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A group of us with will be vacationing together for a week in Jan. Last year for my husband’s birthday we rented a 4 bedroom villa in Cabo (Pedregal) and while we all had a super great wonderful week the downside was you can’t swim on that side of the beach and we were not walking distance to town, restaurants and nightlife. We are 10 adults, singles and couples, no kids, all on the east coast (Phila & NY). Our priorities are beautiful weather and beaches, great place to stay, very close proximity to a town that has restaurants (a few foodies in the crowd – so really great food is a plus) and nightlife, some really enjoy gambling so casinos would be a plus. Cost – approx. $2,000 per person for lodging/food/entertainment.
I’ve been all over the map (mostly Caribbean, Mexico and South America) trying to find the perfect spot that would meet everyone’s needs. Recently, I’ve searched Aruba and DR. DR, Punta Cana and Puerto Plata seem good but most places are all inclusive and we had been to Sandals, Antigua for a friends destination wedding and didn’t like that trapped feeling and poor service (we also arrived at Sandal's after spending 5 days in St. Barths so our standards were in a different place 
and I’m also concerned that in DR there isn’t a fun town within walking distance…..please let me know if I'm wrong.
We would like to stick to the eastern side so flights are not too long.
Any idea and suggestions would be much appreciated! Many thanks! amy
40th birthday destination celebration dilemma – help!
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Aruba would fit better than the DR. Look at hotels on Palm Beach like the Hyatt, Radisson and the Westin. Resturants, shopping and entertainment are literally across the street. Plenty of cute beach bars in front of the hotels with live music. Addtional retuarants and downtown Aruba is just an easy, cheap, convenient bus ride away. The Holiday Inn down the street has a little casino on property. The Crystal Casino is in downtown Aruba.
Doesn't sound like the DR would be right for you. There is not a lot of urban style night life outside the resorts, and even resort entertainment can be quite ... er, disappointing. They try hard though! And in our experiences, the food would not excite foodies, if they're like us at least. There is lots of it at almost all hours of the day/night. We go there for the beaches and snorkeling/diving, for that the DR is 100%.
Thank you both! I was thinking DR would not be the best for our crew and your feedback helps a great deal! Amy
Aruba would be the place for you. In Jan. you're far enough south to have good weather. There are so many restaurants, you'll have a choice of any type of food you want.
The Marriott, Hyatt, and Radisson are gorgeous properties with beautiful Casinos if you can afford them. The Holiday Inn is a step down in price, but on one of the best parts of the beach (after all they were there first).
IMO, I'd stick to that part of Palm beach(from the Raddisson to the Marriott). As you get closer to town it's a bit windier on the beach. A lot of people like Eagle Beach, but it's a little to wide open, windy, big waves for me.
Bahamas too cold in Jan.----DR, definitely all inclusive, great but stay in your resort.
St. Martin is nice, but very busy. Just not one of our favorites.
St. Bart's is one of our favorites, but it is pricy. Also like Anguilla, but more like St. Bart's, no casinos and quieter. TCI is fabulous, but again too cold in Jan.
Another good choice would be Barbados. It has everything except casinos.