthy from here, maybe the garden would not be as beautiful and perhaps pool somewhere else would not be as quiet (quiet, comfortable pool where we feel we have privacy is absolutely another must). Perhaps the service would be out of this world somewhere else but there would be other things that would annoy us. You will find rude people anywhere (towels on the chairs) and there is always something not right even in the most perfect of places.

We were in one country which we will not name where people were not friendly at all, we were not comfortable and we paid good money. (here we got at least nice smiles and pleasant “hola”). There were places where we did not feel safe – we were very happy with the security at Melia Caribe (again very important to us). Yes, we were a little tired of making reservations at 9:00 p.m. (this system is brutal) although we did get into all the restaurants we wanted including Japanese and we enjoyed them all). In evaluating this resort and after taking everything into consideration we will still return and not because we did not travel and don’t know any better. We know. The reasons we will come back and what is important to us is this:

1. Clean food (absolute must – deciding factor)

2. Excellent security- (guards watching the grounds at all times)

3. Safe beach – (waters were usually not rough and we felt to swim was safe – never mind some sea weed- no jelly fish, sting rays, undertows, sea urchins, tar on the beach, black sand beach (ouch), pebble beach (forget it) experienced them all – no fear of sharks here- many places we chose not to swim in the ocean because of the above reasons (Atlantic surf – beautiful to look at but swim?). We were swimming all the time at Bavaro. GREAT BEACH.

4. Large and quiet pool – (what a pleasure - not crowded even in the busiest of season – we felt we got our rest).

5. Pleasure from the visual splendor this place has to offer.

6. Rooms were quiet- place is solidly built – we did not hear any noises from anywhere and the resort was full. We slept well. Villa #43. – not Royal Service.

First, I'd like to preface this review by stating that I am an Airline pilot who travels extensively and has stayed at many resorts around the world. I would never go back to Melia Caribe Tropicale for many reasons. Overall service is not up to standards, the staff will smile all day and try to understand our broken spanish but ultimately we rarely recieved what we asked for. Some of the things we requested that were too difficult to comprehend were, 4 towels each day in our room (we're a family of four) the check -in was so slow we wasted 3 hours on the first day and still got the wrong room, it took much cajoling and begging to be moved. My sister's family made reservations for adjoining rooms, she has 3 children, and the rooms were in two seperat buildings! The staff did'nt think this was a big deal! many spoke about the dinner reservations and its a tiring and nightly battle one must wage to get a reservation at one of the more popular resturants. I witnessed many outbursts as guests made a mad dash to yhe house phones each night at 9:00 PM to make reservations only to have a busy signal for 30 minutes, when they finally got through all resrvations were already booked! The manager explained there were only 4 phone lines for 2,000 guests. We had a party of 9 which may have contributed to the difficulty in making reservations, however I've never had to deal with all these difficulties each night playing the "reserrvation game" at any other resort I've ever gone to. If you have a small party I suspect it may be easier to get into some of these resturants, bottom line, I didn't spend good money to argue and battle each ight in order to eat at a nice resturant. My biggest pet peeve and its a big one, was the strange insistance by the management that men wear closed shoes at the resturants. I knew about this restriction, but was told you had to wear a "closed toe" shoe. I owned a pair of expensive closed toe sandals and was told I couldn't enter the resturant after we finally made a reservation at one! I was dressed very nice with slacks, a collared shirt and the aforementioned sandals. There was no give by the manager who basically told me to there was no way I could get in! meanwhile there were men dressed in shorts, T-shirts with a skull on it, and old sneakers and that was OK!!!! I went back to my room, put on a pair of water mocasins, which looked ridiculous! but the manager was OK with them!! Then the most bizzare event took place! after I heard a long speech about how the management wanted the resturant to maintain a classy image at 10:00 pm I heard a loud scream "Yabba, Dabba, Doo!!!" and in walks some guy dresssed up like Fred Flinstone! Presumably this is for the kids but the only kids around were the five in our party, 3 of which were sleeping at the table (Because we couldn't get earlier reservations) maybe french children eat at 10:00 pm but our kids were exhausted! The grounds were beautiful, so was the beach, but the beauty was compromised each minute by a constant flow of motorcycles, scooters and light trucks, most of which had bad exhausts so they reeked of smoke. There was usually only one bartender at the pool bar so you had to wait forever to get a drink. As far as activities, if you paid for them, they were fine, but the free ones like paddle-boats, kayaks, and snorkeling along the beach, they were always out of equipment or like the resturants, already full. I was told there were 2,000 guests and they has 2 paddle boats, 4 kayaks, and only 2 masks for snorkeling with no tubes!!!!!

