Travel:
Make sure you fly into the Santo Domingo airport, which is a 30-45 minutes away from the resort.

Rooms:
The rooms are not in the same zip code of a four star hotel. Our first room had dirty curtains, bed covers and bathtub. The mattresses were not level and the room did not have central air. Instead, it was a unit you put in the wall, except there was a one inch gap between the air-condition unit and the wall, which provided an uninvited view of the ocean. The second room had central air, but no hot water. We didn’t have hand towels and the tub was not clean. The head board was not connected to the bed frame and the mattress squeaked anytime you moved. Had the rooms been up to par, the resort would have been fine.

Bars:
There are enough bars, but they do not have top shelf liquor. If you want GM in your Cadillac marguerite, forget about it. Otherwise, it’s easy to get a drink, even if you have to get up. I figured if I couldn’t stand up to get a drink, I didn’t need it, which happened every now and then. There is no problem with the cocktails.

Food:
They’ll make you an omelet and the potatoes are good. Other than that, you’re on your own for breakfast. Do not eat the cheese, even if somebody bets you a substantial sum of money, because it is two-toned, like they way cars were painted in the 1970’s. I don’t know about lunch, because we snacked on a little pizza here and there. For dinner, you have to get the beef tenderloins at the Italian restaurant or the burritos at the Mexican spot. Overall, food was average.

Staff:
The employees were very nice. It always helps if you can speak a little Spanish, although they don’t seem upset if a foreigner can’t speak the language. The people of Dominican Republic are also very poor, so if you give tips, they become even nicer. Everywhere I went they said “hola amigo” because I made sure I tipped everyone. Coming from a wealthy nation, I felt obliged to do it, although that’s a personal choice. The people were nice.

Customer service:
Just because they were nice doesn’t mean the service was good as it pertained to our room. I thought “veinte minutos” was Spanish for “twenty minutes”. Apparently it means “we’ll get to it when we can”.

Beach:
The beach was awesome, there are plenty of chairs and the water is beautiful, just don’t step on the seaweed. People constantly try to sell you things, but I would do the same thing if I had a tin roof and no running water at home. I would just say no papi (mami), no gracias or no me gusta and that was that.

The locals:
This place is their Atlantic City, so it gets crowded on the weekend. This fact saved me the trouble of walking outside the resort to find out for myself what the people were like. Dominicans are no different than anywhere else: most are very nice and some are rude. They added to my experience.

The facts:
This resort is not connected in any way to Hilton, who pulled their money out after they took big profits. I learned this from the locals.

On March 23-30, 2007, I stayed at the Costa Caribe Coral, Juan Dolio. I booked it, because of Hilton being attached/advertised to the property. The following is an itemized account of my experience at said property.

Room 1: damp and moldy (1st day)
Room 2: cockroaches, no working toilet, no hot water (1st – 4th day), bug spray all over me physically by the attendant spraying my room while I was standing in it as well as all my clothes, etc. (4th day) Room 3: No power (5th day) Room 4: Mattress soaked with water, no hot water (5th day-6th day). Mattress changed (6th day), no hot water, which I could live with given the severity of the host of problems

Half of day 6 and all of day 7 satisfactory; left early (8am) day 8.

Out of an 8 day stay, only 1 ¾’s of it was satisfactory.

Additionally, on Day 1 (Friday), I complained of a large amount of vomit floating in the main pool. It took four hours and my asking several staff to clean the pool and my going to the General Manager, Tomas, for the pool to be cleaned!

I spent on average two hours each day (day 1-6) dealing with hotel staff: guest services, reception, management, registration and Hosea, Sunquest representative. It was not until Monday evening (day 4) where I requested a transfer to your other property, Costa Coral Hulmaca, before I was moved to rooms 3 and 4. I should have been moved to your sister property immediately; however, no assistance was forthcoming until the end of day 4 and then the two new rooms proved troublesome as detailed above.

Location: Beach front - Juan Dolio - South Coast
Costa Caribe Coral
March 19th - April 3rd
x3 Adults

I was sold this holiday as a Hilton hotel, however Hilton dropped their name from this hotel 6 months ago. I have since learnt that a Spanish hotel is looking to take over this resort. We flew to Punta Cana and it took almost three hours to arrive at Costa Caribe - after a 9 hour flight it wasn't expected that the transfer would take this long. Once we arrived at the hotel, late Dominican time, we went to look at the room which really was very basic, it looks nothing like the pictures on the websites. The bathrooms are really awful and desperately need updating. The water for the shower was freezing cold most days. If you ring and complain they do try to give you hot water but can take a couple of hours for it to come on. There is a balcony for all the rooms, I stayed in a room on the 4th floor that sort of overlooked the beach. There are a few bugs in the room but we didn't come across cockroaches.

All that aside, you spend very little time in your room and if you can put that to one side the actual surrounding resort is lovely. What made up for the poor hotel was the staff in and around the resort. They have what they call the Chocolate Team, your chocolate friends and they are always happy to talk to you or provide daily entertainment such as water polo, water aerobics, volley ball, dancing and the show entertainment they provide in the evening. They also have a sports bar with pool tables and football tables with a nightclub in the back that plays their local meringue music, R&B and general up to date music.

The beach is really close to the resort, there are several restaurants to choose from each evening, we found the Italian was the best (good steak) and you do not need to worry about water, salads etc, the food is very good here. But do bring some Imodium because the food contains a lot of salt and is a lot heavier than food you have back at home.

There is a pool bar but you can't use it as a pool bar, you have to get out and get your drinks then come back in to the pool. There are lots of people trying to sell you items on the beach from Sarongs, Cigars, Sunglasses, wood ornaments - they are all just trying to make a living and if you don't want to buy just say no thank you and they will leave you alone.

There is a Casino that you can venture off to in the evenings however your all inclusive band doesn't allow you to get free drinks here.

