Returned from Sosua bay Jan 20, 2006. It appears that a large number of people became ill at this resort between mid and end of Jan, including my wife and myself. When I say ill I don't mean "travellers sickness" I mean emergency medical treatment involving getting intraveinous, type of illness. Aside from that there were numerous problems in regards to maintenance (mostly plumbing) that would have me rate this resort 2 stars at best. There was also misleading information on the list of resort ammenities & with the "all inclusive" which wasn't. The only bright spot was the staff of which most get an "excellent" rating from me. Apparently the place used to be pretty good, but is for sale now with nothing getting fixed. I would only recommend this place to someone with a very strong stomach, a taste for adventure & the means to spend a 2 week recovery period afterward!

This is our second trip (April 2007) to the Dominican and it was not pleasant.

We stayed at the Sosua Bay Hotel for a week with no hot water in the bathroom for the entire week, had to change rooms three times before we got the family room with an ocean view we paid for.

This hotel although rated as a four star is at the best a low three. If Starz Resorts is trying to sell this as a holiday destination they have a long way to go.

The food was good and there was a wide variety. There was only one small bar with questionable sanitary procedures in cleaning their plastic glasses.

The rooms are very run down and the hotel is dirty and in a state of disrepair. The other reports of the falling ceilings, smells in the rooms and filth paint an accurate picture of this resort.

Be aware also the time share sellers have moved in and there are numerous salesmen on hand promising you a better hotel if you take their tour.

The hide a bed in the room was appalling and the taps and spigot were falling off the wall in the bathrooms.

I would like to thank the people who gave this hotel such a horrible berating in 2006. These reviews probably helped my wife and I receive a significant discount for our holiday in February 2007. The hotel is exactly like the pictures on the web site show. It is only 6 years old but appears much older. I've never been to the Italian Riviera, but imagine it is much like this hotel. The damage shown in some candid pictures has all been repaired and the hotel is kept as clean as any other resort we have visited. The food is better than any other buffets, and the restaurants are at least equal. The service is "island slow" but we always get used to it. We take large thermal mugs on all vacations, but never felt the need to use them here. My wife complained about the stairs at first but admitted to enjoying the work-out by the end of our week. I'm a beach-walker and enjoyed 3 to 5 round trips on the beach each day. The locals using the public beach added to my enjoyment. We normally vacation in Mexico and Cuba. We have been to Jamaica, St. Martin and Tortolla, but this was our first trip to the DR and I will certainly return.

The other people we met travelling from Toronto had mixed reviews. The couple who paid C$3300 total were the least pleased. The second couple who paid C$1660 total were as please as us and we paid a total of C$1860 for both including airfare. The benefits of last minute travel are great for those of us who are able to take advantage of it.

Hi debbie
I have been travelling to the Dominican republic for the last 3 years.This will be my 4th visit.I,like yourself am a true lover of this area.I am extremely picky as to what I am looking for in a hotel.It is not so much as what star rating it has,but has more to do with proximity to the water and being able to interact with the Dominican people.When I go to a resort I do not want to look out my window and see another building or take a golf cart to the beach.The first year I went ,on recommendation from a friend I went to the Sosua Bay Resort.We arrived and were upgraded to the Victorian House.It was everything we were looking for. A small resort on the water,spectacular views and a public beach where we were able to meet the local people. I must mention that the food was amazing.I gained 5 lbs that week.The following year we got a good deal one a resort in Samana.The Gran Bahia.Although it was a good 3 hour drive from the airport,it was another perfect choice. A small resort on the water ,secluded ,and spectacular views.We were able to rent a car and drive to other areas because it was quite a distance to the next large city.( I would not drive in Sosua) So now these 2 resorts have spoiled me from anywhere else.Last year I returned to Sosua with a friend.Again was upgraded to the Victorian house They had changed owners and as I read some of the VERY unfavorable reviews from your website I was a little nervous about going,but I had faith in this Incredible resort and it turned out to be another perfect week.This April I am going again to Sosua with 6 girls. I am looking forward to seeing the friends I have made there and bringing lots of gifts for them.They are a loveley hard working people.If anyone has any questions about this resort,I would to talk to them.
ngreen@eastlink.ca

My partner and I have just returned from here after a week's holiday. It was our first time to the Dominican Republic and we have come away with mixed feelings about our hotel.

Firstly, the weather was great. I was concerned before we left that we had chosen the wrong dates weather-wise. However, we had plenty of sunshine and both got great tans. There was occasional cloud and some rain but this generally cleared quickly and dried up in the consistent warmth.

The hotel had the potential to be a good 4star, but it was lacking in certain areas and this let it down. The rooms were pleasant but badly needed freshening up. i.e. paint was peeling, the air con was very outdated, lighting was poor in the bathroom. However, we didn't find this uncomfortable and we always had clean towels and hot water during our stay. Whilst there is a minibar, it is not fully stocked and certainly not with any imported spirits. In general it proved difficult to get hold of a decent drink without going out to the town for it. I would suggest any future visitors bring their own duty-free and mixers with them for evening drinks etc. We couldn't even buy an imported bottle of decent wine from the hotel. This request seemed to baffle the staff!

