camaro1257
01-09-2014, 04:14 PM
Gentleman, I just returned from a 7 day excursion to Dominican Republic. I did 4 days in La Romana and 3 days in Bavaro-Punta Cana. I will complete 2 separate synopsizes on both destinations. The synopsizes cut to the meat for those who do not want to read the entire trip report. In addition the synopsizes are intended to be templates for those who are interested in these areas. Below I have listed my notes on the La Romana area for your review:
Location
La Romana:
La Romana is a small city with just over 100,000 people. It reminded me of Vera Cruz Mexico with its appearance and geographic lay out. There are no sky scrapers and most of the buildings look like they are over 20 years old. It wasn't dirty nor was it clean it felt very rustic and urban third world. There were very few signs of opulence like Mercedes and Range Rovers just a lot of Japanese economy cars, old cars and motos everywhere. Count Sosua's motos and multiply times 1000. There were quite few parks where you could see la gente tranquilo.
Casa de Campo
Casa de Campo is La Romana's major cruise ship port and mini village, I imagine it is something like what is being proposed outside of Sosua. In any event after seeing the port and all the tourist associated with it suddenly, it clicked why these tarifas were so high, apparently the Italians, French and Canadians that visit La Romana have fueled the market forcing the price of toto up. I am only speculating but it's possible the same will happen to our beloved Sosua, only time will tell.
Lodging
Hotel Olimpo
Hotel Olimpo is located in the center of La Romana and about a 10 minute taxi ride from the airport. I got a basic room for 1600DOP ($37.00) but I should have got the suite which is much nicer for 2500DOP (58.00). The room was clean but very old. The WIFI and cabel were intermittent.
Hotel El Rosal
Hotel El Rosal is a cabana right up the street from Hotel Olimpo. It is no Dulce Secreto Sosua by any stretch of the imagination. The room was small with a small bathroom, queen sized bed and TV. The room was clean and sufficient for the mission at hand. The room was 150DOP for 2 hours and you were given 2 condoms and 2 towels and led to your room.
La Comida
Jumbo
Jumbo is the La Sirena of La Romana. It put me in the mind of a Wal Mart with more diversity from groceries, clothing, banks to ATM's and cell phone stores and of course Western Union. It is north of the hotel about a 5 minute moto ride. It is a great place to meet and greet there is a small food court and a balcony with seats that overlooks the store where you can eat and talk if you like.
Desayunar
Breakfast was free at Hotel Olimpo, it consisted of fried egg, platanos maduro, ham and toast. This was definitely no Rockies breakfast but what can I expect for $37.00 a night? The cafeteria was a small room with steel chairs and tables that reflected the overall economy of the hotel.
Almuerzo
I ate lunch at Pico Pollo which was a 5 minute walk from Hotel Olimpo. Pico Pollo is Dominican fast food. It reminded me of Church's Chicken with almost everything being fried. I am trying to cut back on fried food so I found some steak and peppers along with fish in a tomato sauce with onions and potatoes and a side dish of potatoes all for 250DOP. All was good especially the fish dish which had a mild tomato sauce with a smooth semi sweet flavor.
Cena
I ate dinner at Marinelly. Marinelly is about a 5 minute taxi ride from Hotel Olimpo. This spot is fantastic, it is an open air bar and resturant with a straw roof where you can sit and watch the foot traffic and feel the cool breeze in the evening. I ate the Pollo Monfongo which was chicken with mashed platanos. It was okay but I prefer plataonos maduro which are sweet as opposed to the salty platanos they use in Monfongo. My plate was 350DOP.
I could hear the dinners sitting next to me speaking Italian and others speaking French. My understanding is there are multinational French and Italian companies in La Romana.
Cambio
Jumbo had a Western Union with the exchange rate of 42.65DOP-1US but you had to have your passport no copies.
Caribbe Express, is a large change house and it was jammed packed I could barely get inside. I got change with no problem exchange rate of 42.65DOP-1US passport was not necessary at this location.
Both locations are about 5 minutes from Hotel Olimpo where as Jumbo is a little over 10 minutes by moto.
Sex Venues
Scores Gentleman's Club (Former Klimax)
I have read horror stories about the hellacious tarifas in Scores - Klimax and guess what gentleman...it's all true!
