I went to this resort last year in March. The weather was absolutely amazing of course until the last day that we left which was not bad at all as there was about 200 people checking in for Easter weekend. Ive never been to a resort before and for the amount that i paid for this trip it was well worth it. Rooms were clean and cleaned on a regular basis. The bathrooms were awesome, very big and clean. Bars at each location and all the bartenders were extremely kind. Pools were very nice but what i didn't like, they closed them very early and who doesn't like a little night time dip?! The hot tubs where amazing looking over the beach. The food was OK. Not amazing but not horrible. I would recommended the Mexican restaurant. All in all my first trip was memorable and i had a fantastic time! Enjoy

My Wife and I plus three friends went to Casa Marina Beach from Feb 14th to Feb 21st 2013. And yes, we had a fantastic time !!! The rooms are clean with a 27" LCD t.v. Also the view of the beach from our balcony was breathtaking. The food was better than I expected at the buffet and the Mexican and Seafood restaurants had a nice choice on the menu. Sorry we didn't try the Italian restaurant. The resort is 20 minutes from the airport and close to downtown Sosua. We really loved the whirlpools on the top of the coral reef overlooking the mountains and the Atlantic ocean.The 3 beautiful pools on the site each have a charm of it's own. The beach is a great asset to the resort. Some days the waves really do get high and it's not safe to swim. Although the beauty of the waves crashing on the beach and reef is quite the site to see. We all found that the staff in general were nice, polite and helpful. The Palm trees are tall and the grass is green on the site. Also Banana trees and flowers are very common. The night life at the resort is pretty good comparing to many resorts I have been to. All of this for a reasonable price... We rate Casa Marina Beach a solid 4 STAR VACATION !!!!

CHEERS ;)
Marc

MY WIFE AND I WHERE THERE FEB 5 -13/2013 , this vacation was crap , garbage, and we feel ripped off . We were told it was a 1.40 minute bus ride from Samana Airport , try 4 HOURS in a tiny bus arriving to resort@ 1:30 am in the morning, Thirsty and hungry but guess what , EVERYTHING ON RESORT CLOSED ! not even a welcome drink ! our rep even stood us up ! The superior ocean view room was aweful AND VERY RUN DOWN , Black Mold, doors of hinges , filthy bathrooms and bed sheets with brown stains the refuse to change. Feces on towels , broken lamps, no face clothes , hair dryer or fridges .... Hair in creases of bed matress plus stains , Ala cartes unedible , get ready to live out of your suitcase NO DRESSER EITHER ... If you go ask for side of resort not slated for the wrecking ball. Oh and you get 2 litres of water for a week , Customer service is not on there list, AVOID AT ALL COSTS , IF YOU ARE BOOKED < CANCEL WHILE YOU CAN !

Quick little background, Ive only ever been to resorts in Cuba prior to this...and I was super disappointed.

Hotel:
The front lobby staff do not speak english well but they do try! We arrived about 2:00 in the morning and there was one person working the front desk and one bellboy. The resort is very dark at night as there are no drinks after 1am and no food after 11pm. The resort is quiet during the day and at night but it is right down town so a lot of people go out side of the resort. They go out for various reasons but the most prominent was for the prostitutes. Theres quite a red light district in Sosua and its a very open business. Most of the men on our resort were alone or with other older men and for one reason only...whoopie. If you can get passed that the older people on the resort are fun and love to drink! My boyfriend and I are 28 and we were able to fit right in with some older groups and have a great time!
A lot of gang activity that you can watch right out the front door of the resort. The motocabs are all drug dealers and they all work for the same guy. Yes they will give you an affordable ridee wherever but they will also sell you drugs and make no secrets about it. a lot of activity that most canadians would deem illegal and for some scary.
The resort has beautiful cold jacuzzis in the coral reef on the shore of the ocean. From here you can see the view of Puerto Plata and the mountains. The grounds are well kept, pools are clean (but realllllly cold, too cold to enjoy really). Lots of different excursions to choose from, we did the zip line...more on that later. Although the beqach is beautiful it is rough and dangerous. Be careful.

FOOD:
Its not great honestly. I would say it was a lot like Cuba. Regular stuff like pasta and meat stations...egg station for breakfast...amazing coffee. The snack bar is pretty good though and is open from like 12-4 i think!
The resort is right in the midst of very good local food though and bars owned and operated by Canadians! Most of the pubs downtown also have wifi.

EXCURSIONS:
They have a fairly good variety, Zip Lining, Cliff Jumping, 4wheeler rentals, mopeds or motorcycles, catamaran.
|We zip lined. Basically in this zip lining exursion the hook ups were fashioned so you had to stop yourself with a gloved hand by pulling down on the line. Well on the longest, fastest and steepest line i did NOT stop. Why? Because my glove malfunctioned...thank God my boyfriend went before me and threw his body in front of me.
On a happy note...you get to go into a forest of small squirrel monkeys. they are absolutely incredible and adorable. you get to feeed them while they crawl all over you. Amazing! The views are also incredible! This place is also owned by english speaking people. UM BIG PROBLEM they didnt feed us ALL day...an 8 hour day and not a drop of food. Ridiculous

Seemed to meet a lot of Canadians or Americans living in Sosua or near by. Apparently a 1-2 bdrm apmt in a gated community is about 2-3000 per YEAR...cheap living.

ENTERTAINMENT:
Just awful. None of the dancers know the routines except for a few and they clearly stand out. The group never practices on the resort during the day like other resorts ive been to. Its a big mess. HOWEVER what they lack in dancing they make up for in acting! haha some of their skits are priceless comedy! I was thoroughly entertained but perhaps for the wrong reasons.

DRINKS:
Like I said, no booze after 1am...its a drag. I enjoy drinking...so..it didnt work too well for me. The drinks were good though and didnt make me sick at all. Good variety, good beer.

ROOMS:
WOW talk about MINIMAL. No fridge at all. The safe is 15 bucks for the week. I gave the cleaning lady D&G perfume, a dress and make up and the second day she didnt even make the bed. I was livid. The rooms carry all the sound from the hallways...every door that opens and closes you can hear as if its your own room...its pretty weird.
Domicans come onto the resort when they want if they can afford it...which in comparison to Cubans they live damn well.


BEWARE of the hustlin' on the street because I have never in my life been so put off by hagglers. They are on you like flies on ****. We ate a meal on the beach in Cabarete...and I wont even lie yto you.,,..at least 50 people approached us endlessly wanting us to buy their junk. It was so insulting.

I wont return to this place, but if you do send me a message if you have any questions!