There are excursions they sell such as horse riding, fishing trips and a trip to Saona Island which we went on. We traveled on a catamaran but it poured with rain which wasn't fun but the afternoon on the island was fun, they provide lunch and then you travel back on a speed boat which is the best part. They only provide Rum and Coke on the Catamaran so if you like beer you will have to take your own (provided free in your fridge in your room). We saw some star fish and the island was very beautiful but you need to have a good day of weather for this trip. It cost us $64 per person and we purchased the trip within the resort near reception.

If you venture out of the resort then do hire a moped or get a lift on one from the locals that will cost you 100 peso's one way. There is a mini market which sells souvenirs, food and drink which is just 5 minutes walk away and if you carry on to the top of the road there are some night clubs, restaurants and bars. We walked up here and saw all the other hotels that are just being built/finished along this stretch of the coast and if you are going to spend you money traveling to the Dominican then stay at Hotel Capella - it's a 5*, beautifully decorated but the entertainment will not be as good as it is at the Costa Caribe so it's all about what you want to get from your holiday.

The maids love to be given chewing gum and dollars and they do tend to clean your room better if you give them this. Also wise to bring colouring pens, pads, footballs, sweets for the children in the local communities if you venture on the local excursions such as the Monster Truck trip or to see the Dolphins.

I would not go back to this hotel again but for 2 weeks all inclusive I really did enjoy my holiday. I met some really lovely people on the trip and the staff are really very helpful and friendly. It is ideal for children with all the pools but the kids club costs $10 per hour and the show doesn't start until 9pm (for kids) and 10pm for adults through to 11pm. Children under 18 can't go in to the sports bar.

We just returned from a week's stay at this lovely resort and contrary to some of the negative reviews, I could find absolutely nothing to complain about. The resort itself was very pretty and everything was kept scrupulously clean. The staff bent over backward to be helpful and always with a smile. I heard some people complaining about trivial things like a running toilet or trouble closing the door to their room. I think people forget that they are in a different country and standards are completely different to what we are accustomed to. Many people do not even have the luxury of an indoor toilet there, so be patient and put things into perspective. The pace of life is much slower in the islands, and when we are told something will be 10 minutes, they don't mean this literally. 10 Dominican minutes could be an hour or two - and really, what's the emergency anyway? Go get a drink, sit back and relax. Our room had everything we needed, including a fridge they kept stocked with 2 beers, 2 soft drinks and 2 bottles of water daily. We had a wonderful view of the beach from our balcony and lacked for nothing.

The pools were prettily landscaped with rocks, palm trees and waterfalls. There were 3 or 4 whirlpool/hot tubs to choose from and food was available 24 hours a day. The beach was beautiful - you could walk for miles each way. The swimming area at the hotel's section of the beach was small, but you could swim anywhere beyond that if you chose. I would suggest beach shoes - the reef that protects the beach is battered constantly by the waves and large chunks of coral wash into the shallows and litter the shore.

There was plenty to eat and we had no problems at all with upset stomachs or sickness. I have been in the Caribbean several times, including the D.R., and this is the first time I did not experience any sort of "traveller's bug" or discomfort.

I would heartily recommend this hotel, unless you are one of those vacationers who really needs things to be exactly the way they are for you at home. If that's the case, perhaps visiting another country is not for you - stay home where you're more comfortable!

My wife and I stayed at the CCC from March 5-19 2007. After reading the reviews on several sites prior to going I was unsure what we would find. I have to say we were pleasantly surprised. It was obvious during our stay that the new management were working at getting things back on track and for the money we spent (~$3000 cdn total taxes and insurance) we felt we got a good deal.

Pros and cons: Every member of the staff was courteous and friendly and genuinely wanted to help make our stay enjoyable. Bartenders when out of a particular brand of liquor would either get a bottle or direct us to a bar that had it. Staff greeted us at the buffet and a la carte restaurants with a smile and several times surveys were handed out to get our feedback. The food as mentioned in other reviews was good, not fantastic but there was always lots of choice and I never saw any thing that resembled reuse of food etc. The room was dated but clean and large with a good sized balcony and the maid Margarita Diaz ensured we had water, pop and sodas in the fridge each day as well as clean towels etc. Also several towel creations and flowers appeared throughout our stay. We tipped moderately and my wife had brought some small toiletries/pantyhose etc. When we asked one bartender Clarissa Reyes (I think she may have been the only female bar staff) about directions into San Pedro (we usually try one trip as the locals do it) she tried to explain and when we seemed unsure she suggested we go with her after her shift and we did and had a great experience. Several bus's and a bit of a walk and then once we had shopped she had and older friend (Jose in his 50's) take us on his motoscooter to the bus for the return trip and the locals on the bus made sure we got off at the right resort. The next morning before her shift Clarissa looked for us to ask if we had any difficulty.

The beach is nice and large with lots of loungers (we never once put a towel out and always got a lounger). And the pool by the Santa Fe restaurant became our most used spot as it was quite and uncrowded. The casino was OK but we are not big on gambling but several folks we met had some luck.

We felt safe and secure the whole time and the only incident I heard of was a young man who lost his ID and money ( I believe from his room but I do not have details). As for hassles on the beach from vendors or from the timeshare folks a “No Gratias” was the most it took. As for the weekends with the locals we took the first Saturday for a trip to Saona Island (which we highly recommend) but Sunday was not bad. Yes lots of people so we stayed by the pool and I think the choice of food may have dropped but there was still enough for us to find something and yes there were lots of kids but most locals seemed Ok. The bars did get crowded and guess what the locals had an easier time getting served since they spoke the lingo and could communicate better but I never had a difficulty finding service from one of the bars.

My wife experienced trouble with the food or water upsetting her but this happens frequently when we travel and it has a snowball effect she get problems and then does not eat which causes other problems. We did manage to find some Kraft cheese in the Jumbo Food mart in San Pedro and that helped her through.

