Casa Colonial Beach and Spa, an SLH Hotel

Absolutely stunning! The atmosphere here is just breathtaking, with beautiful decor and incredible ocean views. The staff were super friendly and attentive, making our stay feel special. Rooms were spacious and immaculate—truly a paradise for relaxation! Every detail, from the spa treatments to the delicious meals, was top-notch and very well thought out. I highly recommend this place for anyone looking to unwind in style!

I would not recommend Casa Colonial to anyone and have already been telling many others not to fall for their suspicious 5 star reviews and the fact that they are part of American Express Platinum/Travel “Hotel Collection” and Small Luxury Hotels (SLH). You will be disappointed! Pros: While we were fortune to visit during a stretch of pleasant weather days after a lot of rain, the pros basically end there. The staff was all very nice and accommodating, except for the GM Vilma. The rooms and hotel grounds were well maintained and clean. The view from the rooftop hot tubs and “dipping pool” were nice. Cons: There were many, the biggest must be the food. Aside from the eggs and hash browns at breakfast, NOTHING on either menu was fresh. How are you a coastal 5 star vacation property and there is no fresh fish, no shellfish, or fresh produce? Everything tasted frozen, the breads on the lunch sandwiches tasted stale, and they were clearly stretching slow cooked/stewed dishes past when they should have as I became violently ill with food poising toward the end of my trip. I will spare the details but it resulted in an Emergency Room visit, IV fluids being needed, antibiotics being prescribed, and a $600+ bill that the hotel via the GM Vilma, would not assist with even though they all but made me to go to this ER facility which they told me took my major carrier insurance but ultimately did not. Horrible experience!! Additionally, although the property seemed less than half full, the restaurant had a wait one night. Then, in walks a group of men, with black plastic grocery bags full of outside packaged food that they then instructed the restaurant staff to cook and prepare for them and that they ate outside at a table. What was the outside food being brought in the kitchen to cook during prime dinner hours? This was a very off putting scene to say the least and certainly impacted the service and dining experience that night. That same night a woman who identified herself as “one of the owners” approached my dinner table to make brief small talk. Throughout my stay she only seemed concerned with members of her private group which had private but highly visible dinners and meetings around the property every day. Weird. Aside from the over all vibe being off, the beach was not nice. If you are looking to dip your toes and swim in a clean pleasant beach this is NOT your location. There is NO entertainment of any kind it is extremely boring at night, no one is even at the bar to have a night cap. We went off property one night to eat and it was another half empty not good restaurant. Do not fall for the online scam of coming to this place! Major disappointment.

What an amazing time we had at Casa Colonial! The staff went out of their way to make sure all our needs were met. Our room was large, airy, very clean and had everything that we needed. The WiFi was a bit sketchy at times, but we were on vacation and needed to unplug anyway. Food at breakfast, poolside for lunch and dinner at Lucia was fabulous! I wish there had been a few more seafood options. The grounds were beautiful and the beach was raked and kept clean daily. We enjoyed every moment of our vacation!!

My boyfriend and I just stayed at Casa Colonial for 4 nights and absolutely loved it. The hotel itself is stunning; super clean space with beautiful flowers and plants all over. Our hotel room was extra large - it had a massive bathroom, sitting area separate from the bed, and large balcony. What we loved most about our stay was the service. We have stayed at other 5 star hotels in other destinations, but Casa Colonial stood out from the rest because of their outstanding service. From the moment we walked into the hotel, we were greeted by incredibly friendly staff members. Everyone we came across was always smiling and asking us if we needed anything. Lisette at the front desk was wonderful - she booked multiple dinner reservations for us and taxis. Miguelina and the others working the pool were also great. The environment of the hotel is very serene - there is no music playing or anything, so the entire time we felt so calm. As a couple of other reviews have noted, this is not a hotel meant for kids. There is only one pool, so if there are kids present it can feel small. There was a birthday party/family reunion happening the weekend we were there, so there were many kids present during our visit. Even still, the pool and beach never felt too crowded, and it still felt like the staff was able to remain super attentive. Only thing we would have liked, would have been for more restaurants or things to do nearby. Casa Colonial is in a gated community with other hotels, but those hotels were not as nice as Casa Colonial, and did not offer the same caliber of food/restaurants. We took taxis a couple of nights to eat in town and off the premises, but it would have been nice to have more options to walk to. Overall, we loved our stay and would definitely return. It was truly so relaxing and lovely.

Beautifully appointed hotel, stunning natural beach and warm and caring staff. The hotel and staff were simply excellent. Location is everything and despite a map view density of other hotels, it feels very secluded. Quality of food and beverages was very high, and I particularly enjoyed the local rum!

