For those of you who do not know this resort, this resort is actually in Boca Chica. It used to be a Hilton hotel but as of January it has changed over to “Hamaca Coral” and now it’s one of the “Oasis” chain. We flew out of Ottawa on Zoom Airlines, at 9:30 a.m., leaving a half-hour late stopping in to Montreal to pick up more people, left Montreal at 10:45 and on our way. The flight had quite a bit of turbulence but not bad overall. We arrived at La Romana Airport at ~4:00 p.m. local time, spent an hour at the airport and then boarded a bus to take us to the resort, which is 90 minutes away. We finally arrived and were just in time for supper at 6:30 p.m. It was a very long day!

This is a very large resort, with 598 rooms and not a really good choice if you have trouble walking. It is divided into two sections. One section contains the “Garden view” rooms, Kid’s club, with a Kid’s pool, Adult’s pool with a swim-up bar and a Hot tub, Tex-Mex restaurant, Buffet restaurant, Theatre, Mini-Golf and Gym. You have to cross a street to get to the Lobby. This street is open to anybody and everybody so traffic can be heavy. There are “guards” that watch vehicles go by but it was not the “safe” feeling we are used to. Once you are in the Lobby, there is the “Baccarat lounge”, and the Casino, which is quite nice. We actually won money there a few nights.

Room: We had requested a room on the 1st floor because I have trouble walking. Reception said they didn’t get the request so they were gonna put us on the 2nd floor. I had brought a copy of my request so they were able to find us the room we’d requested. Room was adequate. Maid service was good and always done before we returned at the end of the day. Our evening entertainment after the shows was to see which one of us could kill the most mosquitoes (that’s inside). TV was iffy – if it got too hot it didn’t work. Bring Bug Spray!

Beach: To get to the beach, you have to go through the Lobby, then down 43 steps. It gets to be quite a chore when you do this a few times a day. My husband had to get up early every day (~4:30 a.m.) to get us a hut on the beach. We weren’t the only ones doing the “hut thing”. We have some beautiful pictures of sun rises. We met some really nice people from New York (Hi Dave), and some others from Ottawa and Canada. My husband actually saw some mice in the grassy patch behind our hut on several occasions. Don’t get me wrong, they have an absolutely gorgeous beach. You can walk out forever and the water only goes to your shoulders. They have one of the nicest beaches I’ve ever been to and I’ve travelled to the DR every year since the 1990s.

Restaurants:
Buffet Restaurant: The food was nothing to write home about. Breakfast: Wasn’t always the greatest, bacon was scarce and very greasy when it was available. They ran out of tea bags all the time. Dinner: You had the usuals, like chicken, pork etc. Desserts were monotonous. The same desserts, different day.

Italian restaurant: Had the lasagne, not like back home, but good, went back twice.
The Tex-Mex: My favourite! Excellent food. I had the fajitas and they were to die for. My husband had the ribs and he said they were small. Oh well! The beach restaurant: was ok for a quick lunch, with burgers and then some days you could have a full meal. Not too many desserts though. Didn’t try the Dominican restaurant.

Entertainment:
The Chocolate friends go all out to please you. Numerous activities during the day and we saw a few of the nightly shows, not too bad. They also have a movie before the evening entertainment for the kids.

Reception:
This was one of the major drawbacks of our holiday. Our granddaughter was having heart surgery and we had expected a call from Canada to give us an update. Our daughter tried numerous times to get us and reception either kept her on hold forever, told her we weren’t there or simply hung up on her. That evening we got a phone call from Go Travel rep in DR saying they had received a fax from Ottawa to “Call home” – no explanation. We panicked! We couldn’t make a call from the room because of the cost so we went to reception to get a telephone card. They didn’t have any and sent us off to one of the Guest Shops. One shop didn’t have any and the other was closed. Back to reception – response “Sorry can’t help you”. We went tearing out of there fit to be tied, luckily we had walked around previously and knew of a store that had internet and telephone services and we were able to call home. It was then we were told that the surgery had been postponed, no thanks to the Hotel etc. for the help or understanding in this matter.

My husband and I just returned from the Coral Hamaca Resort. We stayed from April 26-29, 2007. We were pleasantly surprised. The flight in from Newark, NJ was excellent and we arrived earlier than scheduled. I thought the Santo Domingo airport was very well organized and beautiful. We got our luggage and went through customs with no problem. We took our ride to the hotel, which took about 15 minutes no problem.

The Resort
The resort is beautiful. The grounds are beautiful and clean. Our check-in was fine not that many people checking in when we arrived and we were put into the main building, which is central to everything. Our room was spacious and clean and had a beautiful balcony with views of the garden and fountains.