A group of us went to the Melia Caribe Tropical and I must say we will return. Most of the negative reviews are just about people being way to picky and should stay in their own perfect homes. Flying into Punta Cana airport was short, only 3 1/2 hours. We flew Air Transat Club Class and was worth the extra money.You get on the plane first and off the plane first, thus avoiding the long lines. Immigration/customs was fast, maybe 30 seconds at most, handed them our tourist card and they stamped our passports without even looking at us. Luggage was first and from there about 50 ft to catch our bus. We asked the Transat rep how long, they said 20 mins before the bus leaves and 2 stops. We all chipped in for a cab ($25) plus tip and we were at the hotel in 15 mins. Check in was good, not lightning speed, but efficient and with a smile. English was spoken and she asked what rooms we would like. We were lucky to get rooms side by side in the same building right by the pool. Since we wanted to golf, went to guest services who phoned Cocotal and could only get a 1:00pm tee off the next day and would not book future dates. So we went across the street to the golf club and downstairs is the manager. ( do not go into the pro shop ) He changed our tee off to 7:35am and booked 5 rounds for the same time. The course is beautiful, with new homes and villas being built along it..A very wide open course, but enough trees, water and sand to make it a challenge. Yes there are no bathrooms on the course, so go before you tee off. Bring water, soda etc and they will fill the cart cooler with ice . After your round they clean your clubs and if you wish, they will store them for you @ $5 per week.

The resort is huge, with extensive gardens that are constantly being cared for. The gardners always appreciated a smile and "Hola" as you passed them by. Trains went around the resort every 15 mins or enjoy the walk..we did.

The people working the resort try and please you any way they can, even if some only speak a little english...Try to communicate, it's not hard and we all had a laugh.

If you need more pop or water in your room, phone and they bring it to you, normally within 30 mins. Rooms were kept clean, lots of marble and keep a plastic card handy ( I used a Costco card ) and leave it in the slot near your door. This way you have air conditioning and electricity all the time. The "musty" smell is called humidity and will get into your room if you don't leave the card in the slot. It is the tropics ya know !! Beach was beautiful and you can walk miles either way...some seaweed on some days ( like walking over 6 inches of the stuff ) to get into the water. They constantly sweep it up off the beach.

Pools are large with palm trees in the middle and small coves for the littles ones to enjoy.

Bartenders everywhere are friendly and always filled my bubba with a smile and a handshake. I gave mine to one of them my last day since they can't get it in the D.R.

Ask staff if they have kids, we gave one 2 Matchbox cars and hair bracelets (with a note saying this is their gift) and had a friend for life. Never saw anyone so happy to receive something small.

Food is very good for an all inclusive, just don't be expecting Chez Jaques or Emerils and you will be quite happy...something for everyone and if you can't find food, you are way too picky.We ate at several ala cartes and all were top notch.

All in all, a 4 star resort and yes we will be returning next year.

If you have questions ask me in the forums under barriebrian and I will answer them for you.

Spent a week at this beautiful resort.

We upgraded to the Royal Service. Highly recommend. Did all by booking on line and was able to upgrade before hand. Spoke with other people who upgraded when they arrived and they paid much more than we did.

FOOD
The food is excellent. We went to the Japanese restaurant twice.

GOLF
There is no bathrooms, that posed a problem for me so we never went back. Course is ok.

The grounds are stunning. The bars are fun and they do not skimp on the alcohol.

ROYAL SERVICE
This is what you get:
Private check in service. Takes 10 minutes if that. No waiting in line. They take you to a separate room, ac and it always smells so good. There is always coffee, snacks, juices and such all the time. There is computers in there for Royal Service guest to use, TV, couch, chairs, newspapers, games. There is tea time every afternoon with hot snacks.
Check out was a breeze as well.

2 Butlers at your beck and call. If you want to take a bath in your giant and I mean giant whirlpool tub just tell them when and what time, and when you arrive to your room it is filled, has flower petals on top of the water and candles are lit. Very nice.

You do not have to wait in line for the train...just call them and they come and pick you up and take you if you do not want to walk.
You have a private pool that is for Royal Service guest only and a fantastic restaurant and 2 bars. The main bar has more upscale selection of liqueurs and alcohol. I love Drambui, it is only at the Royal Service bar, however the very kind bartenders would always go there and bring me back some when we were at the main bar. At the beach you have a private area with many cabana boys taking care of you with very nice chairs.

We travel quite a bit, and I would have to say this was the best. Now, if they could only put Teeth of the Dog across the street this would be perfect.

Just got back from one week at the Melia Caribe from April 05 12, 2007 with Transat Holidays. We were a party of six (3 couples) between 30 and 40. Let me say first that reports of the walking distance between main lobby and pool/beach are greatly exaggerated! We were in building 38 and it was 2 minutes to the lobby and a 5 minute walk to the pool/beach area. There is a train service that runs constantly, but in my opinion you don't need it as it is quicker to walk.

Also, this is really 2 resorts in one, there is the Caribe side and the Tropical side, they are virtually identical and run parallel to each other. You have access to the services of both.

Check-in: this was extremely slow. We arrived with about 30 people from our flight and it took over an hour to get everyone checked in. We did not get the rooms we requested but this was really no big deal. Everything after check-in was excellent.

Rooms: We did not get Royal Service but instead had the regular Deluxe Jr. Suite on second floor (I prefer this as it seems to cut down on the critters). These rooms were large and well equipped. Shampoo, body wash, lotion, soap, hair dryer in bathroom. Iron/ironing board, king size bed, extra pillows, coffee maker, alarm clock, tv, sitting area with couch and chairs.