The food was of a decent standard and the dining area is lovely in the evening, especially if you can get a table overlooking the sea. I would suggest making use of the restaurant in the Victoria House Hotel next door. It is that bit smarter and quieter and makes for a good romantic meal. This is included in the cost of your holiday but for a twenty dollar supplement you can upgrade to food such as lobster. We found the waiter service was very efficient in both hotels and the waiters seemed very keen to answer any questions you may have about the Dominican Republic. They are pleased if you take a genuine interest.

The Sosua Beach is not as vast as the brochure would have you believe, and if you cross the confines of the hotel beach prepare to be hassled by locals who will try to talk you into having your hair braided or sell you local goods. Many locals now dress up in smart office wear so that you think they are official reps. They are all friendly though and will leave you alone if you just smile and say no thank you. We took the shuttle bus across to Cabarete Beach on one of the days. The beach here is great as you get some good surf. However, the hotel here is not as nice as Sosua and the food left little to be desired. Prepare also to be accosted when you arrive by reps. They know you have come for the day as you will be wearing a blue wristband. They will (unnecessarily) whisk you off on a tour of the hotel and then try to sell you this hotel for your holiday next year. As there was a language barrier, we didn't really understand what was happening and our rep became quite rude when we tried to excuse ourselves and head for some peace and quiet on the beach.

It is definitely worthwhile taking some time out from the hotel and partaking in some of the excursions available. Your rep will let you know what there is to do. We went white-water rafting for £50 each. This was a full day and was absolutely brilliant fun. The journey there is about three hours but was a great way to see the Island. For anybody who is a thrill seeker then this is a must and the scenery is stunning.

In the evenings we tended to leave the hotel and head for the local Voodoo Lounge. Here you can get a decent drink or cocktail and they play current music. Unfortunately the hotel entertainment wasn't to our tastes. The music was consistently loud, so you couldn't escape from it even in your room, and on the whole it was pretty tacky. However, it does get kids involved and so would be ideal if you are on a family holiday. The entertainment team work very hard to make sure you are having fun and were always seen to be smiling. But if you are looking for a resort for some peace and quiet then this probably isn't the place for you.

We just came back for one week at Sosua Bay Hotel. They told us at itravel2000.com that it is 4 1/2 *.

Pros: the food was good. The buffet had a lot of variety of different food every day. Rooms were OK. The Mexican restaurant was amazing. The shows at night were also very good especially on Saturday night.

Cons: The service was very bad. Actually there was no service at all. You have to run around and get your own drinks, coffee, water and sometimes forks and knives. When you tip an employee, then you will get some service. Otherwise, do not expect any service. Also, you will smell the food from the buffet all over the lobby. The rooms were not that great.

We were at different hotel in Puerto Plata last year "Victoria Resort". And it was 4 1/2 * as well. The service was great. The level of service will amaze you. Victoria Resort and Sosua Bay Hotel cannot be compared.

My wife and I just returned from Sosua Bay. As some other comments indicate, the website for this resort is quite misleading. The resort depicted on the website is the same resort however, the pictures were probably taken many years ago. An updated version would show much more deterioration. One example of this can be found on the lobby ceiling where one can see that there are several sheets of drywall that appear to be ready to fall off. We had to change rooms because the first was not what we expected…it smelled bad and had some water damage to the tiles and walls. I considered the third room that I was shown acceptable.

Beach…what beach? Be warned that the resort beach is only about 30-40 feet wide and approx 20 feet deep. Yes there is a large beach next to the resort but you will have to pay for lounge chairs there. If you stay at this resort I recommend that you go to the sister resort on Cabarete beach. The beach is much nicer there.

Food…The buffet had great food but the a la carte Italian restaurant was better still.

Jan 27, 2006 we checked into the Sosua Bay Hotel. The rating for this all inclusive resort was Gold Crown by RCI. We have never seen such a dirty Hotel in all of our travels. Besides the filth, the help at check in were very rude and did not care about accommodating the guest. We were suppose to be in the Victorian section of the Hotel but they insisted we were not and they put us in the inferior rooms of the hotel. The bed linen was so dirty I had the maid service change the blankets and sheets before we would think of using the room.

We had NO Hot WATER the first day and NO WATER at all on several occasions. This would last from a few hours to full days at a time. The electricity kept going on and off through out the entire stay. The sanitary conditions were horrendous. Everyone in the Hotel was sick with vomiting and diarrhea. We did not speak to one person who was not sick. Without water you could not flush the toilets or take showers. Makes you wonder how they washed all the dishes they were serving the meals on. No wonder everyone was getting sicker by the day.