The Beach
Totally AWSOME, BEAUTIFUL AND GORGEOUS! Loved the beach went everyday during our stay. I never went to the pool so I cannot commit on how the pools are. The water was clear, warm and beautiful colors. They kept the beach clean all day long. There were no problems with bugs as reported in previous reviews.

The Food
The buffet was good for breakfast and lunch. We went to their Italian restaurant Rigolleto for dinner and the Dominican Restaurant El Fogun for Dinner. We really enjoyed the Italian restaurant excellent food, wine and service. The Dominican Restaurant was nice also. My husband and I drank the water in the buffet and the Speciality Restaurants and we did not get sick at all.

The Service
I thought the service was excellent. Our last night there was a problem in the hotel, a pipe had burst and water got into all the rooms on the fourth flr, which included ours. Management handled it quickly. My husband and I were in the nightclub and returned to find management in our room making sure none of our stuff got wet. They immediately sent maintenance to handle the pipe, cleaned up our room, and even offered to move us to another room. The whole situation was handled professionally and quickly. Kudos to management at the resort.

My wife Charo and I, along with our 5 year old daughter Daniela stayed at the Hamaca Coral by Hilton from Dec 15th, to Dec 23th, 2005. This site was the main support to choose this Hotel, despite the negative reviews; I think that is a cultural issue. I’m Peruvian and the language is an important barrier to the visitors that can handle other languages but this resort is not the case most of the workers talk in English and French!, obviously our family hasn’t any problem with them, this resort is wonderful, but take in count that is our first travel to the Caribbean.

Arrival:
From Lima to Santo Domingo airport is 8 hours travel with plane changing in Panama. It’s only 20 minutes from Las Americas Airport to Coral Hamaca.

Check In: A breeze, we arrive at 3 pm we reserve prior to 2 months and we have a VIP treat, 519 room on main building with a little Ocean View, it’s important to take care your towel cards (15 US$ if you lost it) and very careful with the room key cards, because it demagnetized constantly. We left our video camera in the taxi but we recover it two days later with the taxi company help and the Bell boys of Hamaca.

Room: Wonderful a big big air conditioner, cable TV, people you don’t need any bottle opener, it is ON THE DOOR! OF THE MINIBAR, OPEN YOUR EYES!, we sign the minibar note but says Alka seltzer/Tylenol, but only has the Alka, after a couple of days we receive a bill of Tylenol (does not exist any tablet), we made the complaint to Client Service and they fix it (apparently) –with our child we bring a lot/ tons of medicines- and do not need any other, and Tylenol is unknown pill in my country (I know, I know it is for the headache...etc), Another thing the shampoo and shower gel is on the wall OPEN YOUR EYES AGAIN!. We receive tea, coffee, hair dryer, lot of towels, lot of tissues. Very important you have a message box at the room phone, but are important to say that the phone cards to use at the Verizon phone at the lobby is cheaper if you pay at the hotel shop for it in Dominican Pesos.

Beach: Amazing. With the reef barrel we have a great great calm beach with turquoise/ blue sea and white sand, not totally warm water because we stay at the winter! Yes for the Canadians is a joke 28º C, but this breeze at night is cold for us too. Daniela enjoy this time at the beach, we have a little fish around. You have a hundred meters of floor. We enjoy the rain!, yes, our city never has one, was really fun for us.

Grounds: Very leafy gardens with tons of palms decorated with nightlights, was a very nice view around the hotel. You will find jogging track, tennis courts, expensive massages and hair braid at the beach, the Jacuzzi near the main pool is fabulous and very relaxing is fantastic to have a bar beside.

Kids Club: Not many child but is OK some kids like ours don’t want to leave their parents but was fantastic the boat ride around the Boca Chica Beach and mangroves. They have a lot of fun with sand castles, arts, playgrounds, our child met a Canadian Girl from their age and was very connected playing Twister despite the language, very nice little friend Kathleen

Entertainment: Chocolate friends will try to you must pass a nice day but the games are not so good, was a lot of fun yes, maybe more merengue and bachata lessons and not too games.

Food: One thing, the Peruvians has the best food in the world, but this food is very good better of our expectations. La Cotica far of our room but is very nice buffet that vary all days, very delicious Fruit Punch the bread and the fishes. Rigoletto is very nice restaurant with Italian food, very taste White Salmon and pass a very nice moments with a friend of Windsor Canada (in front of Detroit isn’t it) and 8 Peruvians. The Mangos restaurant is very helpful at night you have Roast Chicken, burgers, chips. The hotel must inform the days and hours of operation of “a la carte” restaurants. Magnificent self service Pizza station and Piano Bar is right too with some coffee, milk and tea station.