First let me say the ambiance is outstanding, you walk through the door and there is an open area with a pool and chairs; It reminded me of La Picina in Cali, Colombia. Inside the main building is a cross between a regular night club and sports bar. There is a dance floor with mirrors and tables and chairs that surround the dance floor. There are 3 flat screen TV's over the bar playing "Sports Center." It reminded me of a very classy Classicos. The music was reggaton but not so loud you couldn't hear yourself think. I was the only client and there were 3 chicas. I would give all 3, 8's however they were pre-occupied with their cell phones and there was no meet and greet. The staff was equally boring from the bartender to the hefe who was reluctant to give me the tarifas which were as follows:
ST for 2 hours 6000DOP ($140.00US)
TLN with salida 7000DOP ($160.00US)
Yes, the chicas and the establishment was impressive but there is no way in hell I was going to pay those prices. We can whine all we want about Sosua but Sosua tarifas will spoil the average monger and make him very picky going forward and I definitely fall into that category.
La Romana car washes
La Romana has a different concept in carwashes than I am accustomed to; these car washes serve as a typical hand car wash on the outside but PFP take out bars on the inside. Some of these car washes have separate buildings attached that contain a bar dance floor and sometimes an area to play billards. If you visit La Romana you can give the name to your taxista or moto-concho and they probably know how to get there. These places do not have street addresses like we do in the U.S. Below I have listed the car washes I visited:
Dmomon (La Calle Espaillat &Gregorio)
I did not realize this was a car wash the first time I went because I entered through the side door but in the back is a hand car wash and the side is a building that has a bar and small club. ***There were some stars in this joint.
Chacho Bar & Car Wash (Calle Pedro Ayubers)
When you enter the car wash in the back you walk up a narrow flight of steps to a matchbox club that fits no more than 25 people. There were some chicas maybe 6's singing terrible Karaoke, upon hearing this me voy...
Star Car Wash (Teofilo Hernandez)
When you enter the car wash in the back you walk up a narrow flight of steps to a larger club than the others with several pool tables, tables and chairs along with a bar.
The Rudos (La Calle Reforma)
This car wash was different than the others as the bar and the billiard area were open air under straw roofs in 2 separate locations on the property.
The Gran Manzana (La Calle Pedro Alluvere)
It has the same set up as the others with the chicas tending bar facing the club. The majority of the people in the club were men with a few chicas sprinkled in but I do not know if the chicas who were not behind the bar were working also I would imagine that they are. The chicas ranged from 6-8.
The action starts in the late afternoon until 2 or 3 in the morning. The chicas are freelance and set their own tarifas but my understanding in most of them if you are going to take them out there is a salida. The tarifas are as follows:
Salida 500-700DOP
Chica tarifa 1500-3000DOP for ST
My understanding is the salidas are not negotiable but the chica tarifas are. Chica quality varies from low 6 to high 8. In addition the chicas charge based on their perceived attractiveness.
La Romana PFP clubs
La Romana PFP clubs are like nothing I have ever experienced before. The inside looks like a traditional club with a bar a Classicos so to speak the difference is there are about a dozen chicas dressed to the 9's behind the bar. These chicas serve drinks but are also available for takeout. There are no waitresses as you have to go to the bar to get your drinks.
The salida is 500COP and the tarifa is whatever you negotiate with the chica similar to the car washes. The 2 clubs below are about 10 minutes from Hotel Olimpo by taxi:
Rumba and Tony Super Fria (La Calle Gaston F Deligne)
These are 2 clubs that are across the street from one another with the same set up.
Roberto Super Fria (La Calle Duarte)
Roberto Super Fria was about 5 minutes by moto from Hotel Olimpo. The street is lined with motos in front of the bar. Outside men were playing dominoes and inside was packed. The music was so loud the walls were vibrating to reggaton. Most of the chicas in the club were 5-6. It is set up like the car washes the ladies behind the bar were available.
Salida: 500DOP
Chica tarifa: 1000DOP
Normal Venues
Romana Casino
The Romana Casino is next door to Hotel Olimpo. Although I do not gamble I decided to take a look to see if it was anything like Sosua's hotel. The waitresses, bar tenders and dealers were all between 7-8 really nice eye candy I enjoyed the view but all the gamblers were men and there were no chicas hanging around when I was there.