The food was awful if you dared to eat it after 3 days of vomiting and diarrhea. The only thing we lived on was the bottled water and bottled soda for fear of getting sicker. The alcoholic beverages tasted like pure rubbing alcohol so we didn't even attempt that, and the beer tasted like skunk piss. Needless to say who ever is running this place just does not care about repeat customers or good ratings. The personal were rude to say the least and would not do anything to be helpful to the guests.

if you value your time and money, don't go! !......my husband and i have been going to the d.r. 3 times a year for the past seven years. we know what to eat and drink and up until this past vacation in january were sick only once which was during our first trip to the dominican. this was our third trip to the victorian house/sosua bay hotel and will be our last. the condition of this resort was sadly neglected to say the least. the waiters in the main dining room seemed to be doing us a favor by serving us. the food left something to be desired. we had to search for a waiter to get a cup of coffee, let alone a second. the ceiling in the sosua lobby was cracked and ready to give way. the worst part of it all was that 85% of the guests remained in their rooms for most of there stay. i happened to be one of them. i was so sick with an upset stomach, headache and the rest can be left up to your imagination. this problem did not end there. i had to see a doctor upon my return for my condition continued two weeks after my return. i had to undergo a series of tests to make sure that there was not a parasite in my system. the whole expierence was horrible.

Sosua is a superb town to visit in the DR, the all inclusive resorts in the south and places like Playa Dorada are fairly pointless as you only get to leave the complex on a tour whilst in Sosua you are free to wonder and get a feel for the real Dom Rep culture. The people here are a fantastic bunch and although sometimes they may be a pain by way of trying to convice you to buy some Junk they mean no harm and are only trying to make a living a friendly smile a bit of a banter and a joke is all it takes. Saying this it really isn't bad compared to alot of other Countries. There is absolutely nothing to worry about in terms of wondering the streets in Sosua day or night.

The Sosua Bay Hotel is fantastic, the rooms are clean, very basic but you won't be spending any time in there anyway The layout overlooking the bay is magical and you can't ask for much more. The staff are friendly the service is very good and although im not a fan of buffets or standard all inclusive food I was perfectly content with what was provided here.

I am submitting a followup review to my comments of January 2005. Though somewhat initially critical of this relatively new resort, I did find it to be a " diamond in the rough" that as a new resort had to exhibit some growing pains.

The views are spectacular, and the potential that this resort holds is boundless. However, returning in January 2006 for a final vacation, we were once again profoundly disappointed.

The hot tub was cold as ice for the entire week that we were there. How long does a gold crown resort have to wait for a part from Miami? I do see the UPS and DHL trucks in the DR!

The bar has the audacity to display topshelf liquor bottles. You would think what a nice upscale change from the tired old " national brands ". When I ordered my Absolut on the rocks, it was so watered down, that management would have done better to not embarrass themselves and just serve the standard fare Classico. And don't think of switching to El Presidente beer. The taps were all in place but an unknown beer was substituted and poured from a botle that they did not really want you to see. When I complained, where is my el presidente?, were told maybe tomorrow.

Most people in the resort got seriously sick from an unknown water or food source during the week of January 6 - 13th. Nothing like playing run to the bathroom for " throw and go " at $ 65 per person per day.

My partner and I first visited the hotel in Dec 2004 for one week and were pleased about the hotel so we decided to stay there again, this time for 2 weeks during the above dates. We were disappointed to see that the hotel had gone downhill. We were first put in a room which smelt strongly of damp and it was dark and dingy. We asked to change rooms which was easy enough. However the standard in the hotel had decreased. The rooms were adequate but had cracks in the bathroom. The bath was stained.

The games room smelt of damp and the roof was leaking onto the pool table.

There were thousands of ants around the pool. The red ants in particular kept biting us. The pool was not cleaned on a daily basis and always had leaves on the bottom.I found the odd occasional floating cockroach and grasshopper joining me for a swim in the pool. The food, well the choice was good but after the first week it became monotonous. We ate in the BAHIA restaurant duing our stay. Both of us ended up having food poisoning and were ill for 2-3 days. 8 other people were ill during our stay.One american ended up being put on an IV drip and a doctor was in his room for 4 hours making sure he was ok.

This hotel should not be classed as a 4 star hotel, it is more like a 3 star hotel.

Moans and groans aside, the view of Sosua bay is great. The Dominicans are really friendly. The entertainment staff tried their best to include everyone in their fun and games.They were very welcoming.

Myself & my wife read the majority of reviews on this site and were a bit concerned about what we would find. We needen't have worried. The hotel is very nice and well set in Sousa,with a great beach right next door. The pool areas are clean, with plenty of sunbeds for all with a good pool bar and a snack/drinks bar on the decking level. The rooms are nicely furnished with maid service every day for new towels, but leave a note & a tip if you want that mini-bar/fridge refilled daily, otherwise the staff will ignore it. Apart from that, the staff are helpful and pleasant, epecially in the Restaurant, but again, those tips come in handy for constant drink refills.

As for the food, WOW!!, very impressive, the best we've ever had all-inclusive and thats just in the buffet restaurant. The Asian Restaurant and the Mexican get special mentions as the food and service are spectacular(especially the Mexican-look just go!!). A lot of reviews like the Italian, but we found the food only average and the staff quite slow and unhelpful. The french restaurant was also good, but for 25$ pp it should be.Only if you are flush with cash look at the wine list in there, as it will make your eyes pop!!!