Bars: You must try the Mamajuana the Dominican drink made with herbs and obviously the Brugal Rum in all the drinks mainly Cuba Libre and Piña Colada 24 hours, they have a mistake: does not import the Peruvian Pisco.

Sports: Football was a lot of fun, we found another compatriot and make a really World Cup final against the European people. Volleyball. Kayaking was very nice and paddle boats with my daughter as driver, not too much wind to program sunfish and boat driving lessons.

Theater: Wonderful you have a bar inside too, the Mini Disco is a hit, and Dominican Night is very very nice with live music, amazing.

Tours: In the hotel you have travel agencies representing and we take a full day tour (3 for US$200) a little pricy for us, Machu Picchu is cheaper!!!.

Take the Catalina Island VIP tour including La Romana tobacco factory, passing around Guayacanes and Juan Dolio beaches, San Pedro de Macoris the land of Guavaberry, Casa de Campo, Altos de Chavon (Representing an ancient Italian village) and the fascinating Chavon River travel with the amphibious vehicle, with much rum and beers and merengue dancing.

Then catch the catamaran to Catalina Island, with snorkel equipment and food to the fishes included. Lobster BBQ and an exquisite buffet, sports and a marvelous bright island.

Returning they has a stop to shopping at the artisans mall at La Romana.

And we take our own tour to Colonial Santo Domingo, moving at the guaguas from Boca Chica, a Government’s tourist guide rescue us from the guagua and from 28US$ take us to the San Francisco Ruins, Malecon, Colonial streets, Real Houses Museum and Government gift shop, was wonderful, but we lost our credit cards at the guagua return what a shame! But we have the revenge attending at the Juan Luis Guerra concert, what a show!

Check out: They close your minibar a day previous for your departure, take in count this.

The claim was not resolved they charge the Tylenol, we explain the case (my wife is attorney) and we not paid this unjust charge.

My wife and I just returned from a week at this wonderful resort. I don't know why there are so many negative comments, because we thought it was very nice. Perhaps not five star, but it is a large, clean, well maintained property.

We flew in to Santo Domingo's Las Americas airport which was just a 10-15 minute, $20 U.S. cab ride to the resort. Check in caused a little concern as they couldn't find our reservation at first. After about ten minutes they did find it and we got what we asked for. An ocean front room with a king bed and a large balcony. It was a large room with a walk-in closet and the sink area separated from the bathroom with a tub/shower and toilet.

At check-in they explained in great detail what was included in the mini-bar, what was not included and a list of prices for everything. The price list was also available in the room. Either the hotel learned that they had to provide better information or the people that complained did not listen to the information provided. We had no problem with the maid service. The linens were changed, towels and soap provided and the room cleaned with no difficulty. We had no problem with insects as some complained. During our stay we were notified that the room would be fumigated the next morning at 9:30 and we could decline if we wanted. We saw the Terminix man come in and spray. I don't know how often they do it, but it certainly seemed effective.

The resort is large, so it is a 5-8 minute walk between the beach area and the pool area. There is also a small pool at the beach. The pool is very large and very nice with a swim up bar and lots of lounges, many unoccupied. I guess most people prefer the beach. The beach is crowded, but has lots of lounges and lots of little huts for shade. We spent mornings at the pool and afternoons at the beach, but never had a problem finding empty lounge chairs or shade.

There are bars all over, but for some of the more tropical drinks such as Pina Coladas you have to ask them to put alcohol in. If you ask for it, you get it.

The food was certainly not gourmet, but it was ok. The meat at dinner in the buffet was very tough and almost impossible to eat. But, there was lots of other choices. There are also three other restaurants open for dinner. A Caribbean, Tex Mex and Italian. The Italian was probably the best, but the others are ok. In the Italian restaurant they offer menu items that you would have to pay extra for, but there are plenty of other choices on the included menu. They also try to push wine that you would have to pay for, but the house wine which is included is decent.

My one bad experience was on the fishing trip I took through Prieto Tours, off the lobby. It was the worst fishing trip I ever took. It was supposed to be six hours, but it was only 4 1/2 . First we stopped the boat for fuel which took almost a half hour, then when we chugged out of the harbor the lines were rigged with bait and we went for a 3 1/2 hour boat ride. The bait was never checked or changed, the trolling speed never varied, the route was south, then east then back to the harbor. We never had a nibble. When the lines were pulled in two had no bait on them. The mates sat with their feet up in the cabin and smoked or put on some music and danced. They certainly did not seem to care about catching fish. We ended up back at the hotel an hour earlier than it was supposed to be. When I complained to the tour operator she shrugged her shoulders.