Maid Service: service was excellent, fridge restocked daily with lots of water, pop, coffee. We would normally leave a note and a couple of $$ every couple of days for the maid.

Restaurants: Food was excellent, including the buffets. We ate at the Turey grill for breakfast and lunch, lots of selection. We ate at Capri (Mediterranean), Ma Maison (French), Gondola (Italian), Hokkaido (Japanese) and the American Grill. We liked the Capri best but all served excellent food. The only complaint is it can be difficult to get a reservation. You have to call between 9pm and 11pm the night before for a reservation the next day. We would call from the house phones (6313) in the lobby at 9pm and never had a problem getting through.

Bars: Avenue Bar was a cool place to hang out before/after dinner. Big comfortable chairs/couches and excellent wait staff to bring your drinks. The casino/sports bar is a decent size and also a good spot to hang out. Checked out the disco a couple of times but preferred the live music at the Tropical lobby bar which was every evening from 9:30 to 12:30am. BTY, the pool bar shuts down at 7pm. After that everything happens at the front of the resort around the 2 main lobbies (caribe and tropical)

Pools/Beach: Pool is quite large with plenty of palapas/chairs and trees for shade. Swimup bar was great, sometimes a little busy but never a real problem getting served (especially if tip a few $$). Beach was awesome, miles and miles of sand, water was clean and clear, some seaweed on windy days but not enough to be annoying. The usual issues with palapas/huts; you need to be there early to get one. However, never any shortage of beach chairs.

Golf: We golfed one day and pre-booked our tee-time directly through the golf courses website. This probably wasn't necessary as it wasn't that difficult to book times once you got there. There is a shuttle available to get you to/from the course (complimentary) and the course is in great shape. Golf carts are mandatory and cost $35/person.

Shopping: There is a shopping mall (Palma Real) located directly adjacent to the resort, you can walk there in a few minutes by walking straight out the front entrance of the lobby. There is actually an entrance to the mall located on the resort itself. This mall is quite new so there only about 15 shops and a few restaurants open right now. There is a Tony Roma's open and they are currently building a Hard Rock Cafe.

First, thanks for the great web site that is just full of good info. It made our trip so much better.

We were on the Tropical side of the resort. A friend of my, is a Vacation Club member. And he gave us one of his weeks. We had a room right in the beach. And it seems all the beach rooms are for Vacation Club members. The weather was perfect with a nice cool breeze blowing. The staff is friendly and helpful.

Our room was across from the Turey Grill. So breakfast was 50 ft from us. And we need our coffee in the morning. All the food was great. We ate at the Hokkaido, Capri, Hacienda, Guarapo, American grill, and the Gondola. We did take a taxi from the airport and again to the plaza. The taxi drivers…. Well….. will make you fear for your life. The driving style is different they make Mexico look good. But no problems.

We just got back on March 2 from a week at the Melia Caribe Tropical and thought we would pass along our review of this resort.

We were on the Tropical side and we both found this place absolutely beautiful! The resort is huge and it does take a bit of time to figure out where everything is but the staff is friendly and helpful if you get lost. There is also trolley that circles the resort every 15 to 20 minutes and you are given a resort map which we never parted with during our stay. We originally requested a room close to the beach and pools but ended up with a room near the restaurants which we were happy with. Nice to be close to all the FOOD. I would definitely try and get a room on the second floor as we had a few little critters but nothing bad. Can't be helped when you are in the Caribbean.

The only negative we have to say about this resort is that the check-in is incredibly slow. We arrived late on a Friday night and the lines were long and the staff did seem a bit confused and would disappear and come back and then disappear again. Also, watch out for the time share people. They are everywhere and persistent but it didn't ruin our vacation at all. We just kept saying "no thanks" and walked off.

The food was FABULOUS. We were so impressed with the a la carte restaurants. We ate at Hokkaido, Le Gourmet, Ma Mason, Capri, Hacienda and La Pagoda and loved it all. We had no problems getting reservations when we called at 9 p.m. the night before. We went to Atabales for all our breakfast meals and found the assortment pretty good. They did switch it up so you didn't get bored. We also went to the Turey and Agora Grills and again found the selection pretty good.

We just got back from the Melia Caribe Tropical on the 17th of February. We spent a week golfing and relaxing. The down side is the front desk. We arrived late Saturday afternoon on the 10th at about 4:30 PM. The check in lines were very long and I noticed that the amount of time that they spent checking people in was incredible compared to the USA. The desk staff kept blindly staring at their computers as if the information on the computer was in code or perhaps Russian because all of them looked as if they did not understand what was on their screen. Then they would walk into a back room for a while and then return to the screen. Then they would walk to other staff and then return to the screen. It took about 20 minutes per couple to check in. In the mean time we did not receive a drink or anything. We just stood around with a lot of unhappy travelers for about an hour before getting to the desk. If you are going to the Melia get a flight that arrives earlier when the lines are not as long but still expect the puzzled desk staff.