Where should I begin. I booked a vacation for Feb 2007 at Coral Costa Caribe in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic with a travel agent. That night I looked at the reviews on the internet & I was terrified to go at this place. Called my agent the next day she said this is a 4* & sometimes the reviews are people that are angry - but in the meantime she really tried to cancel this vacation & booked me somewhere else.
The agent (rep) in the Domincian couldn't be reach for days ..... but in the end the trip couldn't be cancel too close of the depature date -- well let me tell you that I was very disappointed with this news if we cancel we would lose the 100 % percent of our money therefore we decided to go. Maybe I was over reacting.....well guest what ....I wasn't read on. Drive from Airport to resort 1 hour & 1/2. finally arrived at the resort, we had to register at the Sports Bar which stinks by the way so we're thinking is this what we have to look forward too. Looked old & needed paint, repair, or something. Then got to our room, well TV not working, room not in good shape, the patio was facing the maintenance building & was not a nice view to look at (real dump) then I looked down at the roof at our patio saw a old pair of men's underwear gross...
We were tired of the trips & couldn't believe this, me & my husband look at each other Oh my God!
So tired as we were...off we went to lobby to change our room . My husband asked for a pool view gave $$ know what I mean, and we got a room. As we were going along the lobby we meet people from our plane that were changing rooms too.

When we got to our new room, it was nice, renovated nice view (at least this time), but don't be HAPPY for us for too long ... the toilet was leaking quite heavy had to put a pail. We went out for a bit & the pail was full I was starting to panic I taught the room was going to flood--- Called the front desk & this was fixed.

Beach: Nice Beach, that all this resort has going for them.

The Food: There is not very much choice at the buffet very lame. Breakfast is a joke, the eggs the chef can't cook it & in the buffet everything is gross looking to me mash bananas ??, fried chicken for the night before ??? I feel like throwing up just the taught of this place.

Lunch & Supper: The same not much, no decoration for buffet - the food is just thrown there not clean area staff not to nice either. There were people from our plane that saw big rat in the Buffet area. (GROSS....) the restaurant are not much either....

I got sick a couple of days in my vacation , my husband was very sick for 4 days. We have been traveling 12 years we know what a 4 * is. This is in not way close to it. 90 % percent of this resort was sick. There's was people that had to go on IV cost them $ 320.00 and this particular person was sick for 6 days nice trip. - I would not recommend this place to anyone .

Once upon arrival at the Airport to go home you Rep. for Sunquest was asking who was sick at the resort it was a big joke - people were saying how about you ask who wasn't sick. My husband is still sick he hasn''t eaten much since his back. We usally gain 5 pounds on our vacation this time we lose weight.

Prostitues... I never seen this in my life on vacation & especially at a 4* star resort ( what a joke). Old men with young local women, they told us they buy this women for 1 week get them braclets at the resort they sleep there they eat at the buffet .... now I'm really gross out.. I've seen them- it's very obvious. And let me tell you there is not only one there are many.
Right next to the resort ( same side as Casino) there is a little store with Highspeed Internet - the internet at the resort doesn't work or when it works it very slow. So a lot of people told us they went at the store at night & prostitue come out of the wood & go right at them - this is right next door to our resort.

Hi all,

After reading everyone's review on this resort, I was a little scared about going....I was pleasantly surprised when the four of us arrived at the resort.

Our trip was the last Sunquest Charter from Canjet comming out of Halifax, NS to Costa Caribe for this year, as they couldn't sell all the seats, maybe people took the bad reviews too seriously...

Arrived at La Romana Airport. Very pretty spot, well manicured, clean, fast service through customs etc. Nice surprise, not the hundreds of porters wanting to carry you bag 20 feet to the waiting bus.

Ride to resort is approx 40-50 minutes depending on traffic, as most of the highway is new and fast. Most people are surprised to see garbage along roadside, as trash pick up is not always available.

Resort check in is 3pm, couple we were with got room right away so we just got porter to take our luggage up to their room for us. When we went back to see if our room was ready yet, my husband and Bro-in-law was smiling and dancing and we got a really nice room with a beautiful beach and ocean view. There were several other resort guests at front desk with nasty looks on their faces, being loud, cursing and typically acting like fools, who were getting no help (you figure that one out yourself).

I found the resort clean, comfortable, and attractive. We did loose water one night til about 9pm we were in room S401... The pool was treated each night, and cleaned in the mornings. Never an issue with not finding loungers to sit on.

The beach was raked each morning. Water shoes are a necessity on the beach. They've widened the beach with sand from another part of the island and it is very sharp with shells and bits of coral. In the water avoid the dark grass, there are sea urchins with very long spines and they will ruin your trip if you step on one or touch one. i suggest you bring your own snorkel gear, there are fish by the hundreds and if you bring some bread from the buffet, they will come to you to be fed. If you look around the coral where the metal pole is sticking up, you will see some beautiful blue and yellow fish and just below the water surface, small sword fish.

Buffet was very clean, service with water/drinks/coffee was fast, and always was a seat I personally was bored with it by the 3rd day. Found not a lot of choices and same things were offered. I really don't care for the taste of the milk or cheese (just my opinion - a man I met said, "it tasted like a cow farted in his glass" ) I love the bread, the BBQ chicken, and the Italian restaurant was great for the beef tenderloin, we went twice. Snack bar Mangoes was good for fries, burgers and always had coffee available.

Yes, there are local people on the weekends, and the service is a little slower at bars, seating is a little more at premium in buffet, but, we took a day trip on Saturday, and Sunday kinda just hung out on balcony reading and drinking Presidente (we saved our daily 2 beer from fridge in suitcase and had it all on Sunday ) So, didn't affect us, did however notice the resort was considerably louder on Weekend. Dominicans, tend to talk very loud with each other and enjoy loud music (for most peoples standards, so if you are looking for peace and quiet, then this is not the place for you!!)

Went on two trips,

Full day at Santa Domingo $50.00 US per Person- Great trip, must take it, includes the caves, historical sites, restaurant, shopping - Interesting and a great way to see the old city. Does not include the new city.