My Husband and I, along with our 8 year old son stayed at the Hamaca Coral By Hilton from Jan 6th, to Jan 13th, 2006. Along with many others, I have no idea what the bad reviews are about, as this is a wonderfull resort. I will give you my honest opinions here, but I'm telling you I really have to "pick" at the little things to give you the negatives.

Arrival: From Toronto to La Romana Airport. Good grief it was a long bus ride after a 4 hour flight. But hey, sleep, look out the window at the little towns, remember it's not snowing!

Check In: Ok, a bit long, but maybe it just felt that way due to all the travel that day.. There were some people behind us in line complaining it was taking so long, but we are patient people, even with an eight year old it was ok (again, not snowing). A welcome drink in line quenched the thirst. We were given Cards for our beach towels and 2 Room keys (yes, sometimes they demagnitized and we had to go to the front desk to get them fixed, if you are not in the main building I can see where this would be a huge hassle). The clerks let us know exactly what was and was not free in the mini bar, (they informed us of the bottle rule, not cans) and require you to sign a form to that effect. So if you read everything you are signing, you shouldn't have a problem.

Room: We had written an email to the hotel, as well as requested with I Travel 2000 a room close to the beach, view of the ocean if possible. We were in the main building room 408. There was an elevator, a porter to help with our bags (if you wanted). We didnt get the oceanview, but did get within a 4 minute walk to the beach. (This is where people start getting irate, but we did not worry about the oceanview. I guess it is just how much people want to worry about the little things) We asked for 2 double beds and recieved them in a very large spacious room. Room was clean, fresh sheets and pillows, stocked mini bar, TV with remote, huge balcony. Again, if the remote wasnt there, I simply would have called, it wouldn't ruin my vacation. As well, more instructions on how the mini bar system worked, right on the minibar. I think it's people who dont read the fine print that get nailed on this one. Maid service was a little lacking some days, even with the dollar store presents, but some days were fabulous, you get that at any hotel here in Canada too. Room was cleaned daily and water bottles and towels replenished as well. Didnt expect more than that. Brought a locking suitcase for our valuables and had no problems.

Grounds: Beautiful. Very large, nice gardens, well maintained. Depending where you room is, there is alot of walking to the beach, but on the other hand, if you get close to the beach, it's a walk to the buffet. You could walk from any place to another in 5 minutes or so. There is mini golf, tennis courts, a spa (pretty average prices, dont expect a full body massage for $10.00 or anything), a small gym, jogging trails, bocci ball. A large main pool (for the not so close to the beach rooms), large hot tub, enclosed area for nightly shows, 2 games room areas with pool tables etc. A casino and disco ( didnt attend as it was a family vacation) I wont get into the exact location of everything, what I'm trying to get across is it's a large area, there is some walking involved. There is a small road/street in between the main building and garden areas, but there is not people zipping up and down it on mopeds!. It is a private road with security guards stopping traffic like a crossing guard would to let you pass if needed, but it was never a problem. The only problem I could see was people with perhaps canes or wheelchairs might have had to take a different route down to the beach due to stairs, and I did see a small walk way that could accomodate that, although I didnt walk down it. Other areas of the resort were wheelchair accesible, except for one or two spots. There is also a kids club, never all that busy and my son was too old for it. Definitly geared to toddlers, but we did not book the resort for the kids club. If you do, not for over 5 or 6 in my opinion.

Beach: We thought it was wonderfull. Blue/Green Water, very clear. Shallow, not too many waves. This was plus for my son, as he could go out quite far. Sand was great, In between brown and perfect white, definitley a "carribean" colour. Lots of beach chairs, lots of Palapa's, however the standard "go and claim it early"applied. People coming around to clean up cups, etc. Tons of paddle boats, kayaks etc to use. The beach is private, so no, you cant walk for miles and miles. But there is a small wall, easily hopped over to walk down a huge stretch of public beach if you choose. It looked like a lot of fun, if I didnt have my son I would definitly have gone. None the less, our private area was vendor free, except for the ocassional Bananna Boat or Snorkel Guy, and it was still roomy in my opinion. Yes, off to the right of the resort is a 3 large structures, perhaps an oil refinery like other reviews have said, but you dont even notice it after a day, it's not obtrusive, nor does it ruin the awesome beach. You can take some fruit from the beach buffet and travel out to the large reef and feed the fish!

Food/Restaurants: Again, no complaints with the food. We ate twice at the Sante Fe Grill, ate breakfasts at the Buffet by the pool ( great omlette station) as well as a few dinners (they switch the theme everyday) . We also tried the Italian Restaurant. There is a Dominican themed restaurant we did not try. Also there is one restaurant not included "pelicano" right on the beach. On the beach there is a great area with fries and burgers served all day, as well as a pizza station which had great pizza's freshly made. One more buffet on the beach, that we did not frequent but it did have wicked desserts (chocolate cake etc.) As for Bars....two in the main beach area, one in the main lobby "piano bar" area, one at the large main pool in the garden area. The beach bar is open 24 hours...and it's really 24 hours! Despite that, I wasnt awakened by noise at all from that area.

