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Club Bonito – reviews, photos

3.5 of 5
Las Galeras, Dominican Republic
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3.5 of 5 stars 5 Reviews
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5 reviews from our community

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Date Rating
Washington DC, District of Columbia
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“Not Relaxing”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 March 2006
7
people found this review helpful

This place was written up everywhere but should not have been for several reasons. It was incredibly loud! I can’t stress this enough. The main street is next to the hotel and you can hear cars, motorcycles, and scooters all the time. At the end of this road is area filled with outdoor (aka shack) restaurant stalls and you can hear from about 7 am to 10 pm. Our room faced the ocean, and pool - which started playing the same cd they played all day, everyday at 7 am. The pool also attracted the mostly family clientele, not really relaxing for a romantic getaway to hear children yelling in the pool, at most 15 feet from the hotel.

The staff were nice enough, although their English wasn’t what they described, so it was good we had enough basic Spanish between us, and within 30 minutes of arriving the pool waiter asked me out dancing- not what should be expected in what was billed as a luxury resort. The room was spacious, comfortable, and clean and at best you could hope for a warm shower. But considering all the other problems with the place, it is definitely not worth it.

The beach was dirty, not hanging out or swimming-friendly. The water best spot was occupied by boats. The view was great, but it would’ve been nice to go into the water. I wouldn’t recommend the expense to coming to this part of the island for what you get. If you are deadest (like we were), stay on the other side of Main Street where it is much quieter and still has lovely views of the ocean, which is pretty much all you can do in this area.

  • Stayed February 2006
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask MFred about Club Bonito
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Hamburg, Germany
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
67 helpful votes 67 helpful votes
“A good place to relax”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 10 January 2005
12
people found this review helpful

During our vacations we stayed three nights in the hotel in November 2004. We reached the hotel with a rented car. The drive to the farthermost point on the peninsular is really nice with just little traffic and spectacular landscape.
The little hamlet of Las Galeras is really remote. Just a main street with shops and a few bars and restaurants that ends directly on the beach, where the hotel is located. There are more individual smaller hotels around and the Bonito appeared to us as the most attractive (Villa Serena has no beach!).
We stayed in a room upstairs and had a nice look through palms on the shore.
ROOMS: Unbeliveable big, with dimensions of a junior suite and well kept in adobe style with comfortable beds and attractive furniture. We were a little disappointed by the bathroom: Corroded tabs, no warm water for the sink and the showerhead would have needed a descaling. Also the air condition was too noisy (where not...). We enjoyed the evenings on our huge balcony, watching the stars and drinking our self prepared "Cuba Libre" (the staff will provide you with ice. Ron, lime and coke is available for small money in the shops arround).
GROUNDS: Well maintained and beautiful, a medium sized pool - which was pretty enough - behind bushes to keep away the sometimes gusty winds and views from the seaside. Nice.
STAFF: The owners are italian, the employees are friendly, not over average in their behaviour. Just as you can expect in hotels in that category. No disappointments!
MEALS: Due to low occupancy, we had no buffet breakfast which was tasty but could have been more in quantity and selection. I wonder why no hotel in the DR is able to prepare nice and fresh juices on an island full of fruits... We had dinner once which was ok, but not overwhelming and in quality price relation too expensive. Alternatively try the fresh fish from the ladies in the shack across the street on the beach (avoid the salad, you know why) and the airy restaurant under a thatched roof on the crossing 100 meters uphill from the hotel (then on the right side). Both are better with bigger portions, equal tasty and cheaper.
NIGHTLIFE: A good chance to mingle with the Dominican folks in the surrounding bars and open discos.
All in all we can recommend the place if you like tranquility, and have an own car. If we decide to return to this part of the island we would love to stay there again.
We can really recommend the hotel for a relaxing time

  • Stayed November 2004
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Maze111 about Club Bonito
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
New York
1 review
18 helpful votes 18 helpful votes
“rooms are good, management has attitude”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 January 2005
18
people found this review helpful

I've stayed there twice, once in 2002, once in 2003. It's kind of a pain to get there, you have to drive 3-1/2 hours from Puerto Plata or from Santo Domingo which is also long. Driving in the DR is an experience putting it mildly. The rooms are nice, especially on the higher floors overlooking the ocean. Breakfast is great. Dinner could be better, some variety would be nice. Pool is just right, the common areas are beautiful. The area is stunning, and would be even more wonderful if the locals didn't dump their trash on the beach. But this is not the hotel's fault. There is absolutely nothing to do at night, but if you really like tranquility this is the perfect place.

I will say this, the manager obviously didn't like us, because I heard her making fun of us in Spanish, mocking and greatly exaggerating our bad attempts at speaking the language. She immediately realized by the look of horror on my face that I understood her and this created a not so comfortable environment for the rest of the trip. Because of this and a few other things with her making us feel less than respected and welcomed guests, I will never stay there again, unless I find out that she is no longer management. She obviously had a problem with us, but I have no idea what it was, we were always polite and respectful to the staff and are not difficult to deal with. When staying in a small hotel, if you have an interpersonal problem with a staff member, it's a little hard to avoid, because you see each other all the time. This created a sense of uneasiness with my partner and I. Since then I have gone to the DR about five times and stayed in other small hotels where I have had no problems or attitude at all.

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Ask melissaryan about Club Bonito
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
London, UK
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
“great place to kick back”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 22 September 2004
10
people found this review helpful

We went here over the new year last year - great place - rooms were well kept and spacious, staff were really friendly and helpful, the walk to the main swim beach was manageable for us with two young kids, and although near the road at the end of the town strip, it was not noisy. Overall great - if you want to escape the inclusive nightmare and still get to beach and have a cool time - place for you

  • Stayed December 2005
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Ask flamps about Club Bonito
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“no hay sitio más hermoso”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 16 September 2010
Google Translation

Stayed August 2007, travelled as a couple
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Ask bmartine about Club Bonito
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

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Additional Information about Club Bonito

  • Bonito Hotel Samaná Peninsula
Address: Las Galeras, Dominican Republic
Price range (per night):* INR3,344 - 7,802

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