The food was OK but since we are from Philadelphia, the land of great restaurants, we would react that way. The best food was the rib eye steak at the American Grille. Other, wise Le Gourmet, Ma Maison, Capri, and Hokkaido we OK but not great. The staff were very nice and really appreciated speaking Spanish to them. The golf was good, not great, but the available tee times are either very early or at 11:45 and beyond. We could only get 11:45 and that breaks up the day. The shuttles were fine and on time. The staff at Cocotal were also nice and spoke more English. The pool is great and the breakfast buffets at the pool are better than at Atabales although all three were good. The drinks did not seem watered down. Presedente Beer is OK but not great. Some of the bar tenders know how to mix a martini but others don't.

North American people have to understand is that the people who work at the resort are there to follow orders by the area managers that truly run the show. If you have any problems, do not waste your time with the front desk, ask for a manager.

We were there for 2 weeks and knowingly knew how the Dominican life style is. I've read in previous posts that the food was just OK. DO NOT listen to these reports. The food was amazing. The Japanese, French, Gourmet and American Grill were my favorites, but I never had a bad meal there. As for the drinks being just OK, no way. I being a rum drinker, opted away from the local rums and and saw that hey had Barcardi. Voila I was set. I had other mixed dinks like Mamawanna, Daquaris, Chocolate Monkies and Bahama Mamma. All served there purposes.

The pools were down by the beach and were large enough that they were not crowded. This resort is very large and they have trains to get you from one end to the other. If I had to walk it was OK as I probably needed to walk off a fantastic meal.

In other posts I really never read much about the golf course. Being a golfer, I will let you know this golf course is a great Carribean course. The greens roll to about 9-10 and the course has a variety of tees to test your game. You get lots of roll and are very generous in the landing areas. There is not much rough but lots of white stakes where, eventually houses and condos are going.

Your reviews are priceless. When we went to Costa Rica they were right on the money and now in the Dominican Republic, we read them before we left and they were very helpful. Thanks for posting them.

We went to Punta Cana for a week in January...a perfect time to go.

86 degrees and a great breeze. The 27 hole golf course five minutes from the hotel is ok. They herd you there at specific times and then send you on the way. Waiting wasn't an issue on the course at all.

There's lots of construction going on with condos around the fairways. The only major complaint I'd have is there are NO bathrooms on the course so you have to make due! They also charge for water if you don't bring it from the hotel.

We went on the ATV rides and had a great time! It was a fantastic way to see a little of the country and learn about it. We didn't know that the international airport was built by 3 celebrities who live down there. That's where the airport tax goes...to them! Julio Inglesias is one of them.

Food was only ok. Everything was Dominican but with an international flavor. The French restaurant and Capri were the best. We found that by calling at 3pm every day we could easily make reservations. The only times we could get were 6:30 and 9:30 so it's not the best system in the world.

The casino should be avoided. They have different rules that favor them (i.e. the dealers don't show blackjack if they have an ace showing). The liquor is Dominican made and basically gave us a headache. Call liquors were scarce.

Dollar bills go a long way for tips. The maids are excellent and made us animal flowers from the wildlife outside our door. They are very appreciative of anything you leave there for them. We only encountered one "muy grande" cockroach and it was HUGE with white stripes! You expect it in a tropical environment, but only saw it once.

The beach is beautiful. Yes, there's seaweed and natives who hawk their goods. Go to the vendors yourself and don't use a "salesman" on the beach. You will pay his commission!

My husband, two sons (ages 5 & 2) and I just arrived home from a glorious week at this resort. After reading all the reviews I was hesitant to come here but I am so glad that I stuck with my instincts and spent our vacation here.

Check in was quick and painless, we were in our room within 20 minutes of arriving at the resort and our luggage was there in less than 5 minutes. The room was spotless and the the shower toilet etc... worked perfectly, and they stayed this way the entire time we were there. (No this was not a Royal Service Room.) Although neither my husband or I speak any spanish we never had a problem communicating with the staff and they made every effort to ensure that our stay was perfect.

The grounds were beautifully kept and very large, but they do have 3 trains that drive along a route and pick up guests at specified stops, but they did stop if you waved them down. At dinner time they also had staff driving in golf carts that would pick up guests and drive them to the Main buildings or to the restaurant that you had reservations at. The restaurants offered a large assortment of dining options. The kids loved to eat Breakfast and Lunch in Betty's Backyard Grill, and of the many options for dinner I think that both my husband and myself preferred the French and American restaurants. (note...my husband is a very picky eater and even he could not complain about the quality of food) Although on all of my past vacations I become ill (due to the food) by the third or fourth day I felt great and was able to eat anything I wanted, I did not even have to use any of the medications I usually bring along with me.

The beach was a dream, perfect white sand, yes there was sea weed but surprise that comes with the ocean...Every morning you would see some of the hotel staff out on the beach cleaning up some of the sea weed.

If you are traveling with kids, they have an amazing Kids Club the staff are great with the kids and very patient with over protective parents. Every night at 8:30pm the Kids Club staff would put on a show at The Flintstones Theatre and dance and play games with the kids for 45 minutes to an hour. The Kids loved this, and begged to go every night that we were there.