If you do any of the trips avoid Paradise island, unless you LOVE snorkelling. I do, but my wife doesn't. She had to spend 2-3hrs walking around on a postage stamp sized island, getting chargrilled by the sun(there's no cover and the food-uuurgh!!!),whilst I snorkelled around the reef. Even then, 3 hrs just swimming about gets tiresome and then there was a 3HR TRIP BACK TO THE HOTEL!!!!! You are better off snorkelling just off the hotel for free, believe me.

Dear Debbie,

I noticed that you don’t have any recent reviews of the Sosua Bay Hotel so I thought I should send my two cents worth.

Upon arrival at the resort, we were welcomed with cool, wet towels and a drink while we registered. The guy at the desk sent us to several rooms so we could choose where we wanted to stay – up or down. The rooms weren’t extravagant but were clean and well maintained. Remember – you are in DR!! The resort is alongside the main Sosua beach which, in my opinion, is one of the nicest on that side of the island. Our room had a patio with flowers growing all over the top of it and was very tropical.

The restaurant that we used the most was the main dining area which overlooks the bay and the view is amazing. Especially when it is February and you know it is snowing at home! We ate there for most meals and found the food to be excellent – better than any we’ve had in DR. We found the staff to be friendly and courteous and made friends with several of the waiters. These people work for pennies and a little kindness goes a long way.

This resort is in the town of Sosua which is interesting to walk around (although I prefer to be on the beach) but you can pick up souvenirs and toiletries there.

While we were there, we did the timeshare talk which we said we would never do again as they are usually very aggressive. We liked the resort a lot though and the Dominicans are polite people – not pushy like other places- so we purchased a number of weeks which we intend to start using very soon.

If I had one negative comment to make about this resort, it would be that because of the stairs and the walk to the beach (which is only steps away), I might not recommend it for elderly people who are not very mobile.

Just returned from the most relaxing and classy holiday I have ever had. The hotel is superb, food excellent and staff just can’t do enough for you. We tried most of the restaurants and our favourite was the El Patio. The buffet was really good we never went hungry and there is something for everyone. Entertainment is good and far in excess of anything I have seen at European hotels.

Comments I have seen bout the sea and the adjacent market are disappointing, the market yes you got approached not hassled a simple no thank you was enough. The sea was excellent form the beach (so you have to walk a few yards) or you could access from the hotel (watch out for the sea urchins) but it was all well worth it.

We were comfortable in the hotel and as a result we found that we sent nearly all our time in the resort and only went on a couple of outings. Totally chilled and everything that a holiday should be.

One thing I would like to know is what is the song that they claim is the Sosua club song it is used to do the aerobics and also as a finale to the evening show it contains the word aseet?

Just returned back from the Sosua Bay Hotel and what a lovely holiday we had!!

Here is a run down of what we thought of the hotel as I don't think the previous review give it much of a chance at all!!!

ROOMS
Rooms were adequate and clean.......had a king size bed with nice brightly coloured sheets, TV with cable, plenty of wardrobe and drawer space, fridge which was restocked with Pepsi & 7Up, clean bathroom, powerful shower and always hot water!! Rooms were cleaned every other day and towels replaced. Ohhh and the aircon is a comfort saver.....without that I don't know how people sleep at night!

RESTAURANTS
La Bahia Buffet - This is where you dine for breakfast, lunch & dinner (when you haven't got one of the A'laCarte's booked for dinner). There was always a good variety of food on offer for all courses, never stuck for what to have....if anything I was stuck with what to decide on!

Sometimes when arriving for meals you did have to get the waiters to replace cutlery, glasses & napkins but they were generally all effecient in doing so!

Mexican A la Carte (can't remember it's name!)

Well presented meals and huge portions for a A la Carte menu. Very nice food!

Sabatini's (Italian restaurant)
Not a huge choice on the All inclusive menu, you can pay the extra off the additional menu. Luckily enough we liked to look of the All Inclusive Menu the starters were v.nice but my partner ordered a Seafood combo for his main and it all came battered which he didn't really enjoy he ended up trying to peel the batter off.

Asian Restaurant (can't remember the name)
This is only open on a Mon or Thurs - we booked a week in advance and when we arrived at the restaurant we were told they did not have our reservation! They couldn't even squeeze us in as they didn't have enough food in! We then went to complain at reception in Victoria House and they really weren't very apologetic and they couldn't even give us an alternative night because the Thurs was full and well we were going home on Fri, that was disapointing!

RESORT
The resort was wonderful with the views overlooking the beach & bay, the pool areas were never overcrowded and no matter what time of day you went out you could always guarantee to get a sunlounger....whether it was by the pool, on the decking by the pool area or on the decking near the beach! There was some shops & bars just outside the hotel and don't listen to what people say about leaving the resort.........yes you are bothered by the locals asking you to come and buy something from them but apart from that there is no reason to be scared! Sosua as I saw it was a safe location!

RESORT ENTERTAINMENT
Melvin & Franklin are 2 members of the Animacion team who really were great fun and they worked so hard! they tried to get people envolved in games throughtout the day.......and if you won these games you would win a bottle of rum! They banned my partner from playing as he kept winning! Ha ha!!

Evening entertainment was also good - a live bad followed by a show which ranged from a Latin show of dancing & miming to songs to a spin off of Chicago!