My boyfriend and I vacationed here Dec 16-23. We both had a great time and thought the resort was wonderful. The pictures of the hotel are deceiving because the place is much nicer. We were a little apprehensive because we didnt want a tall hotel where you have to take an elevator. We were pleasently suprised to find that half of the resort (which is called garden view) which is across from the large main building you see on the beach in most pictures. The garden view section have 3 storey buildings that are typical to most caribbean resorts I have stayed at. The rooms are large and you get a nice view (especially if you ask for a pool view).

All the staff were very nice. The food was excellent. Probably the best I have had at an all-inclusive resort and I have been to many throughout the Caribbean. They have one main buffet which is in the garden section and they have 3 a la carts throughout the resort. The a la carts are nice because you dont have to make a reservation. We tended to eat around 8:30 so we never had a problem getting a table.

There are many excursions you can take. We did Saona Island and had a great time. We highly recommend it.

There is plently of shade on the beach. There are small palm tress and an abundance of shade things (i dont know what they are called but they are made of wood and palm leaves). These actually provide more shade than just palm trees. The beach area is nice and big so there is plenty of room for all of the activities going on and for just laying around. The beach for the resort is private so there are no vendors trying to sell you things. The water is shallow and never gets above your head. The water is a green/blue shade and you can see the bottom. You will see locals hundreds of feet out walking in water that is only up to their knees. We enjoyed taking the paddle boats out and letting the current take us back in - very relaxing. The sand is white but not the powdery type that you sink into - Its a little harder when you walk on it. I thought the beach area was great. There are two bars and an area you can get food to eat during the day. The 24hr bar and food area are on the he beach.

The Coral Hamaca offers an affordable vacation on a beautiful beach. It is not a five star resort, but it is worth more than the price charged. We traveled from the United States.

This was our fourth vacation at the Coral Hamaca - this was our first time in a two-bedroom ocean front villa as vacation club members. Yes, we've had so much fun at this resort that we purchased weeks in their club.

OK, so I've read the negative reviews and agree with some and disagree with most. I am also a Marriott timeshare owner in Aruba and Orlando and have traveled extensively trading my weeks - so I do have something to compare the Hamaca too.

The rooms in other resorts I've stayed in are so much newer, have more amenities and quicker check-in and have faster response times to requests or problems. However, they are also much more expensive.

BEACH: Hamaca has a beautiful calm beach. We brought rafts from home. You can rest your pina colada on your raft and it won't spill, that's how calm the water was -- and very clear -- we walked out to ropes and could see yellow and black fish without our snorkeling gear.

ACTIVITIES: Volleyball, soccer, other games on the beach, paddle boats, wind surfing, dance lessons, spanish lessons, aerobics on the beach, aerobics in the water, too much to mention. Professional photographers take photos on the beach (no purchase necessary) and on your way to dinner you can review them at the photo booth on the computer screen and if you like something, $8.00 for a 5x7. No pressure to buy. The Chocolate Friends organize the activities and make sure everyone has a good time. They create the atmosphere on the beach.

MINI BAR: You are allowed two free BOTTLES of Presidente beer per day, two bottles of coke -- the free bottles of water are left in the bathroom (do not use water from faucet to brush your teeth). In addition to the mini-bar there's a small refrigerator that you can transfer your free drinks to each day if you don't drink them and free drinks will be replenished the next day. Because of all the bad reviews about the mini bar, we reviewed our bills the day BEFORE we checked out is case there were any discrepancies about the mini bar -- there were none.

ROOM SAFE: There is a $20 charge for the key to the safe. I feel this is unreasonable and should be included in room rate. When you check in, ask about the key for the safe, sometimes they forget to tell you and you have to make a trip back to the front desk.

FOOD: There was plenty to choose from between the nightly buffets and the specialty restaurants. This time we traveled with another couple and we traveled with two teenagers in the past. We all liked the food. It's really a matter of personal taste. The couple we traveled with thought the cheese was the best they ever tasted and I saw another review on this site that said they couldn't even eat the cheese because it was so bad. My personal favorite was the Italian restaurant where I had beef tenderloin topped with blue cheese over a sun dried tomato sauce (delicious). On another night I had pasta with a tomato sauce. We all liked the pizza on the beach.

PHONE CALLS: We purchased a phone card in the Hamaca lobby gift shop and used the special blue Verizon phone in the lobby -- cheap! The card has a scratch off on the back which gives you your code. You enter 311 on the blue verizon lobby phone, then your code, then area code and phone number (no country code necessary).

