I stayed at Hotel Atlantis for a week in May 2010. The hotel and setting are lovely and I would definitely return. I know that we all respond differently and what is a minor inconvenience or barely noticeable to one person is a major annoyance to another. I will try to give a detailed and accurate description of all aspects – the great, neutral, and a bit of a miss.
Getting there. I
flew into the international airport at Santo Domingo. The hotel had arranged for a car service for the 2 hour journey. The car service was $180 US + tip each way (including tolls). I tried to keep track of tolls for people in a rental car and I think it was 380RD$ one way. They’re pretty serious about their tolls, there are armed guards (plural) at each toll booth! There is an international airport (El Catey) closer to the hotel – about a 45 minute drive, but from the NYC area the only flights I could find connected in Canada – not very convenient. You can fly from SD to the local airport by Las Terrenas, but the flights leave from the other SD airport on the other side of the city and guests told me it took them an hour between SD airports, so they didn’t save any time.
Playa Bonita.
Playa Bonita is a lovely stretch of beach, mostly grass actually, with lots of palm trees. The sand is really just a narrow strip. Very picturesque! Also very windy, especially in the mid to late afternoon while I was there. The palm and grass area in front of Hotel Atlantis is the widest it is along the entire beach. This is where their lounge chairs are and also a thatched-roof open-air restaurant open for lunch only. There is a narrow, winding road (packed sand and clay, I think) between all the hotels and the beach, but it really doesn’t seem like a road. In fact, at the far end by Hotel Atlantis, just before it dead ends, it is barely the width of a path. It has ton of ruts (in huge stretches it is more rut than road) and it floods whenever it rains. The clay (or what ever it is) stains clothes when it is wet, so be careful. I ruined a pair of white shorts when the splatter from my flip flops hit the back of the shorts. The path between Playa Bonita and Playa Ballenas is closed, not sure if it is permanent or due to all the construction. There is a massive construction project going on – not as huge as originally planned, but still huge for that area – houses, resort complex, artificial lakes, marina, etc. It will change the personality of the place and not for the better.
Rainy season.
I was told that November and December are the rainiest months, followed by May. They said there are definite exceptions when there is a lot of rain in one of the dry months and long dry spells in the rainy season. My arrival day was gorgeous, but it rained and was overcast almost the entire time I was there.
Hotel Atlantis.
The hotel is the last one on the beach. There a few bungalows and private villas after it. That’s it. There is a tile courtyard facing the ‘road’ that is just beautiful at night with the lights. A colonial-style building with the kitchen, bar and dining area on the ground floor and 3 guest rooms above is on one side, the ‘tent’ dining area is on the other side and the office and a path make up the 3rd side. There are chairs and a few tables in the courtyard. There are 14 rooms spread throughout the property and I was able to see most of them during my stay.
Rooms.
My room was in the colonial building. You get to the rooms via a large, curved beautiful staircase. Two of the rooms have large (floor to ceiling, I think) windows facing the beach that open up to give the appearance of almost being outside, but neither has a balcony. The other room has a curved terrace overlooking the courtyard and the beach area. The terrace has 2 rocking chairs and a small table. The only negative is that the terrace and both that room and the corner room have windows opening to the courtyard. Smoking is still very popular with the guests at Atlantis and the smell (both cigarette and cigar) was strong – sometimes very strong - on the terrace and inside my room, once or twice it was very oppressive. Some people also smoked at the dining tables at mealtimes. For me, this was the only real negative about the area because it was true at other hotels I saw.
The other rooms are on the other side of the property. Only 2 have real beach views (one upstairs and one ground level). A couple others had a beach view from a small window, but the windows didn’t seem to be located in an area where one would sit and relax. They were all simple, but lovely. All rooms have fans, some have a/c which can be turned on for a flat daily rate (in addition to the room rate). There’s a small fridge and 2 small bottles of water on arrival (they are not replenished).
Bathrooms.