TOURS
We went to Ocean World Adventure Park which was fab, I did the Dolphin Swim which as they say is a once in a lifetime experience! it was brilliant! They also do a Sea Lion encounter which I wished I had also booked but I was more then happy with the Dolphins.

We also done a 1/2 day Horse-riding tour booked through Mels Tours. We had lots of fun, the guide William is a good laugh. We trekked through forest's, rivers, Sugar cane plantations and along a beach! 1/2 day was definitely enough and galloping along the beach was so much fun!!!

Just returned from the Sousa Bay and it was great !

Food was OK, lot's of choices though and even if your fussy you can find something.

The rooms could use updating but were clean and bathroom was modern and shower pressure was good.

The best was the beach. The hotel's beach was ok but the public beach which is a 2 min walk is awesome ! We spent everyday there.Water was clean and calm. Met people that stayed at Iberostar but came over to our beach and said it was better then theirs.

Never got sick nor did we hear about or see anyone sick.

The dining room was really nice you could see that water no matter where you sat.

We were on an all-inclusive trip to the Sosua Bay Resort Hotel in the Dominican Republic. We were there April 9 to 16, 2005.

We had read both positive and negative comments on Debbies Dominican Travel pages so weren't sure if we were in for a good time or not. We booked our trip through Go Travel Direct in Ottawa.

We landed at the airport and were met by Stephanie, the wonderful Go Travel Direct representative. She is fluently bilingual and was a wealth of information. During the short bus trip to the resort and in a brief but informative 20-minute presentation the first morning she made us aware of what to do, what not to do, and what would be really fun to do. We changed some of our plans based on her information and were glad that we did!

Stephanie was available at set times throughout the week to answer any questions and to help with booking day trips. Kudos to Stephanie for making a fun vacation even better and to Go Travel Direct for hiring such welcoming, talented representatives. Although we only saw Stephanie briefly a few times during the week it was almost like saying good-bye to a good friend when she saw us off at the airport, along with other happy Go Travel Direct travelers.

Here are some of the activities we did:

Swimming: I mention this because our daughter did this pretty much full time for the first few days, and then almost full time the rest of the trip. Her blonde hair actually started to turn green from the chlorine! The pool was well maintained and the ocean and beach were very handy.

Snorkeling and Scuba diving: my wife, my son and I are certified PADI Scuba Divers. This was a wonderful opportunity to dive in a warm, high visibility location and a true education for my son. It was a first for all of us to dive down South. The variety and colour of the local underwater flora and fauna was wonderful. We saw puffer fish, large crabs, rock fish, flounder, sting ray, moray eel, coral, sea urchins, sea fans … the list goes on. You can also see a large variety of these fish just by snorkeling off the front of the resort which sits on a beautiful, protected bay. We SCUBA'ed with a local dive shop (Merlin: http://www.tauchschule-merlin.com/main.php) who were just wonderful and right across the street from the resort. They were recommended by a couple of diving friends and turned out to be not only very safe and professional but also very accommodating and reasonably priced. On one occasion they waited for us an hour past their usual excursion time to let my son and I get in one more dive after we had returned from a day trip into the island countryside. They even offered to give my young daughter a free Discover SCUBA lesson if she was interested.

Tours: on one day we took a tour of a rum factory, an amber factory, an amber museum, an old Spanish fort, and did a little shopping. This was all included in one reasonably priced day trip and was run by a guide who spoke English, French, German, and Spanish. The Dominican's are very accommodating to these and other language groups. There are a large number of Canadian's, both French and English, who vacation in the Dominican Republic.

We also took a tour of the Dominican Republic island through Outback Jungle Safari. Again, a trilingual, hospitable guide accompanied us. This trip allowed us and our children to learn a lot about the local flora and fauna, to see a local school (in progress), to see a typical household, drink an almost unlimited supply of beverages (pop, water, rum … rum … rum), see a plantation (where we found out pineapple doesn't grow on trees!), boogie board in the ocean (my son and I loved this) and take a "jungle boat cruise".

The resort itself had wonderful, all-inclusive food with lots of variety and lots of opportunity to eat. I enjoyed being able to walk around with very little need to carry money or even a wallet while at the resort. Every evening at the resort there was a live band and following that a live show, the last evening was a wonderful presentation of The Lion King, done with some very unique and interesting costumes. We had heard of virus outbreaks and malaria before leaving but the food seemed well prepared and properly served. We heard nothing and saw nothing unhealthy in our time there.

