Hola! :)
Well i stayed at Casa Marina Reef Resort from February 20th - 27th! It was my first vacation down South so i don't have anything to compare it with, but i had an amzaing time and i can not wait to visit again! maybe not the same resort just because i would like to try somewhere new each time! There is actually two hotels, the Beach and The Reef but they share everything! There was 12 of us on the trip, ranging from ages 17-25. We were looking for a resort suitable for young people with both partying and relaxation & we got both :)



THE ROOMS

The rooms were far from luxurious … but who takes a trip to Dominican to stay in their room right? The rooms have two beds, a cable television, safe in the closet, shower & bath tub and a patio. Our room had a few negatives …one of our curtains had something on it… seemed to be mould, our walls were cracked and there was a small hole in our ceiling above the bath tub. I didn’t mind the rooms because I only used them to keep my belongings in and sleep in!



THE POOLS

I didn’t spend much time in the pool. The main pool really needs a Swim-up bar I think! But it was big and clean, cold .. Like all the other pools. There is a volleyball net in the middle as well. For those who complain about the music at the pool being too loud, they would turn it up at 4 o’clock in the afternoon for water aerobics and have it playing for about tow hours. Which I had no problem with, I enjoyed the music to be honest! There’s also a small kitty-pool. There are three “cool” tubs built in the reef. They fit about 15 people, they are in a beautiful place, looking out over the ocean, this is where I spent a lot of my time! There is a another pool in the Beach side of the resort very similar to the main one at the reef side.



THE BEACHES

There are two beaches, one at the reef side of the resort and one at the beach side. The beach on the reef side is more quieter and relaxing then the other beach aside from the banana boating and tubing but that shouldn’t bother anyone! The beach on the beach side of the resort is much more crowded with activities such as beach volleyball. The beaches are very nice, waters a bit rough at the shoreline but once you get out a bit its very nice! The water is very warm, much warmer then any of the pools. One thing that didn’t bother me because I didn’t use them but may bother others is that you have to pay to rent an umbrella at the beaches, $3.00 a day.



THE ACTIVITIES

I can’t really comment on this part a lot, the only activities I took part in were the water aerobics and the beach volleyball. But there did seem to be a lot on the go around the resort at all hours of the day! Enough to keep anyone busy, that’s for sure! They also had a big bonfire on the beach the first night we arrived, I loved it … they played music … we drank and danced in the sand! J The non-motorized water sport s are free .. Windsurfing, kayaking ect … the snorkelling was 25$ and the scuba diving was 75$ … I’m not sure about anything else …



THE EXCURSIONS

I went on two excursions. One with the resort, the Sosua Tip Top and one off the resort with MT, the Jeep Safari. The Sosua tip top was a catamaran excursion .. We stopped for snorkelling twice, the first stop is much better then the second one! I loved the snorkelling! I found the way out on the Tip Top was a bit boring in the morning, no one was really on the go but on the way back when they sole drinks and turned on the music it was a lot of fun!! They should have had music on for the full way back though! It seemed like as soon as everyone started having fun we were back again! They served a cold meal, some salads and some meats and bread with mayo and mustard, I liked it! The second excursion I went on, The Jeep Safari is not recommended, because it is not with the resort you are not covered under insurance. It was a lot of fun though …. You get to see how the poorer people of Dominican really live, it was heartbreaking, we stopped at a farm to see this BIG bull, I didn’t really like that part, he did not look impressed! We also saw a cock fight … I did not like that part either, I’m not big on cruelty to animals, but it is a part of the Dominican culture and that’s what part of this excursion is about! We also got to hold a snake (baby boa) and ground fresh coffee, and buy it for a dollar a pack! We visited a store with souvenirs and a factory where they make statues . The waterfalls is the main attractions of this excursion, you walk for about a half hour in the woods, following a brook … once you reach the end there is a little shop where you can leave your belongings to climb of the falls! Though you have a helmet and life jacket the falls still are dangerous, you are being lifted up over the falls by men ad then either slide down over the rocks or jump to get down out of it. I found it scary but I am glad I did it, it was a good rush … the boys on the excursion with me absolutely loved it! Just be careful it you want to do this and bring a underwater camera if you want to take pictures up in the falls, a digital one will be spoiled. We were served a lunch on this excursion as well, we stopped at a little restaurant (if you’d even call I that) in the town of Puerto Plata, I was not impressed with this … it was not in very “good shape” and there were caged birds above our heads while we were eating …but I have to say I did like the spaghetti !



