Not a bad place to stay if you have reasonable expectations. We were taking a long Caribbean vacation to a few different islands and on a budget. We weren't booking high-end resorts. We were pleasantly surprised with the room, actually. It had a nice view of the sea (which was unexpected) and a little balcony to sit on. The staff were friendly. The restaurant (La Flambeau) was nice. We were early arriving so were welcomed to sit at a table on the beach while we waited. Very relaxing to sit and have a drink looking over the water! It was a nice walk up to the main road where there were markets and other restaurants. We especially enjoyed the strip of street vendor-type businesses (on the other side of the university) where we were able to purchase very good and inexpensive food and fresh fruit juices. One vendor was so appreciative of us coming back the second day that he really piled the food on for us. (2 large chicken kabobs and a huge helping of red beans and rice for about $5 or $6US)
On the negative side, we went to the reception desk to inquire about booking a tour of some of the sites (Emerald Falls, Indian River). My husband came back and told me the price she had quoted and it was a MUCH higher quote than the driver who had brought us from the airport had quoted so I asked my husband to go back and see if the quote she gave included all entrance fees. She then told my husband that it did so we agreed to it. Well, when we got to Indian River and the guide told us the cost we went back to our driver to tell him our understanding was that our agreed upon price was to include this. This was not worked out between our hotel receptionist and the driver as we had been told it was. He called the hotel and we paid the additional cost of the Indian River tour. I believe in the Caribbean that there is often an agreement between people who work in the hotels and drivers (often relatives) and there is an agreement where the receptionist gets a portion of the price charged (15% in this case). I felt like we had been bamboozled and it really left us unable to enjoy the tour. Our driver did try to make it up to us but it soured me for doing any more site seeing on the island. I do recommend that travelers check pricing and arrangements carefully before doing anything in Dominica. Unfortunately, this one negative nearly cancelled out the many positives of the stay.
- Portsmouth Beach
