Hotel berhampiran Rio el paraiso de arroyo frio, Jamao al Norte

Pros: beach front, easy access to the beach, tranquility around the lounge beach chairs. Friendly staff Cons: hotel is dated, shower was too small. There were cucarachas coming off the AC vents. Staff came to address it right away, however. There are not elevators and it is difficult to bring luggage to 2nd and 3rd floors. The place was not design for people with mobility issues. Also people are allowed with dogs unleashed. One small dog came after me. When I approach the dog’s owner to ask if he could put his dog on a leash, he became belligerent, disrespectful, and a kind of racist. The hotel staff watched and did nothing. When I ask for the manager to complaint I was told she was on vacation (?) when I ask for whoever was in charge, I was also told that person was also unavailable. It was frustrating and disappointing as that was a safety issue that remained unaddressed.

From check in to departure we felt comfortable and safe. The pool is large and in great condition. The landscaping was well tended and beautiful. The rooms and bathrooms are clean and comfortable. This location is across the street from the Calypso restaurant which is on the beach and we enjoyed our meals there and great views. It is centrally located on the Cabarete beach and within walking distance to most places. There is also a great coffee shop in front of the hotel for morning coffee.

We are not rich or fussy people, but we like to travel every year and need to save from one year to the next to do so. And no, we do not stay at 5 star resorts! We are a family of 7 with a 9 and 15 year old. We stayed at this resort from Saturday April 15th to Saturday April 22nd. This was our 4th time at this resort! It was our go to resort when we didn’t want to try somewhere new! This was going to be my husband’s and my retiring place for the cold Canadian winters! Not anymore! Before we left on our vacation I emailed them to request the 3 rooms that we had twice before, ground floor with patio with all our rooms together. They told me we couldn’t get those rooms as they are now deluxe rooms. We needed to pay $15US a night per person to get those rooms. So they wanted $750US more on top of the already high prices this year! They then promised 3 rooms together, ground floor in building 24 at no additional cost. That didn’t happen and we were all on different floors and one room was even in different building at first. She ended up switching rooms twice. First because her AC didn’t work and then to get her in our building to be close to us because she was by herself. They couldn’t move her the first day as all the rooms were filled up with locals! Staff: At check in were friendly but the staff at the main buffet were not. With the exception of a couple you were lucky if they said hello let alone get you a drink. We mostly got our own coffee and drinks. The maids and ground crew were always there with a hello and smile! Food: We were served pretty much the same food every day! What was served for supper the night before was served for dinner the next day maybe with a sauce on it. The fried chicken was very good when they served it and so was the bacon the one day they served it. The desserts especially the cakes were either dry or soggy. The soggy ones were sitting in a pool of water on the plate. A lot of the food was cold unless you got it fresh off the grill. Nothing like cold French toast and pancakes for breakfast! The buffet by the pool was only open when the locals were there. So we only had the one buffet for everyone to use most of the time. WIFI: Costs $18US for 7 days per device. It does not work all the time in your room, only on balcony or patio. Also make sure they charge you correctly, we needed 5 codes got charged for 7. Had to go back to desk for them to correct it! The Locals: They allow too many in and in my opinion cater more to them! They were very rude, loud and messy! They would butt in front of you when getting food or drinks. They left plastic cups and other garbage all over the place, including the pool! And the worse was them running up and down the halls all hours or the night knocking on doors and yelling at each other! They were in the pool late at night playing loud music! We didn’t get much sleep when they were there! I have never been more tired or happy to go home from

The rooms, grounds and staff are very nice. Jonathan (doorman and bellhop) was superb. He found tennis ground for us to play across from the hotel in the golf course grounds at the last minute. He made our last day very pleasant. However, I will not give a 5 star review because we had a very unpleasant experience. We were at the deck dining area, which is outdoors next to the beach. WE were the only guests dining at that moment because it was very hot and other guests were dining inside in the air conditioned room. My husband wore a shirt that he left unbuttoned ( it is worth repeating that we were alone there, and that the shirt was on). This caught the eye of the person in charge (owner or chairperson) who was eating lunch with some relatives (a baby and a couple). The man, was wearing shorts and a dilapidated white undershirt and sandals, and the wife was wearing bedroom sleepers and shorts. This happened in the more formal/air conditioned dining room. I can understand that Casa Colonial is entitled to whatever protocol of dress they deem proper, however, if my husband was not allowed to wear a shirt (by the way a designer shirt) just because it was opened, then these rules and regulations should be written and shared with the guests prior or upon arrival and applied to EVERYONE. Both my husband and I felt very embarrassed and frankly offended at our age to be scolded in this manner. WE have traveled the world and abide by rules and regulations of each place we visit, but it seems to us that this incident was uncalled for. It was more disturbing because the next day in the same dining area, there was a pretty woman wearing her bikini top bathing suit and sandals and nobody asked her to put on a shirt and cover herself. So I wondered if this was either ageism or gender discrimination rigidly imposed on my husband. Carmen Vazquez