The Food

The Buffet (theres two, one on the reef side and one on the beach side):
The buffet is open for most of the day with about an hour and half closed between meals to prepare the for the next one. There was so much to choose from, rice, breads, chicken, fish, fruits, salads and pastas … but I have to say, I didn’t like it and I’m not a picky eater. I thought all of the food had a weird taste on it except for the cold pasta salad that’s what I mostly ate! I guess you cant really go on my opinion for that though, all of my friends loved the food and you might too!

The snack bar:
The snack bar was open from 12 to 4 every day. They served pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, fried chicken and a few other things. I liked the pizza though it is different from home and the fries were good as well.

The Mexican A La Carte:
It was okay I thought. I really enjoyed the Corn Mouse I had for desert, it was a Dominican Recipe so I had to try it!

The Seafood A La Carte:
If your picky with seafood don’t get the seafood soup there is EVERYTHING in it lol … too much for me! I had the salmon, I thought it was very good! I also tried the calamari I thought that was good as well.

The Italian A La Carte:
By far the best, very nice pastas!

… All the a la cartes were very nice, we enjoyed getting all dressed up for them! J



The Disco

The disco was very small and opened at 11 once the drinks were not free anymore! Not really impressed, but there was still enough room to dance and we all had a great time … I guess that’s all that matters! It was also very very cold when you first walked in, but if your planning on dancing you’ll appreciate this later on!



The Bars

There are six bars, one at the Mexican a la carte which is the snack bar in the day, one on the reef side by the cool tubs, one near the beach on the beach side, one at each buffet and one at the disco! They served free drinks from 10am to 11pm! Seems early but we use to go to the bar at ten minuets to 11pm and get a round of drinks EACH and drink them back! Lots of variety at the bars … sex on the beach, fruit punch and vodka, rum and coke, green shooper (taste like mint aero bars) and more!!!!



The Service

I thought he service was great! I left a one dollar tip for the maid and a little gift everyday … but I realized one I was down there a male and a female maid clean your room each morning so I regret not having a little something for two of them but remember … this is Completely not necessary! The bar service was fast and they know how to mix their drinks well and strong! Haha



THE WEATHER

Perfect!!! around 30 degrees celcius each day but it felt like much more!! There was a couple rain showers they were very intense but only lasted a few minuets! It cooled off in the nights ... i would have liked to have a light long sleeved shirt to ware.



SOMEOTHER THINGS:

-It cost $15.oo a week to rent a safe but i DO advise it, it allows you to feel safe and more relaxed and is well worth the money because you never know what could happen!

-They allow some "Sellers" to come set up there booths in the evening on some nights ... their pretty pushy but thats that in Dominican!

-Dont drink anything OFF the resort or the tap water in your rooms ... it is not purified! there are water fountains to fill up your water bottle (you get two at the beginning of your stay ) in the hallways of each buiding!

-The Main clothing item you need is a Swimsuit ... you will live in them for the week so bring enough!

-Put on sunblock, sometimes it doesnt seem like your burning, but believe me You are!!!

& Just Remeber ... NOTHING is free in the Dominican ... if someone gives you something or does you a simple favor ... Expect to pay for it!!! other then that ... a truely beautiful country ... and Casa marina reef and beach resort is lovely !

If im forgetting anything im sorry, if you have any more questions just write me! I would be glad to answer!

Oh & if your go here say hello to Moqiuto? not sure how you spells it ... tell him everyone says "Hola Mosquito (or nipper) ... From Newfoundland, Canada!!!!!"

We returned to the Casa Marina Beach in Sosua for a last minute one week get away. Feb 23-Mar 1/08.

We flew Sunwing again and the flight down was great. Flight back was marred by the Sunwing rep. at the Puerto Plata airport charging us $20.00 for being over 2 kg. Funny, because we went back with the exact same baggage as when we flew down. No purchases, additions, etc. to our luggage but we were told we were 2 kg over???? I paid the cost on a credit card but have since contacted Sunwing to inform them of this discrepancy. Possibly the scale was wrong?

The resort looks very nice on the outside. Neatly groomed gardens and nice looking buildings. The rooms however, are very basic and shabby-looking. No refrigerators, no kleenex, no face cloths. The A/C was loud and not working really well, there was mould in our bathroom shower, we had very little hot water and our bathroom light never worked properly the entire week.