Now 70 plus, I have been visiting Caribbean resorts for fifty years, and my wife and I are here from NJ at Melia Tropical in a Royal Service suite until we return to NJ December 14th. I have read all the online reviews, and in my opinion, the harshly negative posts have been placed by either inexperienced or flat-out ignorant (note misspellings and poor grammar) travelers, as most of the criticisms absolutely do not reflect our current experience in any way whatsoever.

I'll post a more detailed review when we are home, but for now, if you are considering this resort, do not be dissuaded by any of the poor reviews that have been posted. We stayed here six years ago and were generally very happy with the experience, even though there were minor shortcomings here and there. Now ensconced in the Royal Service (added a year or so ago), we have found no shortcomings at all. The suites are architecturally superb and beautifully and fully furnished. All the upholstery on chairs and sofa is cloth, not plastic, for example. All countertops are granite, and there are three personal wash basins in a dual chambered bath, which includes a full-size Jacuzzi, a glass-doored, multiheaded high pressure shower, hair dryer, and large magnifying mirror for cosmetics application. There is a full size fridge in the kitchenette, kept well stocked for you. There are two 30" wall mounted plasma TV's and satellite reception of perhaps two dozen stations, many originating in the U.S. (Funniest TV seen, however, was the 1950's (?) "Samson & Delilah", {or possibly Demitrious and the Gladiators} starring Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, and [maybe] a young and gorgeous Angela Lansbury - or maybe it was Debra Paget?, all dubbed in Spanish!)

All the bars serve premium brand spirits (not diluted!)

The staff wants to please you, and likes Americans, who are inclined to tip well and are appreciative of good service, as opposed to the increasingly evident Europeans who are aggressively more demanding, condescending, and much more modest tippers. If you are (North) American,You need not speak Spanish, but do bring a Spanish/English dictionary, and keep it handy and refer to it often. Familiarize yourself with the simple phrases (i.e., Buenos tardes, Senorita) and use them. Your hosts will appreciate your efforts, no matter how minimal.

And don't be a rude "ugly American". Shirts on in all dining areas; hats off while eating; don't take mountains of food and leave half of it uneaten... but do try lots of small portions of new things you don't recognize. And, BTW, unless you are a world-class food snob, you will find all the food here interesting and beautifully served. The burgers won't be much like home, but the fries are good!

Beaches: excellent! Powder sand. Yes, seaweed. So what? No sea urchins in resort waters. There are four Hobie Wave sailboats available by appointment. Mostly in nasty condition, but workable. Not much sailboarding here.

Seven family members in four rooms stayed at the Melia Caribe (Royal Service) from October 23rd to 30th.

The preboarding procedure at Pearson was unusually quick and pain free.
Follow Canada Customs rules and there should be no problems. The Skyservice staff was professional, but for taller people the trip will be tiring because of limited leg room.

Because we were in Royal Service, the check in process was very fast and pleasant. All of our rooms were very clean, bright, and completely devoid of insects. The fridges were superb, and there was always a ready supply of various drinks. Diet pop was also available. The drinks at the various bars and restaurants were, for the most part, quite good.

The food at the speciality restaurants was generally good, indeed much better than we experienced either in Cuba or Mexico. The French and American Grill were particularly noteworthy. We also ate at the Seafood, Mexican and Japanese restaurants. Unfortunately, the Dominican restaurant left a great deal to be desired, both in the quality of the food and the uneven service.

Gabi's restaurant, set aside for the exclusive use of Royal Service guests was ok.
The servers were friendly, but somtimes they forgot the patrons in the lower level. The workers we came into contact with were very pleasant and contributed greatly to our stay. We thank
ed them by leaving tips from time to time. On those occasions when we left no tip, as an experiment, we found no change in the level of service. Dario Reyes, the Manager of Gabi's was very helpful to us throughout our stay.

The beach, as others have noted, is beautiful. We found the swimming area adjacent to the "private" Royal Service section nicer than that in front of the RS area. The hotel workers clean the beach of seaweed, but there is still some in the water, and ocean floor. It wasn't enough to cause a problem though.

The weather was superb. There was some rain, but it fell at night. One day it did rain, but it was sporadic.

The measure of a resort for us is would we return. The answer is an unqualified yes. It's obvious that management and staff take pride in the appearance, cleanliness and service of their hotel.

My husband and I came here in August for the first time. It was our first time leaving the US and I must say the experience was something I’ll never forget. I did not expect the plane to drop you in a parking lot and walk half a mile to the airport which has no a/c. Then after the long line in customs we were standing in a lot full of people who were not bilingual. We tried to explain we needed the TNT vacation bus but no one understood us. Then someone offered us a taxi ride. They said to the cab driver that he could have 8 US dollars while the “messenger” who found us the taxi kept the change from 25.00. We didn’t care we just wanted to get to our hotel.