There was plenty of hot water and good pressure in the shower. The showers are what was once called European style (hand held attachment and no shower curtain). There are wide ledges at either end and the sinks create a barrier of sorts so if you sit on the ledge it works great with little or no water splashing on the floor. They supply (a nice quality) shampoo, soap, lotion, mouthwash, and little Q-tips, but no hair dryer. Towels are changed twice a day, once when the maid cleans the room/makes the bed and again just before dinner. Oh almost forgot, if you've been to PDC in Mexico or some of the other Caribbean islands, you will not be surprised about the used bathroom tissue going into the waste basket and not flushed.
Food.
Lunch and dinner menus are exactly the same. It wasn’t until a couple days before I left that I was told you can order a ½ portion of salad or pasta at lunch time. The food was good (and definitely better than the 2 meals I had at other hotels), but except for the blue cheese sauce on the steak (I wanted to lick the plate!) that I had my first night, nothing was exceptional. The sauce was so great that I didn’t care that the steak was a bit overcooked. The goat cheese salad was my favorite and frequent lunch choice, but oddly the dressing was a tiny bit different the first time but all the other times it was the same. Not sure why. A couple dinners were salty, but I don’t use a lot of salt, so others may not notice. This is really being picky though, because the food was definitely very good.
Drinks.
The red and white house wines are fine and good value for the price. Bottles of wine were expensive (never ordered any). Pina coladas are made with real pineapple (not commercial juice). They chop up a pineapple and put it in the blender! Very good!!! I had one at another hotel (Acaya) one afternoon and it tasted (and the ‘foam’ looked) like they used a mix.
My only negative about the wine is that one waiter was pretty stingy when pouring a glass. They bring the bottle to the table and pour the glass - so civilized. You would swear that there was a line in the glass because everyone seemed to pour the exact same amount – I was really intrigued by their skill. Well, everyone but one. One waiter, Albertino I believe was his name, didn’t seem to take the wine pouring class that others did. The first one he poured was a bit less than usual, but I thought it may be my imagination. The 2nd one was about half the normal amount. Rather than paying for 2 glasses in order to get the equivalent of one, I decided to switch to pina coladas whenever he was on. Then one day I saw him pour 2 glasses for a couple and they were the right amount, maybe even a bit more. I figured it was a good day for him, so I asked for a glass. Yep, again it was just a half portion. Not sure why he was that way with me.
I had lunch and dinner every day and at least 2 glasses from the bar (either wine or pina colada). Including my 2 meals out, my food and drink bill averaged $55/day with the mandatory 26% tax and tip that is automatically added on everything in LT (and I guess the DR). You don’t sign for meals or the bar, so I did keep track and the bill on the last morning was perfect. No surprises.
Staff.
Other than the waiter I mentioned everyone was great. Martina, the manager, is very nice and very helpful. She speaks several languages. I wouldn’t say she’s fluent in English, but she does very well (much better than I can do in French or Spanish!).
Clothes.
Casual. Swimsuits during the day with a cover-up for breakfast and lunch. Bermuda shorts are fine for dinner. I wouldn’t bring anything white if you are going to leave the tiled areas (remember, the road stains and I got a greasy stain on a brand new pair of white slacks from the car service’s SUV my first day).
The other guests.
While I was there, with one exception, all the guests spoke only Spanish, French, or German. One couple who came for 2 nights were from the US, but everyone else seemed to be European or from the DR. I got the impression that almost all were repeat visitors – lots of kisses upon arrival or at departure.
The dogs.
I noticed that a previous poster put the owner’s dogs down as a huge negative. They kept to themselves when I was there. I love dogs and would have enjoyed playing with them, but they didn’t go near the guests. Don’t understand why someone didn’t like them. There are dogs that roam along the beach; I was a bit timid at first because I didn’t know if they were wild or strays or what, but they were friendly and gentle. I went for a very long walk (miles and miles) along Playa Coson one day. There were some wild dogs there that I didn’t approach or talk to and other than barking – and following me for long stretches – they didn’t bother me.
Bottom line.
If you don’t like large, commercial hotels filled with Americans or crowded beaches, this may be the place for you. BUT if you want an American-style hotel, or need the furnishings and personality of a Marriott or Hilton, or need a lot catering to, this is not the location for you. Leave it for us ;-).
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
