My wife and I just spent 6 nights at the SBH in early June 2009. Now the off-season may not be the best time to review a resort since it is not functioning at normal full capacity, but here are our thoughts on what we experienced.

Resort: The resort is on a hillside with a two level pool so there are lots of stairs to go from the lobby to the pool level, (there is an elevator too). There is also a concrete patio lower down near the bay water level if you want a more quiet location to lay around. The rooms are a bit dated, dark in color, the balconies are tiny, and once in awhile some swamp gas emanating from the bathroom floor drain, so I’d rate the rooms 3 out of 5. The grounds are well maintained and the view over Sosua Bay is one of the nicest vistas you’ll get in the Caribbean without paying top dollar at a high end resort. There are always lots of activities going on in the bay (water skiing, banana floats, snorkelling, scuba, glass bottom boats, and lots of local kids playing so it is an interesting place to sit and watch. You can rent a chair and umbrella on the beach from the locals for a few peso.

Restaurants: Only two of the five restaurants were open; the lunch burger bar and the full service restaurant at the adjacent shared Victorian resort. They switched the menu around each night and surprisingly we had no complaints with the dinners; some nights a la carte and some nights a buffet. The breakfast buffets were the same each day and were fine with a good selection of fruits, eggs, french toast, ham, sausage, etc. Lunch buffets also appeared to be good (we only ate there once since we were often gone from the resort). The bar service and selection was very good. They did have nightly entertainment however we did not see any of the shows. Overall the service staff were excellent (front desk, bartenders, waiters) and eager to help. Leaving a small tip after each meal may have played a role in this service.

Internet access was limited. People with laptops sat outside and hooked into the wireless but even in the shade it is hard to read your laptop screen. There is no internet access in the rooms and there really isn’t a business center where you can sit in air conditioning with a 110V outlet, so if you’re planning on doing a bit of work while on vacation it may be inconvenient.

VIP Club; one expects to be pestered by vendors while on the street or beach however we didn’t appreciate being constantly prodded at the resort to attend a VIP Club session to buy into a timeshare. We stay at resorts to get away from hassles, not to look for them. I think the resort “solicitors” get paid a bonus for each person they bring into a session.

Overall we’d rate this small resort at about 3.5 star, but the prices are also less than five star and I’m not sure if there is a better place in the Sosua area. We had no complaints with the food or the drinks. If we needed to stay in Sosua again we would not hesitate in staying at the SBH although we would still like to experiment to see if there is a better resort in Sosua since this place isn’t perfect.

My husband and I have travelled 4 times south - and there were many things that we really really loved about Sousa Bay. To start you are only minutes from the airport (bonus). The resort was small and intimate and beautiful as everything is looking over the water! The food was amazing, both the buffet and the a la cartes! The town was right there and fun to walk into, to shop or look around - a must to visit Canadian owned restaurant Jolly Roger , Kelly the owner and his wife are very, very nice and the food is great! (and the music, he'll play what you want!) You can snorkle right off the resort, which is great and you get free gear from the shop there. The beach is amazing but, you do have to walk a little to it, but, no more than a normal resort that is usually set way back from the water and you do have to pay for a lounger about $3/day but, the guys there are great to help and watch your stuff...! There's a huge and I mean huge market right behind you in the trees on the beach, lotsa shopping but, I did find them very, very pushy....we were there to veg and we did on the beautiful beach. All in all we would go back for sure.

We decided on Sosua for the snorkeling in the bay, however the week we went the red flag was flying due to an incredible undertow and a very rough week of weather. This Hotel is right on the bay and if the weather co-operated it would be the perfect place for snorkelers. To make the best of the week we went on a couple of the tours to learn more about the Dominican and would recomend looking up Linda at Mel Tours around the corner from this hotel.

The staff were freindly and very accomodating. It is an all inclusive resort hotel but it is amazing how a well placed dollar tip will reward you with service. I got this tip from another trip advisor member and they were right! We took $40 USD in one dollar bills with us for the week so everyone form the door man to the maids to the bartenders could be rewarded for their service to us. We never had a security problem. My wife lost a pair of bolle sunglasses on our first night and on the third night got them back from the pool bar lost and found! We also had a sweater returned to us after it was left by mistake in one of the al a carte restaurants. We did not rent the lock for the hotel safe and not once did we feel we should have.

The food at the restaurant was plentiful, well prepared and hot. Some resorts I've been to have had a heat problem with their food, but not here. Yes, it's a buffet, but remember just because they put it out doesn't mean you have to pile up the plate. Take smaller portions, but go back for seconds, (or thirds if you want) and then you're food is warm. My personal favourite was the omlete bar in the mornings and the pasta station in the evenings with three different choices of sauces everyday. I also loved the many different ways the chefs cooked chicken. The fruit was always fresh and well presented. (I loved the chicken wings for breakfast!!!)

The evening entertainment could be described as a very good highschool program, but less than professional, until the house band is allowed to do what they do best on Thursday night. They were fantastic!

The new fitness center is across the road at the top of the new Sosua Centre and it was fantastic. Great views and all new equipment. There are also two raquetball courts for an extra fee. Take your towels from the hotel to avoid the towel fee too.

There's plenty to do in town and since this hotel is a minute or two walk from the main areas of interest (other retarants,bars, shopping, taxi stand) it's easy to get around off the resort. Cabarete beach is a $12 cab ride away and an awsome sight with the wind surfing and kite boarding, and night dining on the beach.

We got a great price for the week. Our trip totaled $2100 Canadian after all the spending was done. Last year we spent double that at a resort on another island with very much the same experiences. I'd go back to this hotel again, but I would pay a little more attention to the local weather trends first and try to go later in the spring.

After reading other reviews I tried to change the booking of this hotel, I am so glad we did not move. The Staff were friendly and chatty and when they realised I was trying to learn Spainish encouraged me all the way (although they all spoke perfect English). Waiters were wonderful especially Jairo, Hose Luis and Sandy. The room was cleaned every day with sheets and towels changed even if we had left the towels on the towel rail. The swimming pool was cleaned daily. The animacion team worked really hard and put on some really good shows. We did have a problem with one of our rooms, water started coming in from the ceiling we reported it and they started work on it straight away the could not repair it and we were immediately given another room even though the hotel was fully booked. We had to call on the services of the medical team due to one of my sons breaking his leg by accident and they were great with us very reassuring and patient they billed our insurance company direct although we did have to pay 10$ for a letter to say my son could fly home. Becareful if you walk along the road at the top of the beach the shop keepers can be very forceful we told say "no Gracias do not look at them and walk on". I would really recommend this hotel we had a great time until the last few days when we had the accident.