This is the most serene hotel we have ever stayed at. It began when we arrived, where instead of waiting in line to check in, they seated us at a table and gave us glasses of wine (other options available) to enjoy while they got everything set for signing us in. ||When we went to our room, our bags were already delivered, and a small fridge I had asked for was set up and cooling. ||We stayed in an Oceanfront Patio Jr. suite, and it was excellent. We could see out to the ocean from our room, had a covered patio (which was very helpful when there were passing showers), and could walk straight out to the beach if we wanted. We heard many birds in the trees but saw very few of them, even though I have binoculars.||We ate at Lucia the first night, and it was very good. The wine is pretty expensive, but the dinners are pretty reasonable. Unfortunately, they started renovations on Lucia, the lobby bar and much of the lobby the morning after we arrived, so we couldn't access Lucia or most of the lobby until the day we were leaving. They did open up the daytime restaurant and pool bar with the Lucia menu in the evenings while the renovations were going on.||We had breakfast included, so we had excellent cooked-to-order breakfasts every day. The Dominican breakfast is excellent as is the American. The American breakfast is HUGE. There's a bread basket (excellent chocolate croissant included), a fruit plate, eggs, meat, potatoes, juice and coffee. ||The morning after we arrived, we wanted to get some Dominican pesos, so a staff member took us over in a golf cart to the little strip mall to the ATM. We went to dinner at the mall another night at Ristorante Passatore. My pasta was amazing, but my husband's grouper was tough. We went to the Trattoria Restaurant at the mall another night and had great pizza on the outdoor patio. The staff is always ready to take you over to the mall if you want. We had them do it sometimes, and we walked other times. It's very close.||There's a pond on the property that has tons of birds around it. There are lots of doves, ducks, a green heron and a couple of night herons (the biggest ones I've ever seen). ||The rooftop pool has an amazing view, and the hot tubs are perfect; not too hot or cold. The pool is a bit cold, but I got used to it when I plunged in. The chairs are comfortable, and there are lots of umbrellas. I love that they do not allow music or smoking there. There was only one time when an inconsiderate couple was playing their music, but when I asked him to turn it off (he was standing in front of the sign at the bar that said "no music"), he apologized and turned it off. Without music, you can enjoy the sound of the wind and waves, which I LOVE! It's so serene!||The beach is a golden sand beach, and they rake it early every morning, so it is beautifully clean when you come out to the chairs. The beach staff are fabulous! We wanted to get into the shade under the trees, and they put them exactly where we wanted them, and provided pads and towels too. ||There were always plenty of chairs at the beach and at the pool. It was nice not to have to rush in the morning to get a spot. ||Everywhere you go on the property, you hear the sounds of nature instead of humans. The wind, waves, and birds make wonderful music to me.||One note about driving on the island. We rented a car and enjoyed the ability to go to Puerto Plata old town and the Jumbo grocery, but BEWARE THE SCOOTERS. Traffic rules are hardly even a suggestion to them. They will weave in and out of traffic and totally ignore traffic lights. Once you realize that and just keep an eye out for them, it's not a huge deal.

We enjoyed our stay here mostly due to the wonderful staff and the beautiful rooftop pool.||||The rooms are spacious and very well maintained. The entire hotel is very clean and taken care of. The grounds are beautiful with tropical plants. The bed is meh. The mattress was way too firm and both of our backs hurt from it.||||The hotel pool- it’s wonderful and peaceful. We spent most of our time there and the staff who attends to you there are also incredible at their jobs.||||The beach is just okay but it rains daily’s and washes dirty water into the little cove the hotel is situated on and I did not want to risk swimming in that water. You can see it mix into the pretty turquoise water after a heavy downpour. Def not ideal.||||The food. The reason why we prob wouldn’t come back here. The food is not good. The breakfast is fine and the lunch is whatever. We mainly opted for the Dominican breakfast and avocado toast as we wanted to eat the food from the area. We ordered tostones (not on the menu) and avocado with most breakfast and lunch and it was good. The big loser is dinner. The “fine” dining is def not fine dining. The prices are fine dining prices but the food is like applebees or olive garden. It’s def not what I expected from a hotel in the LH brand. I’m pretty sure most of the stuff we ate was frozen. They should simplify the menu and have fresh food because they are not fooling anyone. The staff is very good at the service portion only to get tepid warm food that tastes like it came from a freezer.||||The first night we didn’t know and ordered octopus and filet. 2 glasses of wine. We almost fell over when we got the bill. $140.||||Another evening I ordered a side of broccoli with my chicken Marsala. The broccoli was frozen broccoli which brought flashbacks from my childhood and not in a good way. The chicken was dry and over cooked and the wine sauce was just meh. I also got pasta one night and the sauce was worse than Ragu or Prego. It was like high school cafeteria sauce.||||If they fix the issue with this terrible food, the hotel would almost be perfect. I can’t in my right mind pay the inflated prices (the cost of food + 10% service and 18% tax) if the food is not good. Sadly, we prob wouldn’t come back or recommend the area. We tried to eat in a nearby restaurant one night and the food was equally terrible and just as expensive- avoid the sushi restaurant. It’s so so bad.||||Overall- the hotel is very expensive and normally that would be okay if it checked all the boxes. The staff is incredible. The pool is perfection. The beach is so/so due to the runoff from the river. The food is not good. The food really ruined it for us. Would not stay again.

We had the pleasure for the 5th time to visit this amazing hotel, Casa Colonial|In Puerta Plata.|We are always treated with kindness, respect and gratitude. We were very well treated by the wonderful manager Mr. Wally Pena who took excellent care of us.|Miriam Ventura, Dalsy Mercado and Anabel Abreu were fantastic, lovely and beyond gracious to our every need. |It is an absolute privilege and pleasure to visit this incredible hotel.|See you in May|Cindy Grider