CAR RENTAL: Rented a Nissan Sentra from National for $256 for the week. Used it to drive to Santo Domingo (driving in the city a little crazy) and hired a guide outside of the cathedral who spoke English.
They wear light blue shirts and have IDs. They even had a place for us to park. Cheaper than the hotel tours which are about $55 a person. Our guide stayed with us the entire day (4 people) and charged us a total of $40 -- much less than the $220 it would have cost us. Keep in mind that your tour guide will lead you to certain shops and we found cheaper prices at Hamaca and downtown Boca Chica.

We also drove to Altos de Chavon. It's a village that overlooks the Chavon River where some movies were filmed. It looks like an ancient city but was built during the late 70s early 80s by Paramount Pictures.
There is a school of design on the property that's associated with Parsons school of NY. You feel like you've gone back in time here. Sammy Sousa was married at the church on this property.

LARIMAR and AMBER: The hotel had vendors come in Friday and Saturday nights. You can bargain. We also purchased jewelry in downtown Boca Chica and in the jewelry store in the Hamaca. The hotel also has affordable prices (all price levels) -- a better quality.

BARTENDERS: These guys work hard. Sometimes we had to wait a while to be served, but most of the time we were served right away. We especially liked the bar on the sand at the beach.

ATTITUDE OF WAITERS AND BARTENDERS: We were greeted with smiles most of the time (some exceptions). And at dinner and Delimar bar when I said thank you, they always said "Pleasure to serve you" or "Happy to serve you".

CASINO: BEWARE of this game which they say is a cross between roulette and Keno. You'll receive a promotional chip when you enter the casino. When you play it appears that you have a chance to win big -- then the jackpot AND the bet required to be placed DOUBLES and DOUBLES and we saw someone lose $4,000 in 10 minutes. I played with my promotional chip and won $15 -- when it came time to place a bet using my money (or chips I won), I quit and cashed in my $15. Don't be suckered in -- you will not win playing this game! I played slots and lost $45, but I saw other people win. My husband played craps and won.

CHECK IN; Although we checked in OK, I did see a line of people becoming frustrated with their long waits.

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED: Check in could be much faster. Rooms could be updated with nicer furniture. Instructions on how to use your room telephone were not provided. We learned that you have to dial 5 and then room # to reach another room in the hotel. You have to dial 1616 to retrieve messages, but this was never explained and instructions you received when dialing 1616 are in Spanish. It would be helpful to receive written instructions in English.

Ho alloggiato all' Hotel Hamaca per 13 annni 3 volte all'anno dalla settimana fino a stare per 4 settimane consecutive .

Le camere Beach front sono le piu' vecchie ma sono anche le migliori le camere nel Garden o Pool sono nuove ma sembrano costruite in cartone , e' capitato piu' volte in caso di pioggia di cambiare camera per allagamenti,problemi con aria condizionata il frigor non funzionava etc.ect-. Questo non succede quasi mai con le camere Beach-Front o quelle nel sopra la lobby.

La pulizia e' sommaria , a volte se si odora bene si sente un odore nauseabondo sui cuscini dato dal forte tasso di umidita', pero' tutto sommato accettabile .

My Wife and I (Mike & Angie) just returned from a 6-day trip to the Domican Republic from 7/21 - 7-26. We are from United States.

Let me start by saying most of the reviews on this page are dead on. The resort itself is beautiful. The staff does a great job of keeping the entire resort clean. There is always someone working on the grounds or picking empty glasses and dirty plates.

Check in: We didn’t check in until 8:00 pm so we had no line and it was relatively easy. I recommend late check in if possible because it was a mess during the afternoon.

Rooms: We had a Garden Room by the big pool. When we first walked in the room was filled with bugs and the TV was gone. We tried to call the front desk but our phone didn’t work. We had bug spray so we sprayed the room and shut the window. We did get a TV later that night. The beach rooms are much nicer, including bigger TV.

I also recommend leaving a couple dollars and/or gifts for maids. We were able to get as much bottled water as possible. We refused mini bar so we would not have to deal with what so many on this board dealt with.

Beach: The beach was amazing. The sand and water are great. We loved that there were no waves. We have been to several beaches and have never spent that much time actually in the water.

I can’t believe people on this board actually complained about the oil refinery. I had to look for it to find it and my wife would not have noticed it if I hadn’t told her how many people complained about it.

Food: The food was okay. People have to accept that it is going to taste a little different. We didn’t like the cheese so most of our options were limited. We ate at the Pasta House 3 nights in a row because the pasta tasted the same as what we are use to and no cheese. The fries and Pizza at the beach were great and the chips and Mango salsa at Mexican were incredible.

