christophernD1620TU
Google
There's nothing wrong with the hotel per se, and the value is definitely there relative to the cost of some other hotels in the city. But we just didn't quite feel as welcome as other stays in Santo Domingo. It didn't get the sense they actually wanted us to be there. I want to preface this review by saying that we are primarily English-speakers with mediocre Duolingo skills but armed with translation apps and a firm willingness to make fools out of ourselves trying to communicate in our bad Spanish first and foremost. We also were hotel-bound due to recovery from a medical procedure, so we leaned more on what the hotel had to offer for food and concierge more than others might. But this hotel felt like it wouldn't have quite worked for us regardless of what language they spoke, and paled in comparison to other places we stayed during this trip at similar price points.||Visitors from other parts of Central and South America here for business or pleasure etc, may get a different experience. Overall, this is a good option to crash for a few nights and you will not be disappointed with the rooms. But we wouldn't choose to come back.||There was a general apathy and blasé about how we were treated by staff and a number of issues that started to pile up, and what felt like a communication breakdown between staff at times where issues were left un-addressed until we asked multiple times. ||The good: |* In general our needs were often (but not always) met|* Fruit was fresh and plentiful|* Very nice modern rooms with excellent tub and shower, sleek finishes, and very comfy beds. The junior suite was quite large and included lots of storage space and was perfect for a couple. Turndown service was also excellent with lots of attention to detail. |* Gorgeous grounds encircling a nice pool, including massive stunning trees |* Large number of staff including doormen and many servers so most spaces were always populated and help was always nearby, despite being quite busy maintaining the grounds.||The not so good:|* There is no app/website/etc for ordering room service or scheduling anything, so we were often either misunderstood via the front desk/concierge/room service staff, or had to wait for transfers up to 3 or 4 times before we got to someone who could take our meal order. Honestly, this alone may have changed our experience, since it wouldn't have resulted in so many awkward exchanges. |* Meals were often mediocre and quality seemed variable based on staff -- most carbs for breakfast felt a bit stale or otherwise unappetizing. There is a plethora of better food elsewhere in the city so this probably won't be a big issue for most visitors. However if you are hotel bound, it might be a challenge. There were lots of fruits, nuts, meats etc, offered but most were mid at best. Certain dishes at the restaurants were excellent (salmon filet) and others were trash (anything chicken, the lasagna). We didn't eat every meal in the hotel, but once we found a dish or two that clicked, that was basically all we ate. |* Communication was challenging at times, but we made it work. We are not fluent Spanish speakers and don't expect to be spoken to (or understood) in English, but even with translation apps, it just felt like the staff operated on a different wavelength than other hospitality we received in Santo Domingo. Was it something we did? It felt like pulling teeth whenever we needed anything, which felt more often than not (see below)|* Some staff just straight up didn't care about our needs, including checking into a room after traveling all day, with no real comforts, compromises, or offers to help us with anything. Just a lack of empathy that you don't really see in many higher-end hotels . Same goes for some (not all) of the wait staff. ||* Fitness center was very poor, with loud HVAC, mosquitoes, a horrible PA system in a boxy room with minimal outdated equipment, which made workouts a challenge.|* The main lobby is awkwardly spacious, with dated carpet and furniture, dim lighting and musty, although well air-conditioned. There are many places to sit on some awkward antique furniture and take tea or coffee. Just feels kind of odd being there.|* We don't expect fluency but it felt like a lot was often lost in translation in terms of things actually getting done such as general maintenance requests: we had a drip in our ceiling that took a number of calls to the front desk to get someone to come check it out, though they eventually fixed the problem. Also, we were locked out of our room due to the key reader failing at one point, and had to wait for half an hour to get back into our room, as well as make three separate trips during that time to the front desk until someone actually came to fix the issue.|* Late checkout is pay-per-hour (lame) ||The bizarre:|* There was a huge fashion event during the week at the hotel which had it swarming with guests and artists. It felt buzzing, safe, and fun, but meant staff was stretched very thin. They chose to play loud latin house music on multiple nights during the event that was positioned outside directly below the windows of our room, so we had to tolerate heavy noise past 11pm, which was difficult to deal with (don't get me wrong, if we weren't exhausted, we would have loved to participate, but it kept going until almost midnight, which was just something we would have appreciated knowing about before we booked -- or confined in one of the many ballrooms. |* As far as I know there is a points system for the holding company but you can't apply points after you book (?) so if you're booking through a third-party you basically just don't get points for your stay. Not a big deal, wouldn't stay at one of their hotels again anyways.