Day trip to Sanoa Island -- Totally worth $70.00 US per Person -- Pick you up at 8:15 drive to San Pedro de Marcois, commentary on Baseball history, stop to shop 15 mins, stop for swimming in middle of ocean (and rum), speed boat to island, couple hours on beach, lunch (rum), then Catamarin back(more rum) and another stop for shopping. Totally enjoyed the entire day. Got back to resort at about 8pm. I would recommend the DVD that they sell of your trip, also encludes a documentary of island history and most of the spots on the Santo Domingo tour. 35 US we split with the other couple with us. We also bought the CD and Bottle of rum with your picture which is just a photo taped to a a bottle of very cheap rum --$10. US but, who cares. It's a nice memento...

Can't comment on any of the shows, because we didn't go to any.

Found all staff very friendly and helpful.

We flew into Santo Domingo airport and arranged with S.T. Silva Tranfers to be picked up and driven to the resort. Check in was very fast and easy. We arrived Wednesday around 4 pm and the resort was not crowded at all. We were greeted with welcome drinks (which were very tasty). We opted to rent the safe for the week and I believe it amounted to $3 per day.

We were escorted to our room to find the A/C working VERY well and cute heart-shaped towel art on the bed. The only complaint about the room was that we requested NO Smoking and were given a Smoking room. It did not smell at all like smoke, the only difference was an ashtray. The lighting in the room was dim but we were there for the beach and the sunshine so it didn’t matter. The light over the sink in the bathroom is very bright. The power never went out while we were there. We did not however, have hot water between the hours of 3pm and 8 pm which was probably due to everyone in the resort showering and getting ready for dinner.

Food/Drinks: We highly recommend Sante Fe (Mexican) and Rigoletta (Italian). The food at both restaurants was fantastic and we went back to each restaurant a second time. El Fogon (Domincan inspired) was not anything that impressed us aside from the atmosphere. Ambar, the buffet, was the usual food that is made for the masses. Breakfast was good here and the fruit was very sweet and juicy. We were open to trying everything and enjoyed some things that looked questionable. Mango’s the snack bar was very convenient. They were open basically all of the time and had pizza, burgers, hot dogs, French fries and some other items. There were a lot of bars; some of them made drinks stronger than others but we learned which bartenders were better at the days progressed. The drinks are great, they have some specialty island drinks and they can make all of the regulars as well.

Beach: not crowded at all until Friday-Sunday (the locals come in to the hotel for the weekend) the sand was a little rocky but the water was beautiful. The resort built a jetty-type structure out in the water to prevent the rough waves from hitting the swimming area. That made a big difference! The maintenance worked very hard to keep the beach clean like raking any seaweed that washed up. The vendors on the beach were pretty aggressive. If you are sleeping on your lounge chair they will speak very loudly over you until you wake up and say “No Gracias”. We made a game out of seeing who could say “No Gracias” more while on the beach.

The hotel staff is very helpful and willing to accommodate. We called down to guest services and requested more pillows on our first day. Within half an hour we had them delivered to our room. The maid was fantastic and we tipped her about $5 every day. She made awesome towel art and restocked our mini fridge every day. With the mini fridge you are allowed 2 beers, and 2 sodas as well as the water that is in there. The Chocolate Friends (the interactive entertainment team for the resort) only approached us once during our stay to do aerobics. The people that approached us every single day were the representatives from the Vacation Club. They said they would only take ten minutes of our time and it ended up being 90 minutes away from the sun and beach. Needless to say, this was not a happy part of our day.

Airport/Departure:
Last year I had to get a lawyer to come in to the Halifax airport to have an affidavit done up in order to board the plane, it cost me $150.00. Apparently you need a registered number on the back of your birth certificate. This year we were not planning a trip, but at the last minute we changed our minds. I had my lawyer do one up for $20.00...and guess what...didn't even need it. We flew with Canjet, staff wasn't as pleasant on the way there, but very nice on the way back. Our flight was at 7AM, this was the first morning flight we took. (Husband loved it and I would prefer my evening flights)

Arriving at the resort:
It was raining when we arrived at the resort around 2PM, most rooms were not ready, we were lucky because ours was ready. When we got to the room, we were very shocked at the condition of the room, it wasn't what we had expected for a 4star...rust on the fridge and airconditioner, it was a very thrifty room. We could tell that mosts of the people that had arrived with us were also very disappointed. The staff at the front desk were not pleasant, it took a long time for guests to check in. Other than the rooms the resort is quite beautiful.

Restaurants:
The buffet restaurant was clean, after a few days I noticed the same food was offer for each meal...rice, baked beans, potatoes, but I always found something good to eat. We didn't have a problem with getting a cup of coffee or anything else from the staff. There is no reservations needed for the other restaurants, which was quite nice. We ate at the Italian Restaurant-food was good-delightful interior-very cold (bring a sweater). The Mexican Restaurant-first time the food was good, second night we ordered something different and it wasn't so good-interior doesn't look Mexican. We ate well all week.

Pools/Beach:
There are 3 pools, very refreshing after spending some time in the sun. The pool bar was not available from inside the pool. A little waterfall is in one of the pools, nice for photos. The beach was the highlight for me, it's big and beautiful. They did a nice job expanding, but could use some shade huts. You have to come up off the beach to get a drink or something to eat.
The was plenty of beach vendors as the other resorts are not to close. My husband and I walked both ways on the beach, it was pretty to watch the sun rise. The water was not to rough as they have a barrier up. There was lots of fish swimming around us, my husband saw some out snorkeling also. It was great to spend the week on the beach!

Departure:
There was quite a line up to check our luggage, didn't take too long. The restaurants in the airport were very expensive, but good food! Someone bought some Pringles for $5.00, ouch.