This proved to be a great holiday place. It was the first time that we had stayed in this hotel and about our 7th time to the island. It took me 4 days to get used to all the stairs. After that I had no problems climbing up and down. The hotel room was bright and had everything one could want. We treated our maid well with several tips and even some perfume and she returned that with great service. The bar had pretty well anything you could want. However, they did run short on beer one night. I drank amaretto and smoked a lot of cigars. I showed the bartenders how to pour two fingers of amaretto over ice (start by pouring into a glass filled with ice to the top and pour amaretto until the ice floats). I got a little carried away on the cigars and ended up with about 250. I smoked 50 and brought back 200 with the help of our friends. The animation crew, God bless them, tried their hardest to get me to participate in the daily activities. However, none of those included cigars or amaretto so I did not get too involved. The food at this hotel was fantastic. There was always a great assortment at the buffet. I learned to eat only one entree per meal and thus never ate the same thing twice unless I really wanted to. We did not find a need to try the other eating locations at the hotel. While this was not the biggest hotel we have stayed at, they gave us a great holiday comparible to any larger facility. The view was no less than spectacular looking out over Sosua Bay

My buddy and I did many dives using Big Blue Diving for our excursions. Leo, our main man was a fantastic guide and he showed us things that we would not have found on our own. One dive included him placing an octopus on his arm so that my dive buddy could take pictures. That was awesome. We have used this dive shop before and will always go back there, provided Leo is still there.

Over the years, we have really fallen for this country, its people and the beautiful coastline. I find it hard to look any further for a holiday. Every time we go we make new friends and revisit old ones. This trip we met Mark and Colleen the Checkpoint bar owners. They are great people and they run a great bar and sandwich shop.

Check-in: Was friendly, fast and efficient. We arrived at around 7:30 pm and were given glasses of lemonade – great for the thirst at that point. They then took us to our room which was the farthest one away possible, but we only slept there and it was fine.

Rooms: We were able to switch rooms to get a bit better ocean view and a balcony. A lot of people seemed to be doing that and for the most part the hotel was very accommodating. The rooms are basic Caribbean and do need a bit of work, but for the time you spend, they were just fine. We never had a problem with water; lots of hot water for showers. Towels were changed 2 times a day which was nice. There were brief power outages a few times a day, but within 10-15 seconds, it would come on again so it was no big deal.

Staff: We found the staff in most areas to be very accommodating. There was a staff member who stayed at the cappuccino bar in the lobby for the entire day that was never appeared to be in a very good mood all week; but I guess if you stood there for 8+ hours a day and all people do was ask for things it may wear on you. Maybe she was having a bad week! Our son met one of the entertainment staff the first night; a 17 year old who worked after school at the resort. He took him and a couple of girls from Toronto out on the town that night. Showed them some sites and went to the hot discos. They had a great time. They kept in touch throughout the week and our last day, our son gave him a Bronco’s cap – he was thrilled!!!! We found that everyone appreciated all the small gifts/tips given; very grateful.

Food: From all of the reviews that we had read, the food was to be the thing that was exceptional in this resort. I don’t know that we would say that. The food was good and maybe it was exceptional as compared to other DR resorts, but I’m not sure I would rave about it as we didn’t only go there to eat and drink. The service was always great, tables cleaned quickly in the buffet. We only took in 2 of the ala cart restaurants: Asian and Italian. The Asian restaurant would have been fantastic, but both myself and our son had a one day stomach thing so nothing tasted good. The presentation was terrific and I would definitely recommend this one. The Italian was fine as well and a bit lower key than the Asian. Once again, the service was fantastic.

Resort: If you like stairs you will love this place. It is built on the side of a cliff and has a number of levels. It is great to work off the food though. One of the things that we missed was space. This hotel is basically built in the town and space is at a premium so there really are no gardens to speak of and we found that there were people everywhere, not like resorts on the Mayan that have acres and acres of tropical vegetation. Sosua Bay is what you may call a “boutique” hotel as they define Victorian House beside it. With tea by the pool at 5:00pm, it really was not “us” as we prefer the casual, relaxed and spacious resorts. There was really no place that I would define as casual comfort at the resort. Yes there was a pool bar, but for the most part the loungers were taken at the pool early in the am and quite crammed together. Other than a lounge chair, there were straight tables and chairs to sit beside. There was really no other bar/lounge area other than the main lobby. Sosua Bay also has a sister resort that you receive the same all inclusive items as at Sosua Bay. The resort, Azzuro, is in the town of Caberette which is really a very tourist town. A huge long beach running by numerous resorts, hotels and restaurants. It is quite windy on this beach so don’t expect calm waters. It was great to spend a day there and watch the kite surfing.

Beach: There is basically no beach at the hotel, but off to the side there is access to the public beach which is not hard to get to at all. The beach is beautiful here and was never really crowded at any time. Experience the flea market behind the beach for a few hours and barter the afternoon away. The locals love it!

The People: We found the locals wonderful. We went out in the evenings into the town of Sosua and never once felt unsafe. The locals are always smiling and really appreciate it even if you just come into their shops and not necessarily buy anything. We took a cab a few times to other resorts and to the Breezes Casino just to get away and see something different.

I have nothing against the Dominican Republic; it's a beautiful country. But the management at Sosua Bay Hotel/Victoria House essentially stole $100 from my girlfriend and me.

A glass table in our room broke after we placed some of our belongings on it. We noticed that there were a few pre-existing cracks in it, so we didn't think it would be any problem. But even though we showed them these other cracks, they still charged us for half the price of the table.

It really was unbelievable: here we were, having just given them $2,000 for the week we were there, and they were haggling with us over a lousy hundred bucks -- even after we had proven that the broken table was no fault of ours.