The resort is beautiful however very large and the train does not come on time. We were not allowed to take our luggage on the train to get to our room so two people threw it in the back of a truck and were suppose to drop it at our room. We waited an hour, no luggage so my husband had to go track it down. We finally received it, all in tact.

They are not shy about giving you alcohol but no matter how much you drink you cannot get a buzz at all. They must serve very watered down alcohol. The food was excellent however we both got food poisoning. We were careful not to drink water, eat salad, or anything else that may contain water however we think the ice cubes in our drinks, which are suppose to be filtered, were not actually filtered.

Well, for all of you out there questioning your decision as to whether to go to the Melia Caribe, I’d like to offer you an honest, albeit lengthy assessment.

We just returned from a week at the Melia Caribe. There were 6 of us – my husband and I, our 17-year-old son and his friend, and our 15-year-old daughter and her friend. By the time we left, the kids were devastated that we were leaving and were making plans for another trip next year.

Let me begin by saying that about a week before we left, I started reading reviews on TA and was totally freaked out by what we read. When you spend almost $7K on a vacation, you don’t want to end up in a horrible rat hole, and I had myself almost convinced that’s what was happening. Don’t get me wrong; there are many things that could be improved upon. However, the positives so far outweigh the negatives.

So, let’s start with the negatives.
1) The rooms aren’t nearly as pristine as I would have liked. In fact, I found our housekeeping staff to be somewhat lacking. We never received shampoo during our stay – lots of bath gel, yes – but no shampoo. I also never pushed the issue because I had brought our own.

2) There are bugs. Wow, surprise! I hate bugs, and yes, I ended up with lots of bites, but taking bug spray along helped immensely. You just had to remember to use it.

3) There is seaweed, sometimes lots of it. Who do you want to complain to about that? Neptune? Because honestly, what’s the resort going to do about it? They do the best they can, but ocean conditions determine the amount of seaweed you’ll run into. If you don’t want to deal with it, don’t stay on the Eastern side of the island.

4) I considered there to be a true lack of entertainment unless you were a casino-goer or you were willing to watch the 1-hour entertainment show each night. We had one night of a true “dance club” atmosphere during a party outside the Mexican restaurant (I think it was a Friday and I believe it’s done weekly), and it was a blast! But, I needed more than that. The Fun Pub is definitely geared more toward teens and young adults and that wasn’t an option for us, especially because our kids were parked there and would have been mortified had we shown up to dance.

5) The food isn’t awesome unless you head to the specialty restaurants. Some are fantastic – more later.

6) The biggest concern that I had was our room arrangements. I had spoken repeatedly with our travel agent, and also emailed the resort in advance, explaining that I wanted the rooms together (the girls had a room, the boys had a room and we had a room). When we got there, they knew nothing about it, and put us in villa 44 and the kids in rooms 2 villas away. We definitely weren’t comfortable having them so far away, especially having just arrived and not understanding security at the resort. I pushed the issue and they did finally move us to an adjoining villa which afforded us a birds-eye view of the kids’ front doors. I’m glad they worked with us, but the discussion never should have had to happen. The rooms should have been assigned prior to our arrival.

Sound like a lot of negatives? Not really, especially when dealing with such an impoverished island.
Now for the positives.

1) The resort is gorgeous! All public areas are beautifully maintained and we felt safe at all times.

2) Whoever said they water down the drinks has to be kidding. We never had a watered-down drink and had our choice of decent liquors. Most of the bars offered Tangueray gin, and Stoli and/or Absolut vodka and all the bartenders made great drinks. Oh, the margaritas were awful, but I’m spoiled with really good margaritas at home. I pretty much stuck to mojitos and caipirinhas. El Presidente is decent beer (kind of like a Labatts Blue), but I will admit that it would be nice if they’d offer another choice in case your tastes run toward more of a stout beer.

3) The staff is wonderful. Most of them speak English or do their best, and if they don’t, they’ll find someone for you who can help. Rafael in reception on the Caribe side, Eduardo at the Hokkaido, and Amauris at the bar on the Caribe side are three who really went the extra distance.

4) You do not have to tip unless you want to. We tipped our housekeeper one day and found that her service was actually diminished that day so we didn’t do it again. We gave Eduardo $5 after our second time at Hokkaido because he had done such a marvelous job for us. I think we tipped Amauris a total of $7 over the week – a $5 about halfway through and then a little more right before we left. After the $5, the second I got to the bar at any time he was there, I had a drink in my hand immediately. However, our service never suffered for not tipping anyone.

5) The breakfast and lunch buffets were plentiful and quite good. Atabales for the dinner buffet is simply adequate. Only go there as a last resort. We were able to make reservations at Hokkaido twice (it’s extremely difficult to get in), and it was fantastic – a 10. Le Gourmet was fantastic as well – the Chauteaubriand was awesome – another 10. Le Gondola was quite good; I’d give it a 7 or 8. We really looked forward to Capri, but didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as we could have – probably a 5. The American Grill was good, especially for picky kids. I’d give that a 6 or 7. Those were the specialties we ate in. If you don’t stay in RS, and we didn’t, reservations can be challenging, especially for Hokkaido. They’ve changed the reservation system and you can now call, beginning at 9 p.m. for reservations the following evening. It’s a mad dash at that time, but stick with it. You’ll get busy signals but just keep dialing.