We have just come back from a week at the Costa Caribe Coral - 4 adults. We were really worried about staying at this resort after reading all the reviews and when we arrived after a 3 hour transfer we were given rooms in the main hotel on the top floor. It was horrible. I think these rooms are only given out when the hotel is full. There are no balconies and our room had been stripped of everything, no pictures on the walls, torn curtains, no shampoo, shower gel, bath mat, water to clean teeth, no hot water, only one dim light in the bathroom and one centre light in the main room that had to be turned off from the door - no bedside lights. No soft drinks had been left for us.

However the next day we were changed to new rooms these were in S Block and we found these to be okay. Plenty of hot water, cleaned everyday, they had a few minor problems over the week but the staff tried to solve them asap.

The staff were friendly and helpful, the food was what we expected with reasonable choice. Went to the Mexican and that was okay too but we all ended up on different days of the week with sickness and diarrhoea

The evenings entertainment is provided on an outside stage so you can't get away from the noise but it does end at 11pm. It was difficult to find shade, none at all on the beach.

We were at the Costa Caribe Coral from Februari 7 up to the 21st.
A group of 6, 4 adults and 2 children 12 and 15.

Airport / Customs :
Coming and going from Punta Cana
The customs were no problem and both ways a quick passage.

The Hotel :
The first impression was good, nice grounds and wel kept.
Altough it looks dated and a bit more maintanace could do a lot.
At the weekend a lot of Dominicans who can be rude and pushy.

The Beach :
The beach is wide and is cleaned twice a day.
Staff is walking round for collect glasses and picking up sigarette buds, so use some kind of an ashtray.
But no palmtrees or umbrella’s for some shade.
A lot of beachvendors, bargain for good price.
The beach is a great place tob e.

The pools:
On the main complex 2 pools, 1 with a waterfall.
1 whirlpool.
At the kidsclub 1 kiddypool.
Across the road by the Mexican restaurant 1 pool
All the pools are clean and threathet with chemicals every night.

The Staff :
We found that 60 – 70% of the staff is walking round in a mood.
Not friendly and no hola or a smile.

The Rooms :
We were given rooms S202 and S226.
The rooms and bathrooms are dated and need a lot of maintanance
From day one big water problems in all the rooms that start with S.
So you had to be lucky if you could have a wash in the morning, a shower at night after a day on the beach, or to flush your toilet !!!
We went everyday sometimes twice to guestservice for get something done, nothing happend, no water.
If there was water you did not have enough towels to get everybody dry.
SO STAY AWAY FROM ROOMS STARTING WITH S
Together with some other tourists with an S room we called it cellblock S.

The restaurants :
Amber buffet,
The food is ok nothing special but good nothing more nothing less.
Not a very big choice.
The bigger tables for more ther 4 people are never complete, with plate’s, forks, knife’s, etc, etc.
If you see butter in the morning get it before they run out.
If you see the waiter with coffee kidnap him or you’ll have no coffee.
The Italian,
Nice place, good food, a saladbar, but the airco is freezing cold.
The Mexican, (Our favorite)
Good meals, taco and saladbar.
Especially the steak and ribs are very nice.
The Dominican,
Special traditional Dominican food, have a try.
Mango’s Snacks,
Hotdogs, Chips, Pizza’s, Fish, Chicken, and a saladbar.
Very nice and good.

Animationteam :
What a disaster, they group together and do not walk round for invite you in a game or activity and a hola is far away, totaly nothing.
They should amuse us, but they do nothing
The shows are cheap, they like to take the piss with the tourists, some people might like it.

Guestservice,
They listen to your problems after that nothing happens.
We have had waterproblems for 10 days the man at the guest service did not do anything untill we shouted i stood there in the lobby with my body full of soap and my hair full of shampoo because the water stopped again after no shower for 3 day’s.
Finally on day 11 we were given a different rooms #1512 and 1514.
Maybe you dont have the same experience as us but dont take no for an answer if you have a probleem.

Overall
The total hotel needs a makeover including a lot of staff needs to be replaced.
We will never be back here, it was our worst All Inclusive holiday ever !!!

The worst vacation ever!!!

My husband and I flew with Skyservice. We were very happy with the service. The cabin crew was friendly, courteous and very helpful. As we all know chartered flights are cramped, but the flight in not that long.

Airport/Customs: The airport is small and we went through customs very quick. The bus ride to the resort is one hour.

Resort: Well…I don’t know where to begin. We were very disappointed. The resort needs a makeover “Big Time”. The lobby is not very bright, the furniture is old. We were told to go to the disco to check in. None of the rooms were ready…when they were it was very disappointing. The rooms are so dated…just really awful. The maid service was excellent since my husband tip and gifts.

Buffet: We manage to find something edible the first night. I did not have any breakfast, because it was the same thing every day. My husband and I travel three to four times a year. We always manage to have a good time and enjoy the food…but this is first time the buffet sucked. There are three a la carte restaurants so we ate at those the rest of the week. We also ate lunch everyday at the grill. Needless to say we are now both sick with our tummy.

Bars: The service was good…but then again we tipped. The drinks are watered down and not top shelf. Luckily we picked up some duty free for our room.

Pools: This area was taken over by lots and lots of children. We did not use the Jacuzzi because the kids were always using it. The kids were noisy, jumping into the pools.

Beach: The nicest part of this vacation was the weather. The whole week was just fantastic…just beautiful blue skies. There was no shade on the beach…they had removed all the huts. The only shady areas were from the two trees around the pool. Everyone was constantly dragging their chairs around to find some shade. The beach was beautiful and calm.

Diving/Snorkeling: Sea Pro Divers was excellent. Henri was always helpful, patient and friendly.

Animation/Activities: This was a joke…ridiculous!!!

We have just returned from the worst vacation in history.

The worst part is we were at the same resort 3 times previous and it was good. however Sunquest did not notify travellers that in the last 6 months Hilton no longer ran this resort. At the time we were down it was in the Banks hands and needless to say, things have changed.

My husband has been sick since the second week of our vacation. More than I bet half the resort were ill. The safe food practices really did not exist.