We were disappointed in the entire room experience, but the grounds were nice, the pools were fine and the 3 small jacuzzi pools that we spent most of our time at were good. Great views, lots of shade and quieter areas than the large pools.

The buffet restaurants were good. The larger one up at the Reef side of the resort seemed to have a better selection. The a la cartes were okay. The omelettes at the beach buffet were very good. Lots of choices and well made. As always, the ice cream is great.

We enjoyed the great weather and walking around Sosua again is always interesting. PJ's is a must for a cheeseburger stop.
The resort was noisy at night because the after hours cash bar has loud music playing until well into the night. Guests with children may want to stay back in a quieter area.

This is a fine place to stay if you are aware 3* means the basics.
I don't think we will return again for another visit to this resort. Although the rooms, etc. were clean, we found little upkeep and attention to details as the resort ages.

I have just returned from the Casa Marina Reef. It was a fabulous holiday and great value for the money paid.

You do need to remember it is a 3 star hotel and with this you will by far not be disappointed.

The complex of both the Reef and the Beach are clean and tidy. The buffet restaurants serve amazing food 3 times a day. Just watch out for the cold scrambled egg. They cook eggs fresh at the hot plate every morning so avoid the eggs in the buffet. There are the 3 restaurants which you can book, the Italian was a bit of a let down with limited menu, however the Mexian and Sea Scape restaurant were really tasty. I vowed not to eat chicken while I was on holiday in the fear of getting food poisoning but I ate Chicken every day and from the buffet and it was a very tender, tasty chicken.

The pool in the Reef is nice and big, there is plenty of entertainment throughout the day. Watch out for Victor, he will get you up playing ping pong, and water aerobics but you can just as easy say no and just read your book while sipping cocktails.

The staff are very friendly and all speak at least 4 languages.

Rooms are okay, A/C which is most important and the maid cleans every day with a clean supply of towels.

Plenty of character on this island. Every day there was a split second blackout, one in the morning, and one about 8pm in the evening. After day 2 this was making us laugh.

The beach is lovely and private. The sea can be a little rough. There is Sousa beach 5 minutes away which is calmer and clearer.

I'm one who likes clear calm sea water. However, I didn't miss out as we booked the Bacardi Island trip, which is amazing. Clear water, warm and a beautiful Island. We also booked a trip to Soana in the south. Quite expensive but boy do you get your money's worth. My best day out. Also went o Paradise Island.

Sousa as a town is busy. It bursts with character. The sellers are pushy but you can have a laugh with them. If you say no they will leave you alone. By no means is it dangerous to walk out of the complex. The people are really friendly, there is very little crime. I wouldn't suggest walking around at night, with too much rum in you, on your own but you get the gist.

The kids are lovely, they are shoe shiners and will try and shine your flip flops! If you give them a dollar, you will feel great when you see their face.

Excursions - Use a good, insured tour operation. We used Thomas Cook. For example. Whale watching. Our bags were stowed at the front of the boat where everything was kept dry from the rough boat ride. Other boats out at the same time, all their belongings, cameras, video cameras were wet and ruined. Bear this in mind and pay extra for the peace of mind. Food is also checked out, and is safe to eat.

I really must recommend Soana. If you like the beach.
Leave at 6am, take a 50 minute flight (no waiting at airport) to La Romana. Short transfer to a little roman village. River boat with breakfast, change onto an awesome speed boat and fly out in the carribean to the natural swimming pool. Waist height in the ocean. Drink rum and coke and waller in the water for 30 mins, then back on board to Soana Island. Spend the next 3 hours on the Island, rum and coke (getting the gist) lunch and beautiful swimming. Back on a Catarmaran, with bob marley playing, rum and coke, the crew making you dance!!! A nice hour slow sail back where you wait on another beautiful beach for your return flight. We watched the sunset before heading off back to the North of the Island.

Enjoy - this holiday is amazing

Well, just got back from the Casa Marina Reef a week ago with my bf. This was our 3rd trip to the same hotel(my 3rd review-still fantasic!) and, as always, it was lovely/exquisite/stupendous!! Need I say more:)? Weather was wonderful as it rained about once or twice. Food was delicious and pina coladas-superb!! LOVED MY HAMMOCKS!! Pool was refreshing and entertaining. Nightly shows are always fun. Whole resort including the rooms clean! Staff sooo friendly and helpful. Loved walking around the town of Sosua-get used to the haggling..or u can tell them "No tengo dinero" which means "I have no money"..always stops them! LOL... leave me a msg if u have any questions about this hotel:)