Hotel Don Juan Beach Resort

The hotel is nestled at the end of the Calle Abraham Nuñez, a rather quiet street, compared to the Calle Duarte, which is the main street in Boca Chica and has the animation and the festive atmosphere of the town. It is located 9 miles east of the international airport of Las Americas and within thirty minutes by car from the historic centre of the capital, the famous colonial zone, where traffic is however fluid.

Like its clientele, mainly French, the staff speaks French. The reception is particularly pleasant. During summer, Puerto Ricans and Jamaicans literally invade the region and create all the buzz in the hotel. And it's an understatement! You shoulf avoid this hotel, if you want absolute quiet.

With its façade of wood, painted a vivid green, the small hotel lobby has comfortable rattan furniture, typically arranged around coffee tables of stone, and a rocking-chair in colourful wood, which makes the hotel extremely welcoming. A large bouquet of flowers and many plants complement the picture. Opened in 1986, the hotel has expanded gradually and the most recent building was added in 1997. During weekends, the local population animates the hotel... It's the least that we can say about this place! Merengue and bachata melodies resonate around its two swimming pools and the beach, mingled with the odour of cigars. But the atmosphere of the hotel is still friendly and the French speaking staff is attentive to customers. The proof is that guests come back.

The accommodations are the only drawback of the Don Juan Beach. There are 224 rooms, including 157 standard and 67 superior rooms, with two double beds (Captains' Club) housed in eight buildings. Like the buildings dating back to the 1980s, the first building, erected in 1986, is of orange concrete with small recessed balconies. Even if the room areas are quite large (323 ft² per standard room), the global lighting seriously lacks brightness, and a musty smell sometimes prowls. But the rooms are well equipped. All rooms have air-conditioning, telephone with direct international dialling, cable television (45 channels), a hair dryer, a coffee maker (with drinkable water) and a mini-bar (for extra payment). Upon request, you can have a free refrigerator, empty. They also have whirlpool baths (Jacuzzi in the superior category rooms). The room service provides cold and hot dishes, and complete meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Out of all three restaurants at the hotel, the Coral, the main one, has a large flowery terrace with white columns, and is located between the reception hall and the first swimming pool. Plastic tables and chairs are available. Serving buffet style, it offers international cuisine, local dishes and culinary themes which change every night. Near the swimming pool, La Caleta, the Italian restaurant, looks like a typical wooden house painted yellow, red and green, where you can dine from an a la carte menu (reservation required). The furniture is made of rattan. A snack bar is open from noon to 3 p.m. Four bars are open until 2 a.m. The bar on the beach, a large straw hut at the end of the stilted pier, is particularly charming (beverages not included). Accessible to the general public, you have to cross the beach to get there.

The transparent waters border the fine sand which is quite dark in that region. The hotel's beach is combined with the public beach, which is immense and rich in palm trees. But only a tiny piece belongs to the hotel, guarded by a security service to ensure space for its clients. In summer, there are crowds, particularly during the weekend. The Dominicans in Santo Domingo, who have no beach, frequently come here. In short, the activities are there. The view of "Caucedo," a tourist and exporting port, is not unusual; the most charming area overlooks the village of Andrès. The hotel provides free towels for the beach and the swimming pool as well as deckchairs and straw huts.