August 12, 2005
08-19-2005 8:55 pm
August 12, 2005
color=#0000ff> Iberostar Message BoardMy friend and I just returned from a wonderful vacation to the Dominican Republic. Our trip was from Aug. 3-10, 2005 which we booked through Apple Vacations. This was our second vacation with Apple because they do an excellent job and make the trip so easy! The flight and transfers were easy. Like another reviewer said, don't worry about having someone help you with your luggage unless you have a ton (mainly they want you to tip them) because it's not far to the shuttles. If you become nervous easily, don't sit near the driver of any vehicle you ride in because people in the DR honk to let you know they are cutting you off, passing on the other side of the street or running a light. It might not be good for your digestion but it does improve your prayer life. :)
The hotel was beautiful! There seems to be construction and painting happening at each of the three Iberostar resorts, but it's not annoying. They certainly do a lot to keep it in tip-top condition. I'm sure you know men have to wear long pants for dinner at the restaurants where you need reservations. BUT a suggestion for women, be careful what kinds of shoes you bring! I brought a few pair of heels, which worked well, but made walking on the pathways difficult. The paths are 'molded' concrete to look like large stones which creates an uneven walking surface. After wearing my one 'higher' pair of shoes my calves ached for two days! (I comforted myself by saying it was my walking workout for the week!) Also the lobby has very shiny marble type surfaces and the rooms have a hard tile floor which becomes very slick if wet or has a minor amount of sand or flecks of sunscreen on it. Just take your time walking... you are on vacation!
The room: very nice and well air-conditioned. The bathroom has a toilet and a bidet. Oddly enough, they hang the wash clothes next to the bidet! (We couldn't find them at first.) There is a closet where the iron and ironing board hang on the wall and a stack of shelves on the side where the safe is located. There is only one other drawer down by the sofa area of the room. We didn't put our clothes on the shelves, mainly because of the very tiny ants, and so we lived out of our suitcases hanging what we could hang. If you need pants or skirt hangers, bring them yourselves! The hangers are wooden and my skirts kept falling off! When you leave your room the electricity does turn off. I have no idea how quickly it turns off, but we brought a plug in alarm clock and it had to be set every time we came back into the room. Bring a clock but make sure it is wind up or battery operated! Also the in-room hair dryer is not strong. I have short hair and I felt I should have brought my own dryer. My friend has long hair and mostly let hers air-dry. In the shower they have two dispensers for Shampoo and Body Wash. Plus they have the mini containers on the counter like most hotels. So if you want to save room in your luggage -- use their shampoo! It was pretty good! The mini-bar is nice, but remember the power goes out when you leave the room, so the drinks aren't always super cold when you get back in. Overnight it gets nice & cold, but it was never a huge problem for us. They re-stock it when cleaning your room. And yes, it is included with your all inclusive! The A/C control is located between the beds on the wall. It is a white switch which says "Carrier" and has four positions Off, High, Medium, and Low. It took us two days to figure that out! lol
The people are VERY friendly and 99% of them do not speak English. For me that meant lots of hand gestures to get my questions across. (My friend found that very amusing.) Bring a Spanish dictionary. You'll probably find it helpful with a few key words. (The maid who came to our door did not understand a word I said and it took many hand gestures to get across "I need wash cloths".)
The food at the buffet wasn't all that wonderful. I was a bit disappointed with lunch. But the restaurants you need reservations for were great! We only did the buffet twice for dinner. You are guaranteed three meals at the restaurants, but can ask for 'cancellations' at any point to go to dinner. One night we just called guest services and they gave us a cancellation reservation on the phone for 6:30 pm and we picked up the reservation slip as we walked to the dining room. My favorite was the Japanese!
It is extremely hot there. The heat drains you very quickly and we took it easy the first two days. (Hence why we wished we chose to visit for 10 days instead of 8. By day 5 you finally have adapted!) It is hot year round there so they know how to deal with it. The beach has tons of Palm trees and little huts. I would strongly recommend finding loungers near a hut and dragging them into the sun if you want to tan. You'll find after an hour you want to go back under the hut for a while. We wore 30 sunscreen and barely came back with a tan! Yes, we have a few burn spots, but that's because we were late reapplying and it wore off. Don't pack a beach towel because they give you a really nice blue one with the towel card. AND you can just exchange it for another towel if yours gets messy or wet each day! Save room in your luggage!
We did two excursions. One to La Romana - cave tour, lunch on the river, tour of beautiful old buildings and a shopping trip (with the best prices we found!) Take US money NOT pesos. The exchange rate at the hotel was 26.2 pesos to $1. At most other places it was 30/1. That means if it's priced 300 pesos it costs you about $10. But if you did like we did and take pesos exchanged at 26.2... it cost us more. This was an air conditioned bus which was nice! I bought a pound of coffee beans for 84 pesos which I saw later for 120-140 pesos!
The second was the Outback Safari! It was excellent! Apple rates it a 3 for activity, but I'm not sure why. Yes it can be challenging getting in and out of the jeep, but besides getting bounced around it wasn't too strenuous. Maybe because there was NO a/c and no real break from the sun. (Take a hat!) I took some workbooks I bought for $1 at Target and some packs of pencils to give to the tour guides for the schools. (They do a lot to support local families & schools.)
The shows at night at the resort were great for adults but I would not recommend a few of them for children. The women all wore thongs for most of the acts every night and they all danced suggestively. One night a skit had one guy dressed like Elvis 'stripped' of his clothes down to a flesh-toned thong. And he turned around to show the audience his bare backside. Granted they are all in superior shape, but you may not want your children asking the questions that will follow some of these shows! My favorite show was the Cuban show!
And I can't forget to mention El Spa! We did a 3 hour 'Special Day' there which included a facial, hour massage, manicure and pedicure for $125! It was wonderful!!! They will just bill your room and you can pay when you leave. You can also walk up to the massage huts on the beach where they have massage tables and ask for an opening. They run $30 for 1/2 hour and $60 for an hour.
Overall we really enjoyed our trip, as you can see from my pictures! I hope this helps you as you prepare for your journey!
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