Marinelly Bar and Lounge(La Calle Duarte)
Marinelly is a resturant bar and lounge that is about 15 minutes by moto from Hotel Olimpo just before you get to Jumbo. From what I saw of the night life in La Romana Marinelly's had the best to offer. I cannot be certain but the vibe that I got when I was there is that it is a normal club, it is possible there was PFP exist there but it was not obvious like the other clubs I have discussed in this report. Marinelly has 2 entrances one from the resturant and the other from outside. It put me in the mind of a Classico's without the dance floor. It has 3 areas that have white leather couches and all I could think of is how great this spot would be for a date. Many of the men were dressed nice with sport coats and jeans the club really had a classy vibe.
Thoughts on La Romana
All of the venues mentioned within this report are within a 15 minute radius of Hotel Olimpo with the exception of Scores Gentleman's Club. This makes Hotel Olimpo and excellent base of operations. The hotel is definitely budget lodging, the internet connection along with the cable were intermittent but the room was always kept clean daily and the staff was attentive and friendly. Of course the hotel was girl friendly and there was a budget cabana (Hotel El Rosal) within walking distance.
There is danger to be had in La Romana. A chica told me that she was robbed of her cell phone recently in her barrio, but from what I have gathered where she lived was not in the vicinity of Hotel Olimpo. The typical precautions are to be had when here like don't be a rude gringo, dress modestly and maintain a low profile. As previously stated at no time did I feel threatened or otherwise unsafe either when I was with someone or when I was solo.
I had notes and a pre-plan itinerary based on those notes but I would later discover through my moto-concho and taxista that La Romana is a far richer venue than has been previously reported. I did go some places by myself exploring the area but most of the time I was either with my moto-concho or taxista. As previously stated these guys are a wealth of information and generally more than eager to help. What I paid them together may have averaged a little more than I would have paid to rent a car. In essence I got transportation, a guide, translator and security for the cost of a rent a car less than $50.00 per day.
La Romana is no Sosua you can walk to most of the venues mentioned but not being familiar with the area I would not recommend it. La Romana is a small city that is far more diverse the Pedro Clisante in Sosua.
The area in the vicinity of Hotel Olimpo is flush with chicas some PFP and some not. La Romana is no Santo Domingo or Santiago with frequent 9's but there are plenty of 7-8's enough to keep your head on a swivel trust me!
If you do not like women of color La Romana is NOT the place for you. I saw very few light complexioned chicas and very few blancas. Most of the skin tones ranged from light canela to dark negra.
In retrospect I could have had more sex while I was there but to be honest I was like a sponge absorbing the cultural and ethnic ambiance of La Romana. This place is nothing short of rich especially for those who enjoy Domincan life and culture. I can honestly say I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in La Romana.
Location
La Romana:
La Romana is a small city with just over 100,000 people. It reminded me of Vera Cruz Mexico with its appearance and geographic lay out. There are no sky scrapers and most of the buildings look like they are over 20 years old. It wasn't dirty nor was it clean it felt very rustic and urban third world. There were very few signs of opulence like Mercedes and Range Rovers just a lot of Japanese economy cars, old cars and motos everywhere. Count Sosua's motos and multiply times 1000. There were quite few parks where you could see la gente tranquilo.
Casa de Campo
Casa de Campo is La Romana's major cruise ship port and mini village, I imagine it is something like what is being proposed outside of Sosua. In any event after seeing the port and all the tourist associated with it suddenly, it clicked why these tarifas were so high, apparently the Italians, French and Canadians that visit La Romana have fueled the market forcing the price of toto up. I am only speculating but it's possible the same will happen to our beloved Sosua, only time will tell.
Lodging
Hotel Olimpo
Hotel Olimpo is located in the center of La Romana and about a 10 minute taxi ride from the airport. I got a basic room for 1600DOP ($37.00) but I should have got the suite which is much nicer for 2500DOP (58.00). The room was clean but very old. The WIFI and cabel were intermittent.
Hotel El Rosal
Hotel El Rosal is a cabana right up the street from Hotel Olimpo. It is no Dulce Secreto Sosua by any stretch of the imagination. The room was small with a small bathroom, queen sized bed and TV. The room was clean and sufficient for the mission at hand. The room was 150DOP for 2 hours and you were given 2 condoms and 2 towels and led to your room.
La Comida
Jumbo
Jumbo is the La Sirena of La Romana. It put me in the mind of a Wal Mart with more diversity from groceries, clothing, banks to ATM's and cell phone stores and of course Western Union. It is north of the hotel about a 5 minute moto ride. It is a great place to meet and greet there is a small food court and a balcony with seats that overlooks the store where you can eat and talk if you like.