Flys were constantly on the food which was cold most of the time.
We had our room cleaned only partially along with snorkling equip. stolen.
When reported to desk and Sunquest Rep. it was like were made it up.
We are couple in our early 50"s. Our so called golf inclusive was charged to us because they said contracts weren't signed. After a lot of fights however in 4 day this was cleared up. We however lost 4 days of golf.

The daily activites, which in the past included a lot of games was then only arobics in the pool and beach and beach volley ball. Before they had darts etc.

The beach has been improved, but in the process, they removed all the shade huts.With l000 people or so there was a really fight to get one of the 3 to 4 shade spots at the resort.

All in all we will never return to this resort and can almost say not to many of the tourist there the weeks we were will either. It is to bad as it was a good resort once.

We just returned on Feb 2nd from 2 weeks at the Coral Costa Caribe. This was our 5th trip to this resort in the past 4 years.

The resort remains the same as when it was a Hilton. Anyone traveling there should not expect the same as a 4.5 star resort in North America. This is a different country and things move a little bit slower there. The changes to the beach are amazing! As usual – you never have any problems finding a lounger to relax in the sun. The evening entertainment has declined from what it was previously and the ‘disco’ is in definite need of a facelift.

Our room was clean, linens were changed daily and we had no issues other than an extremely flat pillow. We had an issue with our air conditioner and maintenance staff were there within 15 minutes to correct the problem.

The only issue we had was with Sunquest (our tour company) and its arrangements with Guavaberry Golf Course. The rates that Sunquest quoted were not accurate nor did they mention the mandatory caddie fee. The course was great as it always has been.

Upon arrival at 14:30 we were checked in promptly. We paid for and received a key for the safety deposit box also at this time. The bellman escorted us up to our rooms and showed us the tricks about the air conditioner key. This is not complicated just put your room key in the slot and the electric and air come on. He also showed us to use a folded piece of paper in place of our room key so that everything would continue to run when we where out of our room.

The rooms are a bit dated and well worn but they are exceptionally clean.
The lighting is poor but you get used to it. Beds were firm and the only complaint I had were the flat pillows, but once again everything was very clean. We had three attached rooms, bedrooms on either side and a sitting room in between them.

For those trading in via an Interval exchange the inclusive fee is anywhere from $26.00 to $35.00 depending on season. This fee can also be paid prior to arrival thru the Vacation Club to avoid the 26% surcharge/tax.

The food was acceptable but you must understand the resort is trying to cater to many different travelers and tastes. We enjoyed Rigoletti (Italian air-conditioned) but would not recommend the sirloin, all else was good. The Santa Fe was Tex Mex with outdoor seating, the only thing about this al la carte was that most of the dishes were on the buffet so is was basically a Tex Mex Buffet but the food was good. El Fogon was the Dominican air conditioned restaurant and the food was once again good but they happened to be out of several of their specialty dishes even though we arrived ½ hour after they opened. Ambers, the buffet was open for bkft, lunch and dinner every day and the food was themed in the evenings and once again it was good. The al la carte restaurants were staggered for service. One night only the Italian and Ambers restaurants were open and the next Tex Mex and Ambers etc.

The bars were all exceptional and the bartenders were attentive, always remembering what we ordered. Poolside they would even come buy and bring refreshed drinks. The Chocolate Friends are also wonderful and work very hard unfortunately we never made it to one of their shows nor the disco or casino as we were all in bed by 21:00 every night.
I would like to point out also that while playing water polo I was injured.
The staff was very attentive and even delivered meals to our room because I was in able to walk. I will say we had a wonderful trip highlighted by our trip into Santo Domingo with a visit to Hogar Mercedes de Jesus Orphanage.
The resort was great, no it is not quite an American Hilton but it rivals many resorts we have stayed at in other countries. What I can say is that the people were exceptionally wonderful and we would like to return to the Dominican Republic again to visit another area of the country. There have been many negative reviews discussing hot water, air conditioning, and cleanliness but from our recent stay we had absolutely not problems at all.

My partner and I have just returned from the Coral Costa Caribe 21st June - 6th July 2006. We are aged 26 & 30 and are not fussy people at all!

When we arrived at the hotel we checked in straight away, there was no hanging around! Our room was lovely with plenty of space and was kept extremely clean, our maid was lovely, and left fresh flowers on our towels and beds every day. We never saw one bug in our room. Our rooms were fumigated twice during our stay. The resort itself was kept clean, if someone left anything on the floors outside someone would clear it away within seconds. The hotel does need a lick of paint bit this didnt spoil are stay!

The food at the resort was not 4* more 2/3* the al a cart restaurants was the best place to eat as the buffet restaurant did not have much choice. The al a cart restaurants which are Italian, Mexican and Dominican are nice, if you like your food served hot, you will be disappoint as we visited the restaurants a lot and we did not have one hot meal! In the Mexican we had to send our meals back twice as they were not cooked! Once cooked the meals were very nice and we enjoyed them! As I stated above my partner and I are not fussy people! We found ourselves eating at the snack bar a lot as we knew the food was freshly cooked infront of you.

As to the nightlife! There are four bars you can use in the evening, the garden bar which is small with not a lot of seats, and the bars outside of the Mexican and the Italian restaurants and the sports bar. As there was not a lot of holiday makers while we stayed at the hotel we got served straight away, I wouldnt like to stay at this hotel during full capacity.

Locals! during the weekends locals can purchase a day passes! What a nightmare weekends are! The locals push in front of you and the bartenders and restaurant staff serve the locals before you, one evening we stood at the bar in the sports bar for 30 minutes before getting served!! If you like to use the swimming pools theres not much chance as the locals invade these, even if it is raining!

Apart from the two points above the hotel is lovely and I would recommend staying there, just make sure your not flying into Punta Cana Airport as this is over 3 hours away from the resort. When we booked our holiday (through Thomas Cook) we were told that the journey from the airport was 2 - 2 and a half hours. This turned out to be 3 and a half hours, what a nightmare, after two hours of driving we passed another airport which was only an hour away from our resort, I cant understand why we didnt fly into this airport?! Something for Thomas Cook to look into.