6) There are so many lounge chairs on the beach and by the pools that we never had to worry about finding a place to sit. That was such a nice change from most resorts!

The RS pool and public areas were gorgeous and yes, it would have been nice to have the concierge service so we didn’t have to deal with reservations. Worth an extra $1000 for the 6 of us to stay in RS? No way. Walking wasn’t that big a deal for us, so we didn’t need the transportation service. The kids would have been bored at that pool too – they preferred the beach and big pool so they could socialize. When we go back, I may do RS for just my husband and me and let the kids stay in the regular rooms, especially now that we all know our way around.

My boyfriend and I visited this resort the first week of June 2006. I had read a lot of reviews and had to say I was a bit concerned, but once we checked in and became familiar with the surroundings and the resort, I began to relax.

The resort is absolutely huge. I found that to be a good thing for a lot of reasons. First of all, it was lovely to walk through as the gardens were beautiful

Check in & Room – There was a slight problem with our check in. First, we requested a king sized bed, but upon our arrival, we discovered they has us in a room with two double beds. That would have been fine, but my boyfriend is quite tall and insisted on getting the king we originally requested. We made a call to the front desk and were quickly picked up by the porters and taken to another room. This was great as it had the king sized bed we wanted, however, as we were just getting ready to leave and check things out, when an another couple came into our room. It appeared that they were given the key as they were assigned to this room. Seeing that they had traveled with another couple, staying in the room next door, we decided that we would have to be the ones to leave. My boyfriend once again called the front desk and thanked them for the lovely room, but explained the situation. He did ask for an upgrade for our trouble, which they were very happy to accommodate. We were then taken to the beach front room, which was located right by the pool. Despite the time it took to sort out this mess, it was worth the upgrade. The room was very nice and clean. No problems what so ever. Nice touch with the fresh flowers in the bathroom and on the bed every morning!! Maids were great!

Food –This was my number one concern. I have a sensitive stomach to begin with so, I had brought everything to avoid getting sick, from pepto bismal, graval, Imodium, to antibiotics. I was absolutely amazed, as I did not need so much as pepto bismal once. I ate everything, figuring if I was going to get ill I would get it no matter what I ate. The NINE al a carte restaurants were great!!! We ate at a different restaurant every night and did not get an opportunity to try them all. The food was very good and much much better than I had expected. Breakfast buffet was good, some mornings were better than others, but overall we had no complaints. Lunch was also a buffet and they tended to have the same food on most days, but we were always able to get enjoyable meals. Pizza, burgers, pasta and a rice dish were always available. The French restaurant was by far the best. I am NOT a meat eater, but I had tried the roast beef the first night we arrived (from the buffet) and I loved it. I decided to order the Filet Mignon at Ma Masion and it was outstanding. My boyfriend was disappointed he did not order it, even though he enjoyed his meal. ( in the end he ended up with half of my meal anyway!) We always made sure we booked our dinner reservation for the following night before we went for breakfast and only had one night that we did not get our choice of location.

Drinks- I was impressed with the drinks as well. They were not shy with any of them; as much wine, beer, most cocktails you could drink, Even after dinner at Ma Masion, they came around with liquors, which impressed us both.

Entertaiment – There was lots to do see every night. They always had shows in the main lobby which is nice for families. I did find that in the main lobby there was a problem with mosquitoes, They have a pond with standing water there, so if you plan on attending shows in the evening or sit in the main bar, wear Off or something like that. Another thing I really enjoyed is that they brought the vendors into the hotel at night, so you could buy things before or after dinner, which we did. I think there is some responsibility of the resort to ensure quality when they bring vendors on site.

Beach – Lovely…. We enjoyed it immensely. We spend a lot of our time there. Nice clear water, the sand never gets hot, there were lots of beach chairs, no worries there. There were however quiet a few that were in need of replacement.

Over all – The resort was huge, which we enjoyed. We loved walking and checking out the beautiful garden, pool and other things the resort had to offer, in fact we spend one afternoon just checking out the resort taking pictures and stopping at different bars so we could truly appreciate the entire resort. I would definitely go back. Everything was very good, I could not complain about anything, Keep in mind you are in a third world country, but they do their very best to do what ever it takes to accommodate you. We spend a fair bit on tips, because I figure if I can afford a trip like this I can afford another $75 to give to the workers who never get to enjoy a trip like this. I also brought a bag full of things to donate to the Mission in Santa Domingo as a large part of this country is in poverty.

I highly recommend this resort and I hope to be able to go back soon. How many other all inclusive resorts has NINE al a carte restaurants with no restrictions!!! It was beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable.

Let me just start by saying this resort was EXACTLY what we expected based on it’s 5 out of 6 star rating and reviews I have read on Debbie’s Dominican page and other sites.