Desayunar
Breakfast was free at Hotel Olimpo, it consisted of fried egg, platanos maduro, ham and toast. This was definitely no Rockies breakfast but what can I expect for $37.00 a night? The cafeteria was a small room with steel chairs and tables that reflected the overall economy of the hotel.
Almuerzo
I ate lunch at Pico Pollo which was a 5 minute walk from Hotel Olimpo. Pico Pollo is Dominican fast food. It reminded me of Church's Chicken with almost everything being fried. I am trying to cut back on fried food so I found some steak and peppers along with fish in a tomato sauce with onions and potatoes and a side dish of potatoes all for 250DOP. All was good especially the fish dish which had a mild tomato sauce with a smooth semi sweet flavor.
Cena
I ate dinner at Marinelly. Marinelly is about a 5 minute taxi ride from Hotel Olimpo. This spot is fantastic, it is an open air bar and resturant with a straw roof where you can sit and watch the foot traffic and feel the cool breeze in the evening. I ate the Pollo Monfongo which was chicken with mashed platanos. It was okay but I prefer plataonos maduro which are sweet as opposed to the salty platanos they use in Monfongo. My plate was 350DOP.
I could hear the dinners sitting next to me speaking Italian and others speaking French. My understanding is there are multinational French and Italian companies in La Romana.
Cambio
Jumbo had a Western Union with the exchange rate of 42.65DOP-1US but you had to have your passport no copies.
Caribbe Express, is a large change house and it was jammed packed I could barely get inside. I got change with no problem exchange rate of 42.65DOP-1US passport was not necessary at this location.
Both locations are about 5 minutes from Hotel Olimpo where as Jumbo is a little over 10 minutes by moto.
Sex Venues
Scores Gentleman's Club (Former Klimax)
I have read horror stories about the hellacious tarifas in Scores - Klimax and guess what gentleman...it's all true!
First let me say the ambiance is outstanding, you walk through the door and there is an open area with a pool and chairs; It reminded me of La Picina in Cali, Colombia. Inside the main building is a cross between a regular night club and sports bar. There is a dance floor with mirrors and tables and chairs that surround the dance floor. There are 3 flat screen TV's over the bar playing "Sports Center." It reminded me of a very classy Classicos. The music was reggaton but not so loud you couldn't hear yourself think. I was the only client and there were 3 chicas. I would give all 3, 8's however they were pre-occupied with their cell phones and there was no meet and greet. The staff was equally boring from the bartender to the hefe who was reluctant to give me the tarifas which were as follows:
ST for 2 hours 6000DOP ($140.00US)
TLN with salida 7000DOP ($160.00US)
Yes, the chicas and the establishment was impressive but there is no way in hell I was going to pay those prices. We can whine all we want about Sosua but Sosua tarifas will spoil the average monger and make him very picky going forward and I definitely fall into that category.
La Romana car washes
La Romana has a different concept in carwashes than I am accustomed to; these car washes serve as a typical hand car wash on the outside but PFP take out bars on the inside. Some of these car washes have separate buildings attached that contain a bar dance floor and sometimes an area to play billards. If you visit La Romana you can give the name to your taxista or moto-concho and they probably know how to get there. These places do not have street addresses like we do in the U.S. Below I have listed the car washes I visited:
Dmomon (La Calle Espaillat &Gregorio)
I did not realize this was a car wash the first time I went because I entered through the side door but in the back is a hand car wash and the side is a building that has a bar and small club. ***There were some stars in this joint.
Chacho Bar & Car Wash (Calle Pedro Ayubers)
When you enter the car wash in the back you walk up a narrow flight of steps to a matchbox club that fits no more than 25 people. There were some chicas maybe 6's singing terrible Karaoke, upon hearing this me voy...
Star Car Wash (Teofilo Hernandez)
When you enter the car wash in the back you walk up a narrow flight of steps to a larger club than the others with several pool tables, tables and chairs along with a bar.
The Rudos (La Calle Reforma)
This car wash was different than the others as the bar and the billiard area were open air under straw roofs in 2 separate locations on the property.
The Gran Manzana (La Calle Pedro Alluvere)
It has the same set up as the others with the chicas tending bar facing the club. The majority of the people in the club were men with a few chicas sprinkled in but I do not know if the chicas who were not behind the bar were working also I would imagine that they are. The chicas ranged from 6-8.
