http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2012-02-15T19:52:41Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Dominican%20Republic%20Hotel%20Reviews http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/1/9/111851/4872 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/bad_DR.jpg" class="imgborder"/><p><b>[Ed. Note: This is the Bad Rate in our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature. This screenshot was taken was on January 9, 2007 and is subject to change. Enjoy.]</b><p>If you want to go upscale, there are several all-inclusives in the Punta Cana area of the Dominican Republic where the food is a notch up, the liquor is not bottom shelf, and the staffers are fluent in English. Then there are those who just charge more and put a nice sheen on things. You can spend $158 per night for a couple at this week's Good Rate--Allegro Punta Cana--or pay $525 a night for a garden view room at <a href="http://www.paradisuspalmareal.travel/"><b>Paradisus Palma Real.</b></a> <p>The complaints on TripAdvisor are more entertaining Tim L. 2007-01-09T11:31:58-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2007/1/9/103517/4113 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/Allegro_beach.jpg" class="imgborder"/><p><b>[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same city and decide which is better worth your hard-earned benjamins. The rate here was valid on January 9, 2007 and is subject to change.]</b><p>Fresh off a renovation, the <a href="http://www.occidentalhotels.com/hotel_information.aspx?hotel=1082649122329"><b>Allegro Resort</b></a> in Punta Cana is offering a fantastic deal (through BookIt.com) at only $79 per person all-inclusive through the end of January. <p>This is your usual vacation factory experience, complete with 540 rooms and a chirpy activities director shouting in a mic by the pool. But hey, at this rate, it's hard to go wrong if you're looking for a beach getaway. <p>If you've been to a typical all-inclusive resort Tim L. 2007-01-09T11:27:00-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/12/5/113159/369 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/godfather_2.jpg"><p>In most circles, The Godfather Part II is considered the shining jewel in the Godfather trilogy. The film's director, Francis Ford Coppola, no stranger to exotic locations (like using the Phillippines as a stand-in for Vietnam for Apocalypse Now), had the foresight to use the Dominican Republic as a suitable replacement for Cuba during the filming of the movie, which released in 1974, well before the onslaught of all-inclusives and hotel strips. <p> So why Cuba? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Corleone">Wikipedia</a> says:<blockquote><p> Michael (Corleone) and (Hyman) Roth traveled to Cuba under Fulgencio Batista in order to forge a partnership with the Cuban government, allowing them to be free to conduct their operations in Cuba without interference from the authorities, in return for annie0007 2006-12-05T15:17:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/10/11/12422/669 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/tortuga_bayroom.jpg"><p>Admittance into the elite <a href="http://www.leadingsmallhotelsoftheworld.com/">Leading Small Hotels of the World</a> status is the equivalent of being offered a bid by the swankiest sorority, where hazing, if there were such a thing, would involve sleeping on zero thread count sheets, once daily maid service and Pier One decor. Thankfully for <a href="http://www.puntacana.com"><b>Torguga Bay in Punta Cana,</b></a> they've got Oscar de la Renta as a guaranteed "in."<p>The hotel has 15 "casually elegant" beachfront villas encompassing 50 rooms decorated by the famed couturier (who also has a home nearby) and is now the first Dominican hotel to be accepted into the famed luxury hotel collection. <p>Tortuga Bay is also the latest in a series of new developments at the PUNTACANA Resort LesleyinMiami 2006-10-11T13:25:49-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/