Our family just returned from a week at Costa Caribe Coral by Hilton and here are our impressions. I'll start with the positives.
The property and the weather were beautiful. The buffet had a huge variety of foods, however some of the meat was of low quality. The lobster was soft and mushy and not worth trying. It was easy to get reservations for the Dominican and Mexican restaurants, and the service and food were good. However, we found it amusing that whatever we ordered seemed to always look the same. Lots of effort was put into the New Year's Eve celebration with a buffet on the beach, party favors, champagne, and fireworks. There were many activities offered throughout the day. The transfers from the airport were good, although the seat belts were always missing or not working! The room was tastefully decorated in bright tropical colors.
Now for the not so positive...The hotel was very poorly managed. No one seemed to speak English very well. It was very difficult to make a long distance phone call (forget about using your calling card). They wanted our American dollars and wanted to give change in pesos unless you insisted otherwise. You could not cash a traveler's check at the front desk for American dollars, and it was also very difficult at the casino. We had paid for a sea view room and were not given one (with no explanation). We complained and were told one would be available the next day. After 3 days, we finally gave up. Clean towels were not provided when the room was cleaned, so we usually had to track down a maid to get them late in the afternoon. Forget about washcloths and hand towels. There was mildew on the bedspreads and the pillows smelled musty by the end of the week. There was an odor in the bathroom unless you kept the light and fan on. One day our room was still not cleaned at 6:30 p.m. We were told someone would be right up. We came back at 9:30 p.m. and it still hadn't been done. Finally they sent someone. Vendors roamed the beach everyday. Service at the buffet was terrible or non-existent. We learned to carry drinks in with us. The evening shows were not great - except for the Caribbean show. They charged us to play Bingo! The staff could have been friendlier and more interactive with the guests. The 6 hour tour was good except for the shopping. They took us to a humongous Wal-mart/grocery store! The cave and cathedral were interesting. The airport sure got our luggage filthy, and my daughter had jewelry stolen from her suitcase on the way home. Need I say more...?

Just got back from a week on the beach. My husband and I loved the beach..nightly shows..variety of foods (although not typical "american" fare) and especially the Casino!!

My 11 year old liked the Kayaking, the bananna boat rides, the paddle boats, the kids club pool and pingpong table. We all enjoyed Chocolate Friends who entertained from 10 AM - 12 PM daily. This is NOT an American resort. The resort is French, Canadian and German, Domincan and perhaps 15% American.

Advise....Bring a jar of peanut butter for picky children, bring a candle for your room, tip the houskeeper the first day and let her know what you want in your room (extra towels, pillows, water etc)Write a note - in spanish- to your housekeeper if you need room done early or if you need special requests. Most of the employees are very nice, but dont speak much english. Bring a spanish dictionary. Find Francisco on the beach and tip him on the first day to get you a prime location on the beach (there are always chairs, but not always in shade). He stands on the beach fully dressed behind the DJ booth. He is beach security, and will stop hawkers if they are obnoxious etc.

True, there are hawkers on the beach (as at every resort in the Caribeen and Mexico) but NO GRACIAS goes a long way. They dont make rooms up 'till late in the day- but you will appreciate this on checkout day (checkout is 1:00 which is quite late). .

Dont be a pushy American, slow down and enjoy this resort. I noticed that all the poor reviews came from Americans, the most of the other reviews were great! I would not say this was a 4 star resort (in American standards..) perhaps a 2.75 star resort...but My 11 year old didnt want to leave...so for us, this was a great vacation!!

I just returned from spending Christmas at this resort. It was by far the best resort I had been to while traveling to the Dominican. I've been several times and this one was definatly my favourt. There is no shortage of space with 3 beautiful pools and hotubs and an awsome beach. The entertainment was spectacular with shows like Lion King, Grease and Cats. I was shocked when I read some peoples poor reviews about the resort. Everyone I have talked to about this place has had nothing but good things to say. I would recomend this place if your looking for a fun, clean and exciting hotel to spend an awsome vacation. I can't wait to go back!!!

This is not a hotel with more then 3 stars at best. The place is large and does have all the bells and whistles minus service and quality.
While the resort is large and does have all the amenities promissed, it appears run-down and poorly managed.

First of all, this is mostly an european vacation spot. Very few guest spoked English including the staff. The typical staff will just shake their heads and walk away. OK, thats expected, I'll put away my American arrogance. What really bothered me was:

Room conditions- Moldy and poor maintance. Mold appeared on the curtains in our room and in everyones room we spoked to. The showers have very little hot water and water pressure. The towel and sheet service were very poor. It took forever to get towels. When we ask, the typical "uno momento" turned into 1/2 day with attitude. I honestly believed that our bedding sheets were never changed during our 5 night stay.

The facility- While it claims to have all the bells and whistles of a 5 star resort. Everything appears to be old and require servicing. For example, the ping-pong table was bent, the pool tables were old and felt on the sticks were missing, the beach volleyball didnt have enough sand and actually had concrete just 3 inches below it. I strained my toe on one foot, had in infection and cut opened my other foot while playing. So, dont dive in the sand. The pool closed at 9pm. The 24hr snack had pink hot dogs. The disco was dead and boring. The sports bar had only 2 TVs. The cable programing in the rooms were limited and missing remote control.

The local culture- Ever gone on vacation and felt that everyone there were out to cheat, scam and steal from you? Well...the resort had that feeling. Inside the resort common areas, be prepared for salesmen to harrass you everyday, all day. They want to sell you the horse back trip, time share, dive tour.. blah, blah , blah. "No thanks" to them means "ask again later" I finally had to tell them to leave me alone. A $3 insurance fee was recommended for a simple inclusive wind surfing rental. You know the guys will just pocket the money because they can and claim that if you break it, you buy it. By far the worst was when we took the TURINTER 1/2 day tour to Santo Domingo. DO NOT GO. The tour promised a small tour bus that does the typical tourist sights. The tour was very typical but the guide gets kick-backs. He did the typical route, then stops at various stores in the middle of nowhere and allows us to shop. Its a typical overpriced souvenir tourist trap. He knows the people that owns the store and knows theres no other shops around.
!/2 or our 6hr tour was standing inside his cousins souvenir shops. He claims the merchandise is authentic and safe. Hes just protecting us from rip-off artists. He brought me into a "real room-size humidor".
Well, it was the an air-condition room with pails of water on the floor. I just went inside to enjoy the air-conditioning. Towards the end of the tour, we had some time to walk around the free market area as promissed. Well, it was for 30 min in its local dirty, crowed downtown area. It would have been decent if I needed to buy something if I lived in the area, like dish washing liquid, paper plates or garbage pails. During our tour, we walked thru a really cool street fair to see a famous church. I was wondering why as a tour guide was walking so fast, he just didnt want us to stop and give business to anyone other then his cousins. EVERYONE ON THE TOUR WANTED TO JUST GO BACK TO THE HOTEL.

If you want to get kidnapped and extorted for 6 hours and still pay $30, go for the TURINTER DAY TOURS.