The action starts in the late afternoon until 2 or 3 in the morning. The chicas are freelance and set their own tarifas but my understanding in most of them if you are going to take them out there is a salida. The tarifas are as follows:
Salida 500-700DOP
Chica tarifa 1500-3000DOP for ST
My understanding is the salidas are not negotiable but the chica tarifas are. Chica quality varies from low 6 to high 8. In addition the chicas charge based on their perceived attractiveness.
La Romana PFP clubs
La Romana PFP clubs are like nothing I have ever experienced before. The inside looks like a traditional club with a bar a Classicos so to speak the difference is there are about a dozen chicas dressed to the 9's behind the bar. These chicas serve drinks but are also available for takeout. There are no waitresses as you have to go to the bar to get your drinks.
The salida is 500COP and the tarifa is whatever you negotiate with the chica similar to the car washes. The 2 clubs below are about 10 minutes from Hotel Olimpo by taxi:
Rumba and Tony Super Fria (La Calle Gaston F Deligne)
These are 2 clubs that are across the street from one another with the same set up.
Roberto Super Fria (La Calle Duarte)
Roberto Super Fria was about 5 minutes by moto from Hotel Olimpo. The street is lined with motos in front of the bar. Outside men were playing dominoes and inside was packed. The music was so loud the walls were vibrating to reggaton. Most of the chicas in the club were 5-6. It is set up like the car washes the ladies behind the bar were available.
Salida: 500DOP
Chica tarifa: 1000DOP
Normal Venues
Romana Casino
The Romana Casino is next door to Hotel Olimpo. Although I do not gamble I decided to take a look to see if it was anything like Sosua's hotel. The waitresses, bar tenders and dealers were all between 7-8 really nice eye candy I enjoyed the view but all the gamblers were men and there were no chicas hanging around when I was there.
Marinelly Bar and Lounge(La Calle Duarte)
Marinelly is a resturant bar and lounge that is about 15 minutes by moto from Hotel Olimpo just before you get to Jumbo. From what I saw of the night life in La Romana Marinelly's had the best to offer. I cannot be certain but the vibe that I got when I was there is that it is a normal club, it is possible there was PFP exist there but it was not obvious like the other clubs I have discussed in this report. Marinelly has 2 entrances one from the resturant and the other from outside. It put me in the mind of a Classico's without the dance floor. It has 3 areas that have white leather couches and all I could think of is how great this spot would be for a date. Many of the men were dressed nice with sport coats and jeans the club really had a classy vibe.
Thoughts on La Romana
All of the venues mentioned within this report are within a 15 minute radius of Hotel Olimpo with the exception of Scores Gentleman's Club. This makes Hotel Olimpo and excellent base of operations. The hotel is definitely budget lodging, the internet connection along with the cable were intermittent but the room was always kept clean daily and the staff was attentive and friendly. Of course the hotel was girl friendly and there was a budget cabana (Hotel El Rosal) within walking distance.
There is danger to be had in La Romana. A chica told me that she was robbed of her cell phone recently in her barrio, but from what I have gathered where she lived was not in the vicinity of Hotel Olimpo. The typical precautions are to be had when here like don't be a rude gringo, dress modestly and maintain a low profile. As previously stated at no time did I feel threatened or otherwise unsafe either when I was with someone or when I was solo.
I had notes and a pre-plan itinerary based on those notes but I would later discover through my moto-concho and taxista that La Romana is a far richer venue than has been previously reported. I did go some places by myself exploring the area but most of the time I was either with my moto-concho or taxista. As previously stated these guys are a wealth of information and generally more than eager to help. What I paid them together may have averaged a little more than I would have paid to rent a car. In essence I got transportation, a guide, translator and security for the cost of a rent a car less than $50.00 per day.
La Romana is no Sosua you can walk to most of the venues mentioned but not being familiar with the area I would not recommend it. La Romana is a small city that is far more diverse the Pedro Clisante in Sosua.
The area in the vicinity of Hotel Olimpo is flush with chicas some PFP and some not. La Romana is no Santo Domingo or Santiago with frequent 9's but there are plenty of 7-8's enough to keep your head on a swivel trust me!
If you do not like women of color La Romana is NOT the place for you. I saw very few light complexioned chicas and very few blancas. Most of the skin tones ranged from light canela to dark negra.
In retrospect I could have had more sex while I was there but to be honest I was like a sponge absorbing the cultural and ethnic ambiance of La Romana. This place is nothing short of rich especially for those who enjoy Domincan life and culture. I can honestly say I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in La Romana.