The beach is nice and well kept not very big but still very nice, apart from the lucky lucky men!!

The entertainment at the hotel is not catered for the English, we were told that not many English/Americans go to the Dominican Republic anymore, hence the entertainment not being catered for us. The shows were good, and the staff are good at their jobs! Our Rep only had 11 English tourist staying at our hotel.

We are a couple in their 30/40's and a 10 yrs old girl

I just wanted to add an review about this hotel............because it deserves the praise !!! We returned today and we had the most fabulous time in our lives !!! Like a lot of others I read all the reviews and I was a tiny bit worried but I took all their tips into account to save any problems. It cost us very little but perhaps it helped, I don't know.

Travel : Ok that was horrid, 9 hrs then a 2 and a half hour taxi drive in a tropical rainstorm !!! But so worth it !!!

Check in : The reception staff, especially Leonardo, were lovely, helpful and so friendly. They came straight up to us with iced fruit punches to refresh & cool us down after the long journey. I asked about what was all-inclusive, they was so helpful. A tiny bit of Spanish helps even the odd word. They appreciate your effort. They even gave me the telly channels to find the Grand Prix but I couldn't !!! My daughter cut her foot, nothing major, but they had her carried down to the medical room immediately. They were extremely good there as well.

Our room : This was a side ocean view. It was clean and bright, we even had a towel wrapped like a swan with Hibiscus flowers everywhere !!! The air conditioning was fabulous and needed. No bugs except one night I saw a little baby lizard run across the floor so I caught it and let it go outside We gave the maid a little gift bag when we arrived ( just freebies that you get here like perfume & make-up testers). Then I tipped about 7 US dollars after a week and the same at the end of our holiday. Our room was brilliant all holiday but we were lacking sometimes the water. One quick phone to reception and it was there within about 10 min's. No charge of course..

The Food : There was so much choice and healthly. The Amber Restaurant was the best for us by far. There was so much choice, breakfast was brilliant. We tried the Dominican & Mexican A La Carte Restaurants by chance. They were good but not for children. They said on the info that a children's menu was available but we didn't get that option. Our daughter just didn't eat and she isn't that picky !!! But it is free and Mango's is open 24 hours so she didn't go hungry or not eat well. You must go to Mango's and eat sitting at the first table outside under the palm trees. I swear the view will live with me for the rest of my life.

Our Chocolate Friends : They deserve a medal !!! God they are so energetic, so friendly, so fit and so want to please !!! They entertain so so much. We had a Spanish lesson & some other minor things but they made our daughter one of their family straight away. 10am aerobics on the sand, then volleyball, then games, then practice in the heat of the sun for the show, then Water Volleyball and then the beach again and more games. Kid's film or Karaoke then Mini-Disco & Adult Show until 10pm. We nearly beat them at the Water Polo, I think that they we surprised so they went up a gear and won but it was so much fun !!! SPECIAL PRAISE FOR RAMON he was fabulous to us and our daughter.

Adult Time : We couldn't take advantage of this but some friends we met really enjoyed the Casino and especially the Disco until 4 AM !!!

Negatives : No children's menu in the posh restaurants. BUGS !!! Use your spray !!!

Positives : The scenery & position are beautiful. The Dive Center are brilliant. Don't NOT TAKE the trip to Soana Island you will miss memories of a lifetime. Sailing on a Catamaran listening & dancing to Bob Marley will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Last Note : We did not pay a fortune for this holiday despite the way we have been treated. We have been treated so special but no different to the other people on this holiday at the same time. Read the reviews and take any tips with you and you will have the holiday of a lifetime !!!

We visited the Costa Caribe in late April, 2006

If you are reading this before you have booked the Costa Caribe you should seriously look at other options.

That said, if you are going to the Costa Carib you need to do your homework and obviously you are by reading these reviews. The resort is very nice. The check in people were nice to us but we could over hear the people in front of us and they were very unhappy. I had to ask many questions about things I knew but they did not address. i.e. the in room refrigerator, the safe and checking our room before confirming our location. Thou it takes time, be patient. It will pay off.

We are a married couple in late 40s and had a great deal of fun. We used the safe and put everything away everyday and everytime we entered and left our room. We secured the door at night with a cable lock and secured the the patio door with a golf club we had. We experienced no theft.

We know of three couples who had cell phones stolen and know two of them never had a room safe offered to them.

The food is average to bad but it is plentiful. I'm not picky and it was OK, my wife was not happy.

The staff, except those who are entering the rooms and stealing things, are very nice. We did not meet a staff person who was not courteous, friendly and in good spirits. The drinks are fine, and plentiful. The beach area is nice. I do not agree with others that complained about the beach. Snorkeling was not good as the beach area is protected by a man made reef and there is some type of water grass growing and nothing to see.

Last, we were called shortly before we went to the resort and offered a chance to purchase the all inclusive meal and drink program and a great discount. This was great. And when we arrived we were offered one room and given the opportunity to 'upgrade' our room for a price. It started at $50.00 a day and we bought it at $25.00 per day. I have no idea if I was completely ripped off or not. I had not seen this in the reviews I read.

I bought into the Vacation Club 4 years ago and this has been my best investment yet. I have been to this resort 10 times and still have no complaints. My next trips are booked for July and then November 2006.

The staff and ambiance are what make me come back time and time again. Their friendliness is unmatched from other places I have traveled. And the property is just beautiful. The resort is small enough for me as I travel by myself yet there is enough to do to keep me entertained. I can sit by the pool all day and read, and that is a perfect relaxing vacation for me. I can honestly say I am friends with the Bartenders and Chocolate Friends as we talk via telephone and e-mail all the time. Meet them, talk to them, they are people working for a living just like us.