We just returned from 2 great weeks at the Sosua Bay Resort. This was our sixth trip to the D.R.

Check In: Fast, efficient, we had our cold lemonade, and were in our rooms within 10 minutes.

The Room: The rooms definitely need some T.L.C., but they were adequate, and how much time do you spend there anyway? The beds were of course not what we are used to (there’s that funky box-spring again!). But it didn’t keep us from getting a good night’s sleep. There’s plenty of closet and drawer space. There were several English T.V. channels available. The room was a bit small, but the bathroom was a good size. And probably the best shower I have ever seen in all my travels. We had a 3rd floor room in building 5 (5301) with a balcony. It is right beside and above the entertainment area, so if you wanted to go to sleep before 11:00 p.m. (which we didn’t), this was not a great location. Once the show is over, it’s quiet. All you hear are the waves.

Maid Service: Our room always seemed to be cleaned before 10 a.m. About 4 days after we arrived, our maid introduced herself to us, and thanked us for the “gifts” we were leaving for her. She wanted us to know that she really appreciated it. That was a very nice touch. A little bit of money, candy, etc. goes a long way to make someone happy. The turn-down service was great too, we had clean fresh towels in our room every night when we returned, and they replenished the beer, water and soft drinks on a regular basis.

Pool Area: As with most all-inclusives, there were “Pool Ghouls” – people up at the crack of dawn reserving chairs. Sometimes they wouldn’t return to the chairs until after lunch. Unfortunately, this is to be expected. However, we were always able to find chairs, but since the sea was so rough most of the time, the lower decks were often closed – this made it a little crowded around the pool. When the sea is calm, if you want peace and quiet, the lower decks are the place to be. Just don’t sit under the upper decking – people tend to spill drinks, drop cigarette ashes etc. thru the deck.

Restaurants:
Sabatini Italian – very small menu, many items were available at extra cost (something that we were not aware of ahead of time). The food was good on the first visit, and exceptional on the second visit. It was Valentines Day, and they had a set menu, Salad, soup, pasta, and then your main dish. Special cake for desert, and coffee and liqueurs. And the wine glass is never empty.

El Patio Mexican – much larger menu, all items were included. It was pretty authentic, and the food was plentiful and well prepared. They also make a mean Margarita, presented to you in a cactus shaped glass. Nice touch.

Marco Polo Asian – Wow. This was our favorite. You start with some chips (shrimp chips I think?), then the appetizers – spring rolls, salmon roll, chicken satay, and 2 kinds of Sushi. Then the Wonton soup, and finally your main dish. As always, desert and coffee with liqueurs. You literally rolled out of there. I don’t think anyone would go away hungry. They even offered us another round of appetizers.

La Bahia Buffet – Definitely a cut above any other A.I. that I have been to (and I have been to many). You can order any drinks you want during dinner as they have a full stocked bar in the restaurant. There was an omelet station for breakfast, a fresh Pasta station, a stir-fry station, and a grill for meats at lunch, and the fresh pasta, meat grill and fruit flambé station at dinner. On Saturday night, it was Seafood night, and they were grilling Lobster, Scampi and fresh fish – all really good. The selection was excellent, and the deserts were fantastic – real cheesecake! My only complaint – the breakfast cereal selection was bad – it was either Corn Pops or Chocolate something or other. Not great if you are a Raisin Bran fan.

The Bars – All the bars had the good Dominican Rum, and International brands of liquor – Russian Vodka, Tanqueray Gin, Kahlua, Frangelico, Disoronno, Contreau, Triple Sec, Martini Vermouth, Bailey’s etc. etc – and they were always available. The lobby/Martini bar was a nice touch too. Sammy could mix a perfect martini! They also had a cappuccino maker there, which was excellent. There were cocktail snacks on the bar (no cocktail weenies either – small puff pastry with camembert cheese and cashews, stuff like that).

By the pool, from 5 to 6 every day, they had tea, coffee, pastries, and lots of fresh fruit, which the staff would offer to everyone sitting around. The staff also took drink orders from all the pool and deck areas.

Exchange Privileges with Azzurro in Cabarete: quick transportation, great pool, great beach, awful food, awful drinks (all local brands – and not great ones at that!).

The Staff – they worked so hard to make everyone’s experience a good one, and they were great to kid around with. I find that if you show people that you respect them and treat them as equals, they will treat you the same.

We brought a lot of gifts for the people that work there – light up pens, flashlights, gadgets, hats, sunglasses, small bottles of Canadian Club and Crown Royal, etc. They were thrilled when we gave them these items – not something they could or would normally purchase. It seemed to make them much happier.

Apple Vacations charter on Condor Airlines - flight was smooth and relatively ontime considering the time it took to de-ice the plane.

We had no complaints with the Charter Company and were pleased with having the opportunity to use their best price policy. Our fare dropped 280.00 per couple and they took less than twelve hours to adjust our pricing. Remember that if you notice the price drop that you have to notify your travel agent that the price is lower. It’s up to you not Apple or your TA.