There are two resorts here the Melia Caribe is geared towards the Americans and English speaking customers while Melia Caribe Tropical is geared towards the Europeans. From what I understand the main difference is the two have different check in lobbies, so the staff can speak that particular language. Everyone goes to the same beach, pools, restaurants, etc.

The resort is large and spread out over several acres. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. The shuttle service can be a bit slow, especially around dinner time, when everyone is trying to get to the restaurants. Sometimes, when it did come it was full. Flag down a golf cart and tip the driver a few bucks. If they can take you to your destination they will.

Food: Our experience was good at each restaurant we went to: Dominican, Chinese, American, and French. The steak at the French restaurant was out of this world. I eat steak maybe twice a year, this was so good. We did have a problem getting into our restaurants of choice. We were not able to get into the Japanese at all. We did get the French twice though and did not hesitate to go back. The buffet was good. You have to remember that they are trying to appeal all sorts of nationalities. All sorts of cheeses for breakfast (French), lox and chips and salsa (count me in!), tons of fresh fruits and juices. I did read about and experienced on our last day – a bird in the fruit bin. That grossed me out.

Beach & Pool: I read where people complained about the seaweed on the beach. Let me tell you, I live on the Atlantic Ocean and no one is allowed to touch (clean up) the seaweed because it is a “natural resource”. These people are out there every morning cleaning up the seaweed. Yes, there is some seaweed on the beach – Welcome to the Ocean. The beach is clean and the water is warm (but not overly, like the Gulf of Mexico) yet refreshing. The sand is beautiful, however, for some reason no seashells or rocks. Not that, that is detrimental because you can go shoeless, on the beach where I live you need to wear beach shoes, lest you cut your feet. The pools were beautiful and well maintained as well. There is a swim up bar at the pool. The kids loved that. There is lots of shade for those who don’t want to spend the day in the sun.

Entertainment: The entertainment basically begins at 10PM. Way too late for us, we were tired after a day in the sun and a big dinner. At the towel “headquarters” at the pool you can get a schedule of events for the day. There is something going on all of the time; horseshoes, volleyball, dancing lessons, etc.. We did not do any of that, but it was nice to know you could if you wanted to. There is also water aerobics at the pool every day. That was a lot of fun.

Non-motorized sports are included. For example, we took out a catamaran. The problem is you are supposed to have it for a certain duration of time but no one has a watch on them to know how long they have been out (or were they just having too much fun?). So you may need to wait, even if you reserved something for a specific time. Don’t blame the staff, it’s not their fault. We did parasailing right at the resort ($85 for two) which was SO worth it. The staff did an exceptional job. I had never parasailed before and I was nervous but they did a great job.

Shopping: Twice a week the resort has local vendors. You probably heard about them whereas you can bargain with them. One day the are on the American side one day on the Euro, check with the resort, they were there Tuesday & Thursday. If you walk down the beach you can also find local vendors, they are like hawks looking for you though, I preferred the vendors at the hotel. FYI their local stone, Larimer comes in many different qualities. See the stones at the Euro gift shop so you are familiar with the stone and don’t expect real silver from any vendors. My daughter bought a Larimer bracelet from the gift “hut” near the pool and the stone popped out within 5 minutes, unfortunately we were already home, or else I would have brought it back. The gift shop on the Euro side is larger and has much more to offer.

The water: 6 out of 8 of us were ill at one point. Basically we had the “squirts” for ½ a day or so. Nothing that would ruin your vacation but make certain you have your medication of choice (I prefer Pepto Bismal, my sister prefers Imodium). One of the staff had the bartender fix me a local remedy with bitters, sprite, a little alcohol and who know what else. It was gross but they only gave me a 1.2 cup and I felt better. I was not so sick that it kept me from the pool – I just set up next to the bathrooms “just in case”.

Timeshare: It is amazing how they know if you have attended. Once you attend they know it and leave you alone. Find out in advance what is expected of you. We were told if we sat through a 90 minute presentation, which was too much of my precious vacation time, so we bargained and received a $50 gift certificate (my sister used her for parasailing, I used mine in the gift shop). Once I told the salesman there was no way I would buy anything today and no way I would buy anything without researching customer feedback on the internet he lost interest in his sales pitch. Sounds good to me – took my $50 gift cert and I was outta there.

Accomodations: Our room was nice enough, nothing special, but we did not spend much time there. A bidet in the bathroom, a small sitting area, nice balcony. The staff start pretty early in the morning on the grounds maintenance, so it gets noisy. Who can blame them? It gets hotter as the day progresses. We had ants in our room – but then we did have food which attracted them. Staff came and sprayed. We had heard stories and brought our draft protector to place in front of our door. We also found a dead bug in our room, but it was dead and in a tropical setting they are difficult to avoid. As long as they are not in the bed with me or something I’m good. You need bottled water. Tip the cleaning lady and she will set you up. We tipped her $5 our first day and we received a case of water. Remember you need it to brush your teeth and rinse your toothbrush, we had ½ bottles everywhere.

Don’t expect perfection. This is almost a 3rd world country. Staff may move slower than we are used to but they work long days and it is hot. You would not move that fast either. You are on vacation, slow down, relax and enjoy.