Sure I’ve seen an ant in my room, just as I’ve seen small crabs walking down the halls of the resort and geckos climbing up the trees. It’s an island on a beach what do you expect. I’ve also left my patio door open so I’m sure something has flown into the room one time or another. I’ve experienced low water pressure, but is that going to ruin my vacation, no, my shower just takes a little longer. However I don’t go on vacation for water pressure or bugs. I go to relax, soak up the sun, see some palm trees, wade in the ocean and meet new people. That’s my definition of vacation, however everyone’s idea of a vacation is different.

I won’t get into the flights etc…since if flights are good or bad that is no fault of the resort. Or if travel agencies provided incorrect info, again, no fault of the resort. Take that up with the appropriate party and don’t post it on this site.

Hilton has made some excellent changes since they took over the property 2-3 years ago. The entire photo shop is new with digital photos and computers, the snack bar is new and its very relaxing to sit on the deck and look out at the ocean. The buffet set-up has recently changed for the better in the Amber Buffet. There used to be one long buffet line and now it is broken up into little stations. This avoids long wait times.

Yes, the weekends are crowded at the resort with many local folks from the country. I think this is wonderful. It gives you a chance to see other cultures. They are very family oriented. It also gives them the opportunity to enjoy a weekend just like we do. Nothing different then our cultures. We all live for the weekends and vacations.

If you have a chance, go get a massage down at the spa. Prices are very comparable to what I pay in the states. On a 90 degree day, you would not even know it was that temperature in one of the massage rooms. The palm tree roof with the ceiling fan makes it so relaxing. A definite must on vacation.

Best advice is to talk to the bartenders, Chocolate Friends and the rest of the staff on your first couple of days down there. They will definitely remember you and it feels as if you have met a friend.

My 16 year old daughter and I just returned from spending a wonderful week at Coral Costa Caribe. This was my first trip to the Caribbean and my daughter’s second. Before booking our trip, I had read a number of reviews for this resort, some good and some bad. Forever the optimist, I decided to take our chances and book. Very glad I did as we were not disappointed.

The flight to La Romana was on time and uneventful. Upon arrival airport, we were through customs and ushered onto the clearly marked bus to the resort which ride was just over an hour. At the resort, we were greeted with refreshments and platters of sandwiches and chicken while we waited in line for our room. Check in was quick and we were in our room within about half an hour.

Our room, F block ground floor, was spacious with two queen size beds, cle an and quiet although the furnishings were somewhat dated. Our television did not work but a call to the front desk had someone at our room within about 20 minutes and the television replaced. We gave our maid a little gift bag on arrival and we always had plenty of towels, face clothes and bottled water. Left another bag when we left to thank her for taking such good care of us. Only experienced lack of hot water once, our last day, and never experienced any power outages.

The resort grounds and beach were well maintained and extremely clean. There were no signs of any rocks or weeds on the beach and we were in the water daily at different spots. There were always plenty of lounge chairs and we never had any problem getting beach towels. There were numerous beach vendors but avoiding eye contact and a polite “no gracias” once or twice and they continued on their way.

We tried all the restaurants except El Fogon – my daughter was not that adventurous. The food everywhere was tasty with plenty of variety. The only item missing was peanut butter which we knew before we left so we brought our own. Our favourite restaurant was the Santa Fe Grill.

Bars were also good although some where busier than others. One thing I particularly liked was the drinks were made without alcohol unless you specifically requested it - something I forgot to mention to my daughter until half way through the vacation when she figured it out for herself!! It is definitely a good idea to bring an insulated cup for your beverages. We brought only one cup with us which we ended up taking turns using it as we found the drinks got too warm to enjoy after only 5 or 10 minutes. Because drinking plenty of water is an absolute must, a package or two of Crystal Light, Kool Aid or something similar to give flavour to the water is a good idea if you don’t like the taste of plain water.

All the staff were friendly, courteous and very helpful. The Chocolate friends are a very talented group of individuals who provided excellent entertainment each evening and would wonder around the resort during the day chatting, organizing activities and checking up on guests. Most could speak at least three languages so communication was never a problem.

We went on one excursion - the three hour shopping trip to Santa Domingo which actually turned into almost a full day. For $30 US each, it was well worth the money to see the City, the way of life, tour a gem museum and visit the flea market. Shopping in Santa Domingo was disappointing and we ended up getting more and at better prices at the little mall down the street to the right of the resort.

About the only complaint we had of the whole trip were the travel times. It was not too bad coming from Ottawa but the trip home was very long. The resort offered courtesy rooms as check out was 1:00 p.m. and our flight was not until 10:15 p.m. We did not take advantage of this as I opted to pay $50 US to keep our room until 6:00 p.m. This turned out to be a good choice as we were able to spend the day on the beach and could clean up and get ready for the trip home at our leisure. We did not arrive in Ottawa until about 2:00 a.m. and by the time we got our luggage and went through customs it was almost 2:30 a.m. – an extremely long and exhausting way to spend the last day of our holiday.

After booking this resort for the 1st week of February, I began searching for reviews and comments. The range of comments made it virtually impossible to get a clear idea of what to expect.

Well . . . let me just say that all those NEGATIVE reviews were nothing but sour grapes! Having travelled extensively, I have a fairly good idea of what to expect at

4* and 5* resorts. Incidentally, ants do not discriminate, so you will find them everywhere, depending on the season. The resort was clean, well kept and offered a variety of activities. The food was plentiful and fresh, and the à la carte restaurants a refreshing change. The manager's BBQ (I understand it is a weekly event) was a very pleasant and entertaining evening. Staff members were always eager to please and quite jovial. They seemed to truly enjoy their job.

As for the hawkers on the beach, it's their livelyhood, so give them a break. If you are not interested, simply (and politely) let them know and they will leave you alone. Many complained about the beach??? What beach were they at? Treacherous? Rocky? Full of weeds? True, it wasn't the best beach I've been to, but it hardly merits the harsh criticism it received. Why didn't those people just stick to the pool