THIS IS A HORRIBLE PLACE TO STAY..............................................

I went there on my honeymoonupon arrival the local area appeared questionable but the grounds appeared to be nice so we checked in without incident and were led to our room. The bellman open the door and I was horrified and immediately called RCI.

The room was a box and consisted of two full size beds (my husband is a former football player and is 6'4 about 280) and very very old wicker furniture which was in need of repair and spray paint. When you sat on the bed the middle sank in. There were stains on the curtains, mold in the bathroom and stains on the lamp shade. the ceiling and walls had cracks and the room could have used some fresh paint.

I booked based on reviews and I have learned that American standards are differrent because this place is a dump. While the grounds are well maintained the rooms are dimly lit and need more than TLC. I complained enough and was moved to the sister property Casa Marina Beach. The bellman came and got our bags and took them downstairs. Yes downstairs within the same building to a room overlooking the pool. This room was no better and as we attempted to watch TV a satelite notice came across the screen indicating that the cable bill had not been paid. We checked out the next morning.

The only redeeming factors about this place are the grounds. The beach is beautiful and they have three jacuzzis which sit on a hill and over look the beach and the waves crash against the rocks but your better of buying a post card of a similar scene. The bathroom were old there was mold on the light switch the air conditioner was very loud and also had mold around it. The best furniture in the room was the plastic lawn chairs which were suppose to be outside.

Did I forget to mention the BUGS. Yes BUGS small one, big ones medium sizes ones BUGS BUGS BUGS.

Don't take my word for it I have pictures.

I just got back from vacation 2 weeks ago and wasn't going to write a review but after seeing some of the bad comments being made I decided to write one.

I went there with my girlfriend, 2 brothers, sister, 2 cousins, and 2 aunts. We did not want to come back.

FOOD
The food there was GREAT and I am shocked to find that anyone would say otherwise. Some of the food was repetetive if you're planning on staying there for more than a week, but as far as taste goes, it tasted great. We couldn't stop talking about how good the food was there. They have options for vegetarians, meat eaters (myself), a good variety of deserts (try the flan). This was the best thing about the resort.

STAFF
The staff was very friendly, always trying to get everyone involved in the daily activities that they have going on. We did not encounter one single staff member that was not friendly they were all interacting with the guest throughout our stay there.

ROOMS
We had an oceanview room and the view was amazing. The rooms were very clean especially the bathroom. The TV reception was a little poor but who goes on vacation to watch TV. The air conditioner worked great, but you can't leave it on while you're not in the room since it requires you leaving your room key inside a card holder when you enter the room in order for the electricity to turn on. We had one issue with the toilet where it stopped flushing because the chain inside the tank came off (it's happened at home too) so we let the front desk know and they fixed it immediately.

RESORT
The resort is very beautiful and is kept very clean. I see the staff cleaning from at least 6AM every morning and again cleaning after 10PM. We were pleasntly surprise without great the resort looks from the inside. From the outside we were a little concerned when we first saw it because it looked to be a lot smaller than we expected, but once you get inside it is beautiful.

ENTERTAINMENT
They had nightly shows at the theater which were very entertaining. The multiple daily activities that they have going on (volleyball, water polo, shuffle board, other contest) were very entertaining especially if you participate. The game room was disappointing they have just pool tables (very old), and a few other games.

OUTSIDE RESORT
This is my only complain. The merchant would consistently hassle you every time you walk a couple of blocks from the resort. Some were worse than others. They wouldn't become nasty with you but it's the constant asking you to go in their stores that will get to you. As you walk further away from the resort it did become less of a problem, it's just the 2 or 3 block radius near the resorts that are the problem but once you continue to walk away from the resort and more towards the area where the restaurants are at it becomes less of a problem or not a problem at all. I was originally born in Dominican Republic so I know spanish and I was able to defend myself but if you don't know spanish it could be a big hassle dealing with the merchants. My advice to you is don't go in the shops near the resort because not only will they harrass you but they will try and sell you things at 3 times the amount they're really worth, but they will drop their prices pretty quickly if you bargain with them. Also all the shops sell exactly the same thing so if you don't find what you want in one of them, then you won't find it in the others.


Overall we had a great time and did not want to come back, me and my girlfriend are going back in November and are once again staying at Casa Marina.

first of all i went to this hotel last year but stayed at the reef side (but they are both the same) and this time was better than last, i cant get enough of the place, the pools are great the weather was great and best of all the entertainers! they make the holiday even better mostly Victor and Mosquito they are such a laugh and victor is so nice, but really all the entertainers are great and its worth getting to know them-it will make your holiday better! watch the show at night they start at 9.45 but you should get in there earlier because it gets full fast, the shows are great, mostly hollywood its the best! there are always plenty of games going on at the beach and by the reef pool, and if you go out of the hotel ask reception where Eddys sports bar is, it is run my some english people and they are very nice all in all the best time iv had and will definatly be going bk next year hi victor and felo

right i will get the bad stuff out the way,i can recomend booking your days out through your rep we only booked one trip through the people in the hotel and it was awful,deep sea fishing it was a joke the transport was filthy and the boat was a wreck everyone got sea sick they were a proper cowboy outfit.food,takes a bit of getting used to but its not that bad,use your tickets at the a la carte they are very good,try the steak its the best i have ever had.dominican people,the hotel staff are very nice the ladies who clean the rooms work hard and if you are going to tip anyone tip these they deserve it.but when you leave the hotel everyone is after a tip or trying to sell you something well over what its worth,i will give you an example someone tryed selling me a football for 50 dollars that is for sale in the on site shop for 3 dollars ha,they get very pushy when you dont buy i can only recomend ignoring them when you are out the hotel.right everthing else was awesome trips we did that i can really recomend are,swimming with dolphins[ocean world its a good day even if you dont swim with dolphins],river rafting was really good,monster truck safari was a long enjoyable day.but the best experience for me was the on site diving school.i have never dived before and all i can say is absoulotly brilliant the staff at the diving place are a decent bunch really helpful.i found the whole experince at the hotel briliant really relaxing,i would definatly go back to this hotel i could carry on writing for hours about all the goo things we did.