Dominican Republic Winter Sun
During December 2019, I was lucky enough to be invited on, what we call in the trade, a ‘Fam’ trip to the East coast of the Dominican Republic, sponsored by Playa Hotels and British Airways. These familiarisation trips are where we get to check out the destinations and hotels that we sell, to give us that detailed product knowledge we need to provide the best service to our customers - they are also a lot of FUN! I was doubly excited as I used to work in the North of the island in Puerta Plata years ago, so was very much looking forward to going back.
We all met up at Gatwick airport, raring to go but we were missing one of our new group of friends... Having waited as long as we could, we checked in, went through to departures and finally received a text from our missing party member - she had somehow tagged onto a different Fam trip that were going to visit the Palladium group of hotels in Dom Rep - she had checked in with them and started to get to know everyone. We had her back now and proceeded to tease her for the rest of the trip about this!
After the obligatory beverage in departures, we headed through for an on-time departure to Punta Cana. As always the BA crew were excellent and looked after us for the nine hour flight out to resort. I always quite enjoy the journey on long haul flights; making the most of watching the latest movie releases and catching up on a bit of reading.
Dominican Republic is a Spanish speaking country on the second largest island in the Caribbean; an island called Hispaniola that it shares with the French speaking country, Haiti. For our first two nights we were guests at the Hyatt Zilara & Ziva, two brand new 5* luxury hotels just 15 minutes from the airport in the resort of Cap Cana. The property is in two sections, the Zilara being the adult only section, and the Ziva perfect for Families. The facilities in the properties are superb, with a 1400 sq. ft. fitness centre that puts my local fitness centre to shame. There is a great choice of restaurants and the attention to detail in décor throughout is something else. From Journeys, serving Indian Cuisine featuring its own train style seating, to Tempest Table, serving Asian cuisine with a Mongolian grill and Teppan tables. The facilities include a 26.900 sq. ft. spa and the Canapolis Water Park which boasts a lazy river with grotto cascade, water cannons and five slides.
Next stop was a one-night stay at the Sanctuary Cap Cana, which is five minutes from the Hyatt and a totally different style of property. Built in a Spanish colonial style, this elegant hotel recently had a $45 million modernisation and features 5 bars, 5 restaurants and a world class spa. You can book rooms either in the traditional castle part of the property or the new blocks added in 2019.
Our final stay was at the Hilton La Romana (formerly Dreams La Romana) a firm favourite with UK and Ireland holiday makers and has just undergone a multi-million dollar full refurbishment - they stripped it back and is now virtually a brand new hotel. It is split into two sections, a Family and an Adult section, with amazing shared facilities including a full waterpark. The Family section wasn’t quite finished when we were there but the General Manager took us round for a hard-hat site visit. We all had a surprise when all the builders turned out to include the hotel animation team and they turned into a Flash-Mob (dancing to the hotel’s theme song) it was so much fun! Then they laid on a stunning meal with a building work theme complete with great entertainment. The work is all finished now so you will find the property in its full renovated glory and the team just as fun and attentive!
The marvellous hosts at AMG marketing and Playa Hotels had one final treat for us on the final day in Dominican Republic and we took a cruise out to the beautiful island of Saona, no trip to the East coast is complete without a trip here. The cruise’s emphasis is on fun, fun, fun with free flowing “Cuba Libres” (rum and coke) and beer. Saona Island is the quintessential Caribbean paradise, where we enjoyed the beautiful white sand beaches and more delicious food.
That marked the end of our 5-day trip. I made lots of new friends and reminded myself how much I love to travel - especially to the Caribbean. If the Dominican Republic appeals to you or, specifically any of the hotels I’ve mentioned, please drop me an e-mail or give me a call and I can send you a quote - there are some great deals there that I can thoroughly recommend.