Bottom Line: Every thing about the resort itself was great. The only complaint we had was how we were treated. We have been to other Caribbean resorts and have always felt that the staff first priority was us no matter what nationality we were. We tipped from time to time but still felt like they would rather us not bother them. We hardly ever got a friendly “hola” as we passed an employee. At the bar we had to continue to wait as others yelled and whistled to get their drinks before us even after we tipped and waited longer. I am sure it is a cultural thing but to us no matter what country we are in we expect friendly and polite service. I would rather stay and at bad resort but feel like the staff is doing everything possible to make you a priority than stay and a good resort and feel ignored.

We did not see many Americans and the ones we did see felt the same we did about the staff not wanting to deal with us.

My wife, daughter (11 yrs old) and I stayed at the Coral Hamaca between July 3, 2005 and July 12, 2005. Based on the wide range of reviews on this property we really did not know what to expect so we planned for the worst and hoped for the best… The following comments are based on our combined opinions in the hope of enlightening others.

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: On a scale of one (1) to ten (10), we would rate the Hamaca a solid five (5). It’s OK, not great - not bad either. One thing that is for sure is that it is not a HILTON by any stretch of the imagination. Apparently a group of investors have an agreement with HILTON to utilize the name for brand recognition. Buyer beware…

BACKGROUND: We have traveled in the Caribbean and Central America so we were ready for the cultural environment… before going suggest you read about the Dominican Republic’s history and culture to minimize the cultural shock! It isn’t the USA, Canada or Europe… it’s third world at best!

CHECKING IN: What a mess! First we stand in a line for about twenty minutes only to be told that since we are Diamond Level HILTON HONORS members we must go to a different location to check in. I informed the desk clerk that it was ok and I just wanted to get my room without any fan fare. However we were promptly informed that “eso no es possible, usted es un VIP!” (that is not possible, you are a VIP!) so… we shuffle our way to a desk a few feet away to check in…. At this “VIP” area we are given a nice cool tropical punch to drink while we wait…. and wait… and wait… finally the process begins and we are given an informative and detailed explanation of the hotels grounds and services (almost to detailed). The entire process took over 45 minutes! And since we were VIP’s we are told to go get something to eat, as the room was not ready… so much for being a VIP…

GROUNDS/GARDENS: Well kept and clean, someone is always cleaning something! The hotel is divided into two (2) areas. The “main” building which houses the reception area, casino, ocean-view rooms, small pool, various restaurants, and some small shops. Located across a small street condo-style buildings, which surround the main pool, gym, mini golf and the main buffet restaurant. We stayed on the beach side and enjoyed it. However the “condo” side appeared to be a bit quieter (assumption on our part).

ROOM: The room (604 main building) was nothing special. It consisted of one (1) king size bed a small table, chairs, and dresser. Although it did have a nice balcony looking into the garden. One word of caution, all of the rooms on the 6th floor have connecting doors. This is good if you need connecting rooms, but beware they do little if anything to contain the noises/sounds (TV, talking etc…) in the adjoining rooms. Apparently the reservation staff over looked our request for two (2) beds. We called the guest services office and eventually, a decrepit, three wheeled roll away bed was brought in… The room itself would have been disappointing had it not been for the great balcony and view of the garden. The air conditioning units are water-chilled units and as such have two settings on – off. Fortunately we like our rooms cold.

The next morning our housekeeper Rossy, who by the way did a great job informed us that the room next door (603) was part of a three room suite, had no connecting door, had a great view and was also checking out! We thought we hit pay dirt! I started the negotiating process with the Guest Services desk to move and after much discussion we were relocated. This room was much like the first with the exception that it had two (2) double beds, which were the first beds to roll off of Simmon s manufacturing line… called Guest Services the next morning after waking up with a terrible back ache and again they sent some one during the day to fix the problem… so life goes… as an added benefit during the first night in room 603 the air conditioner went out and it was hot as, well it was HOT! Called Guest Services first thing in the AM and they fixed the AC by 11:00 AM.

Finally after the second day in room 603 all the pieces fell into place…

BEACH: The beach was very nice with shallow water, fine sand and a roped off area for swimming.. The beach was clean, the water clear and an abundance of lounge chairs and bohios (thatched roof huts) to lie under. One word of caution, strongly suggest that you swim within the boundaries of the roped off area as boats are constantly passing pulling banana boats and such outside of the roped area.

POOL: On the ocean side there is a small pool, multiple bars, and restaurants right on the beach. On the condo side there is a larger pool with a restaurant and swim up bar The main pool in the condo section was nice. As far as bird droppings I was hit twice… so I guess I’m going to be lucky for quite some time. Bottom line it’s not as bad as some have written.

