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Melia Caribe/Tropical - Good vacation for the money!
We vacationed at the Melia Caribe/Tropical in Punta Cana during the last week of Aug 2002. I had read many reviews and had mixed feelings going in. Many had said that checking in was a nightmare. We had used frequent flyer miles to get there so check in was not a problem - in and out in 5 minutes. However, if you book your vacation using a charter flight arriving with several other guests, check in will be much longer. Dinner reservations are as other said - must be made asap in order to get in the restaurants. Ma Maison, a French restaurant, is one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at in my life. The escargot and lobster thermidor is wonderful. Also, the Japanese restaurant is very good. The buffets are just that - buffet food. While the buffets are not as good as other hotels I've been to, the reservation restaurants were much better than expected. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful - they are maintained on a daily basis. And since the hotel is so large, you must be able to walk a little just to be able to get to a restaurant. The hotel is divided into 2 sections with a restaurant row being in between both. The walkways are very slippery if it rains making it difficult to walk to dinner in heels. Everyone was more than friendly to Americans. However, you should at least make an attempt to communicate in some small way in Spanish. They appreciate that. The only negatives that we had during the week - we both became sick on the last day but it rained all day anyway. We believe it was the salmon we ate b/c we had eaten the exact same meal during the week previously with the exception of adding salmon. But of course, we can't be positive - it may have been b/c we used a lot of ice in our drinks (probably not made from bottled water). Should you want to get money from the bank, you will receive Dominican Pesos instead of American Dollars, making it difficult to get rid of the pesos without spending them should you need the money right before you leave the country. The
et chips for the pesos then cash out into American dollars). And the last thing worth mentioning is that our toilet broke 3 different days while we were there. While they were timely the first time to fix it, they never returned. We fixed it the second time but from then on, we had to reach into the tank to flush it. On the last night we were there, it started leaking from the bottom onto the floor. While this seems to be a major inconvenience, it was not really that bad. And for the money that we spent, the vacation was well worth it. Things to keep in mind: you are visiting basically a 3rd world country. The area outside the resort is just like any other island - peddlers are everywhere. Most are poor but haggling on prices is expected. Learn a few Spanish phrases before you go if you do not know any. And remember to smile - it is a very fun island, you are on vacation - if you expect everything to be perfect, you may be disappointed - but if you expect the overall experience to be enjoyable without analyzing every little situation, you will be very pleased.
Beach at the Melia resort