As we were the only two on our flight that were staying at the Sosua Bay Hotel, we were immediately taken by a small van to the hotel. Our Apple rep encouraged us to go right away as there was another flight coming in from Germany and if we wanted quick check in we should get going. Great insight on his part. Check in was quick and Carlos at the desk the most pleasant and helpful gentleman. He gave us a great room 3306 - Ocean view. We paid for garden view. Thanks Carlos!

We had arranged to meet friends who have a condo in Sosua at 7 pm that evening and had promised Michael the Apple Rep we would meet him in the lobby at 5 pm. So off we went to our room to settle in and change.

Michael met with us promptly at five and went over the information that he is required to do. He encouraged us to take advantage of being so close to the town and to go out of the resort and enjoy the sights. He did not pressure us to take tours but gave us a brochure of what was available and answered any questions we had for him. This was a great relief after reading posts about pressure sales and warnings not to venture out.

We immediately went to the Victoria House to make reservations for the restaurants. I recommend that you do this right away. They really do fill up. We reserved Asian, Mexican and French. In hindsight I wish we had reserved Italian too since I heard it was so very good.

We left the resort with our friends and went to change money where they recommended. A small bank (booth) next to the Dive Shop on the street. After we went to dinner at La Gaviata. Wonderful food there and ice cold Presidente. We had drinks at La Roca after dinner and returned safe and sound to our hotel.

Next day we visited our friends at their condo. They showed us other stores to shop in and pointed out places eat and drink. We decided to do most of our convenience shopping at the Playero just down the street from the hotel. They do a great business from tourists and do not gouge them either. We paid 60 RD for coffee and got a good price on rum their too.

In the afternoon we returned to our hotel for R&R and enjoyed the rest of the day around the pool. The dinner at the buffet that night was fabulous and the show Chicago by the Animation Team was wonderful. Hats off to those guys and gals for a job well done.

Yes there were stairs there. But hey, normally you’d pay good money to use a stair machine at a gym. We just wore off our drinks and dinner before retiring at night.

We enjoyed the beach, deck areas and pool and the hot tub put a nice touch on a hard day of relaxing.

Restaurants
Mexican - wonderful food with the exception of the peanut chicken (too much like peanut butter)
Asian - exquisite - special thanks to the most attentive wait staff I can ever remember
French - OMG Phenomenal…. 7 courses of divine food, hot, fresh and so delicious. Well worth the additional charge.

All in all I was so very pleased in the choice of hotel. When we left to go to the airport the people who were already on the bus when it arrived to pick us up all commented on how they wish they had chosen it as well since they were all there in the bay on excursions. Paying for what we did for free. Most snorkeling trips came to Sosua Bay and they all looked up at the hotel while there.

We took advantage of going to the sister hotel in Cabarete, The Azzuro. Great beach there however the food at the buffet was nowhere near the quality or selection as ours.

Our room was clean, towels replaced twice daily and beds turned down at night. Yes, some cracks in the walls but that didn’t affect any part of the vacation.

One comment that I left for management was that I felt they needed more areas that people could gather in bad weather. Perhaps a covered area with tables and chairs. We had two full days of rain and covered areas for us to gather were few and far between.

If you are subjected to rain though, the hotel is happy to loan you an umbrella so you can get out for a walk. We took one on the Thursday and walked up and down the beach checking out the vendors.

I was in your hotel for 6 nights from Dec 18 to Dec 24. I was together with my son 13 1/2 and we had room 3102. I decided that you need to get our feedback because you have a tremendous opportunity to improve your hotel and make it even better than it is today.

First of all we really enjoyed our vacation. The food at Bahia restaurant was excellent and the service was always perfect. The personnel is always ready to help and provides the service with a smile. Many kudos for being able to drive your people to achieve this level of dedication. People at all bars provided drinks with a smile and if some tourist provided tips, this did not make them move ahead in line for service. This is a very nice from the point of view off the others, customer is customer independent of tips...

I found your hotel organized in a very efficient way with people coming and going with minimal or no interruption to activities.

In terms of improvements here are a few that in my opinion can help you become even more successful:

1. Not every night we had a show. Every day was a rehearsal but not a show. The Folklore and the Phantom of the Opera were very good but not enough...

2. The other thing was that after that everything was dead. You can definitively use the Theater area with all the installations to organize every night a low volume DISCO so all the clients of the hotel can enjoy it locally instead of getting out in town to dance. In my personal case I enjoyed dancing a few time by the pool but this ended very early... I talked to other tourists and all had to get in town for a good time after 11 PM.

3. The light on all the stairs, and you have a few, is very poor. You can easily improve it by adding some low level local lights.

4. The Animation team at AZZURO was much more efficient than the one in your hotel. I think that the reason is BEACH. Azzuro has a much better beach, wider, with sand and waves... You need to find a way to add some real beach to Sosua Bay otherwise everybody with kids will prefer Azzuro. After we found it we were there more than in Sosua. Please do something.

5. One good thing is your closeness to the town of Sosua but you definitively have to do something about lighting toward the city... Too many holes that we even could not avoid due to darkness.

I hope my email will find some way to your future development plans and your future tourists will enjoy any of the improvements you plan to implement. The food is much better than the Azzuro's but the beach is what people are coming for in the Caribbean, please do something...