Miscommunication in condo amenities....
Submitted: March 26, 2012
Stayed: March 2012
let me first say that our condo was beautiful! it was the perfect size for 5 people and close to the beach. Now that I have said that, I will tell you what I think needs a bit of improvement...the amenities listed on this site stated that filtered water and bottled water would be included. that is NOT the case. there is a filter attached to the refrigerator, but we were told once we arrived that we had to buy our own water! you can't drink the tap water at all, so having to go out of your way just to have water for food, cooking, drinking, ice cubes, etc, was definitely a hassle. Also, toilet paper was not provided. Lastly, we were told that beach towels would be provided, but there were only 3 in the condo (not enough to accommodate the stated 8 people this condo can house. We were told the towels were stolen 3 weeks prior to our stay, but I still wonder why they had not been replaced by the time we got there. Also, word to the wise, staying in condo is great, IF you are prepared. If you plan to stay in a condo, be prepared to buy your own groceries, do your research for restaurants, places to go, etc. because we found out (dissappointingly) that all of the surrounding resorts are like these guarded fortrices that you CANNOT get onto without being a guest! even if you want to pay to go to one of their restaurants, they WILL NOT LET YOU ON THEIR PROPERTY! I felt somewhat like a second-class citizen at the condo because no where else will they let you go without a hotel "day pass" which could cost you $90! Just a word to the wise. But if you stay here, make sure to try the Thai restaurant Balicana, and In & out. The club Mangu was also fun! Beware they most places and things you do will nickel & dime you to death, so just be aware of that. Overall, I still had a great vacation, but the filtered water thing really irked me a bit, since it is written plain as day on this website....water is fundamental people! Thanks!
Owner's Response: Hello Andrea, thank you for your review. Maybe your expectations were too high for certain things as you were expecting to get the same service in a rental apartment as in an All Inclusive hotel. You were staying at a high end 3 bedroom condo overlooking the ocean for around $50/person/night compared to paying at least $200 per night for staying in an average All Inclusive Hotel room with no view and sharing the pool with hundreds of people and screaming kids. We always leave 1 roll of toilet paper and a bar of soap in each bathroom and a bottle of water in each apartment. All the other items and groceries have to be purchased. I went out of my way to bring you again 3 rolls of toiletpaper and a 1 gallon of water the day after you had checked in while you had already received these items the day of arrival. When you rent an apartment you can't expect that we take care of your groceries as well. By the way, you can't drink the tap water but you can cook with it without a problem. Regarding the beach towels, I agree with you, we should have bought new ones AGAIN as the ones we had bought a few weeks prior to your arrival got stolen but they are actually not easy to find here and will have to be purchased in the capital, 7 hour drive back and forth from Bavaro so we did not have the time yet to do that. I don't understand why you wanted to have dinner at an All Inclusive Hotel as there are about 12 very good restaurants at walking distance from the condo and they are all indicated on the map that I gave you and I have indicated several of them again to you and they are all reasonably priced as well. Balicana and Outside in are indeed very nice restaurants. Anyway, I hope that you are keeping a good memory of this vacation and that you and your friends had a good time and hopefully we will see you back in the near future, I am keeping the H2O ready and cool for you! :)
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