FOOD: Our family is an eclectic bunch when it comes to eating styles, my wife is a vegetarian, my daughter is super picky and I’m a diabetic. I can honestly say that there were always multiple healthy choices for all of us to enjoy. Fruits are plentiful and delicious. The buffet at La Cotica proved to be the best option for us. The flan is the BOMB!!!! (I hope my doctor is not reading this).

We tried the Italian Restaurant (Regoletto Pasta Club) and it was nothing to write home about… nothing special except the long wait for a plate of pasta… all show and no go. We also tried the Mexican place (Santa Fe Grill) and it was ok… I had the ribs and they were all right but not all right enough to have me come back for more. IF you go to the Santa Fe Grill, make sure you try the Coconut Flan. With these two (2) exceptions we took all of our meals in the main buffet line at “La Cotica” and “Mangos” on the beach.

SERVICE: The entire hotel staff was very friendly and we had no complaints. Treat them with respect; tip them when you are served and you will be treated like royalty thorough out your stay.

BIRDS: The pigeons (aka Winged Rats) are flying around the outdoor restaurant by the beach – beware! On my first day, a bird crapped on my shirt (although it didn’t bring us any good luck as we only had 3 days of sun).

MINI-BAR/ROOMBAR: It was made perfectly clear from the start that with the all inclusive package you get two (2) Glass Bottle Coke’s and two (2) Glass Bottle “El Presidente” beer’s per day. Anything else is above and beyond. We tipped the minibar person soon after our arrival and we had more Coke’s and El Presidente beers than we could drink throughout our stay! Hint, hint, wink, wink!

HELPFUL HINTS:

• Bring a bottle opener you won’t find one within five zip codes of the hotel!
• Bring plenty of one Dollar bills! We brought new crisp two (2) Dollar bills and they were a hit with the staff!
• You gotta try riding on one of the motor scooter taxis! Your life flashes in front of your face! I rode one back from the airport to the resort after turning in our rental car. What a ride!
• Don’t rent a car. Use the taxis for everything. We took a tour of Santo Domingo for $55.00 (US) and it was worth it! Booked it directly with a cab driver from the hotel. You can book this tour through the hotel but you will be grouped with other folks and your itinerary is fixed.
• Don’t forget your bug spray. Little no-see ums eat you up around your ankles while your eating dinner.
• Battery operated clock, as power outages are a common occurrence.
• Chump change gifts, i.e. .99-cent boxes of chocolate, nail polish etc…

BOTTOM LINE: The brutal reviews this property has received are a bit harsh. In our experience, whatever deficiencies where encountered were promptly (in Hispanic timelines) rectified. There are many positives about this hotel – the grounds; food is decent, attentive service staff. If you have never been to an all-inclusive facility, this is a great “starter” resort. If you are expecting a Club Med, Sandals, or other high profile facility you are at the wrong place.

I did bring back some literature that I will scan and email if you desire. If you want to get further information email me at
RAV4-05@hotmail.com.

I really don't know how I could have stayed at the same resort as some of the reviews. The Hamaca was wonderful, the pools were absolutely not below average. The main pool is huge with 2 bridges and a swim up bar, there is also a 20 person jacuzzi. We stayed in a huge ocean front room with a very large balcony. It was cleaned every day and had no leaks or any other problems. As for the Mini Bar...don't use it. We had them lock it back up and just brought whatever we wanted from the bars, water, beer, pina coladas, whatever. The resort is all-inclusive 24 hours a day, so I really didn't find a reason to need the mini-bar. The Sante Fe grill (Mexican restaurant) was awesome and the ribs were to die for, so was the flank steak. The Italian restaurant was OK, just make sure you know how much the wine is in US$ before you order. We got a nice $9 bottle of Woodbridge for $45 (I almost died) it was our fault for not checking. The buffet is like every other all inclusive resort. As far as the phone calls I guess that person has never travelled outside the US. The prices to make calls to home are always outrageous. The best part about the Dominican is that we have Verizon and it works in the DR.

We couldn't leave fast enough. This was by far the worst hotel experience I have ever had. I still can't believe Hilton puts their name on this dump. A vacation is supposed to be a special time and we feel we were mislead by the ratings on various sites and had no idea what to expect.

Service was brutal, the front desk could have cared less about any of the guest's needs, as we discovered by talking to other guests around the pool, we were not the only ones having problems. The wait staff and other service people did work extremely hard and did the best they could.

Tips if you have already booked the trip and have to go:

1. Don't touch the minibar. You are allowed 2 "free" sodas and 2 "free" beers everyday as part of the package. What they don't tell you is that it is the bottles that are free not the cans. They