Hotel Marbella — Hotel in La Hispaniola

So happy with the experience! We were with a group that has been staying in small locally hotels similar to this property for the last 20 years. We don't like a large corporate experience and choose to stay in properties that are locally owned. The hotel is very low key. No frills! The prices were very reasonable from drinks at the bar to the food. We were the only non-Dominican's in the hotel so we felt immersed in the local culture. It is a popular place for Dominican middle class people to vacation. If you are looking for something fancy.... this is not the place. Stay in Puerto Plata or Punta Cana at an all inclusive if you want to be that pampered! If you are looking for a lot of tourist shopping, don't stay there. There are no gift shops in the area. If you are looking for a lot of people speaking other than Spanish, don't stay there. If you are looking to unplug and be around a lot of friendly people who work hard to earn your traveling money stay there. We had the same server and same maid the whole 9 days that we stayed there. There is no formal laundry service. However, if we put our dirty laundry on top of the bed, the maid did it for us a a nominal tip. We used Google Translate to help when our Spanish was not good enough to understand. Check-in and check-out went very smooth. We were given a discount for using cash! Be sure to ask or ocean view rooms. The hotel was built in the 1930's so the rooms are different sized. The bathrooms are clean but not fancy. Dominicans typically don't supply wash cloths or hand towels so if you need them bring your own. The rooms were clean and the AC worked great! The balcony of the room was roomy and private. The beds and pillows were very comfortable. There was a nice sized fridge with a small freezer for our day trip cooler packs. The staff did a great job of constantly cleaning the common areas of the hotel. If you don't like your room, just ask to change. The management was very easy to work with. There is a ocean view suite that is not much more. If it is available, it is worth it! The pool was clean and cool temperature. The beach next door to the hotel was a local Dominican favorite. The best beaches are a 5 minute drive away. Those beaches were so secluded that we were the only ones on the beach. There are 2 supermarkets in town just 5 minutes away. We rented a car which is the easiest way to get around. Taxi service is very limited in the area. There are no beach vendors and no one disturbing you at the beach. When you did not have Dominican Pesos, the locals did not try to gauge you on exchange rates and were fair. There are several places to eat nearby within walking distance including a pizza place run by an Italian guy. Great pizza! The CoCo Mar restaurant had good seafood and we even met the guy who snorkeled to catch our lobster earlier in the day. I would definitely...

When you walk into the lobby you are tricked into thinking it's a nice hotel. The lobby is beautifully decorated and maintained. It has beautiful Dominican paintings. The receptionist was very nice. I can't say the same for all of the staff. ||Rooms: Decent but too small for the furniture layout. We stayed in a double. We couldn't open the closet doors, because the bed was in the way. The rest was OK. We didn't have a fridge, although my sister did. She had an identical room. The AC worked fine. And yes there was a switch by the bed so you can turn it on in case of a power failure. ||Bathrooms: Disgusting. I didn't even put my soap on the tub soap holder. Lots of broken parts. The shower head was loose. Poor water pressure and no hot water. You would lose pressure if the toilet was flushed while the sink or tub was running. ||Dining: Only breakfast is good. Large portions and delicious. Dinner was OK. I wouldn't run back to have dinner. The service was hit and miss. We were there two nights. The first girl was rude. It seemed like we were a burden to her. The guy on the second night was accommodating and nice. |The restaurant was outside with a spectacular view of the ocean and El Morro. The restaurant itself was beautiful. ||Pool: Not for adults. Can't even swim in it. It's more for kids. It was perfect for the kids in our group. Ages: 3,...

Pros: Nice ocean view. The room is clean. Common areas are more or less clean.

Cons: Not very safe area and the installations are little or not secured at all. No WiFi in the room. The area is highly noisy at night and the rooms are not insulated, you can hear all the street noises like you just moved your bed to the street. You can also hear all the noises in the hallway. You can't lock your room door easily. Noisy door when opening and closing. The room has air conditioner, but you cannot adjust the temperature and the A/C unit is very dirty. Cracked bathroom sink. Cracked toilet seat. Cracked shower floor. Holes in the wall. Very poor maintenance in the common areas. Low quality restaurant. The staff will clean your room but you have to ask them to do so. You can only use the room phone to call the receptionist, nothing more, not even paying. Small TV. No fridge.

Bottom line: Avoid yourself a really bad night if you can and don't...