Casa de Campo Trip Report
Nov 3rd, 2005, 12:09 PM
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Casa de Campo Trip Report
Hi there. Wanted to tap out a very quick trip report on the resort hopefully to warn anyone considering vacationing there. I was there on business but try to look at places with an eye towards whether I would want to return with a family.
This place is a disaster. An absolute dump. I've been there three times in the past five years. The first two times I found it merely annoying, but this last time was just unbearable.
Let's dispense with the good news first. The airport is lovely and super convenient to the resort (although not as convenient as when the runway was on the golf course). The golf course is still fabulous. But there are lots of fabulous golf courses now in fabulous places. You don't need to endure the sub-par lodging, poorly prepared food and pathetic service to enjoy good golf. Those days are over.
Immigration on the way in was as slow and inefficient as ever. You stand in four lines to: (i) get your entry card; (ii) pay your entry fee (cash only); (iii) hand your entry card to an immigration official who then hands it to a second official (where you must stand in another line) (iv) who stamps it and gives it back to you.
Exiting the airport was a breeze and the ride to the resort just fine.
Check-in was a disaster. No surprise. Been that way for years now. Rooms not ready. Very, very long lines. Line composed of two types of people. People trying to check in and people who had already checked in but had returned to the lobby to complain about the condition of their rooms (alas always a bad sign). My room was ready at check-in time + one hour; but I didn't really care at the time (expected it).
Went to grill for lunch. Plesaant open-air structure. View of the golf course not terribly inspiring. Food was buffet style and not very appealing. Hot food was warm, cold food was warm, flies were thick. Service very, very slow.
Back to check-in. Obtained keys including key to the golf cart that comes with the room. Note to anyone who winds up here--unless you are mobility impaired, ditch the cart. Because everyone is whizzing around on a cart you sub-consciously believe you need a cart. But you don't. Walking in the Carribean is plesant. Hot and humid to be sure but pleasant.
Room. Spacious first floor space but with very tired decor. View of the golf course was not that appealing but it was better than the parking lot.
Air conditioning did not work. Could not adjust the air temperature up or down; could not adjust the very loud fan either. Thermostat setting was fine but fan was too loud and I was unable to lower the fan. Choice was either running the AC Fan or not running it. The four settings were therefore actually two--on or off.
Beds were fine. Shower was basic but fine. Water from the shower always started out brown but no problem. Tile floors cracked and old. Large gaps between doors to outside mini-porch and bathroom. Did not bother me but should have because this became the preferred overland route for the red ants that overwhelmed my bathroom at night.
TV worked. Phone did not. Two phones. Neither worked. Pick up the phone and don't even get a dial tone. Annoying. Presence of 24-hour security guard outside of each of the villa sections suggests that being able to dial 911 might be necessary.
Walked back to check-in to suggest that phones needed fixing. Very large and angry line, mostly composed of people upset with the quality, location etc of their rooms. Did not overhear any complaints about the phones.
Requested that phones be fixed. Check-in staff assured that they would be. Never were. Check-in staff are generally: pleasant, very slow, terribly inefficient and seemed completely overwhelmed by their jobs and what seem to be constant complaints from the resort's clients. Seem like decent people but are terribly frazzled. Need a vacation (somewhere else).
Went to bar with colleagues. We were the only ones in the bar. Incredibly loud music. Asked if they could turn down the music (four times). They said they could and would. Four times. Volume stayed constant. The fifth time that we asked, we were told that the DJ had left the house with the keys to the soundroom so volume could not be lowered. Though comical, this is a fairly typical experience at the resort. Requests are always granted verbally but then nothing is done. It appears that the resort does not train its staff at all and the result is self-help on the part of the resort employees that leads to a less than satisfactory customer experience. Drinks were fine; liquid trembled with the thumping bass. Wait staff were generally not very friendly (even before we started complaining about the music). Waitress asked us to pay the tab before we were done because her shift was over. Asked for chips/peanuts/cocktail mix/chocalate covered red ants/anything three times before they were brought to the table.
Dinner. Restaurant at the marina. Italian restaurant. Excellent food. Excellent service--very friendly; quite refreshing. Tuna carpacio was superb. Lobster Thai style was very good although slightly dry.
Upon returning to the resort after dinner around 12:30 am I discovered the red ant invasion. Tried to call the front desk to ask for reinforcements but remembered that I had no dial tone. Considered asking security guard to dispatch them with his .38 but thought better of it. Wiped down the counter with water, moved my toiletry bag to a high shelf in the closet and went to bed in long pants and a long sleeve shirt. Vivid dreams of Woody Allen.
Flight at 2:00 pm gave me the morning free. Beautiful morning. Excellent 5 km path around the resort that is marked each km for walking and jogging. Path wends its way thru the resort grounds and golf course. Went for a very pleasant run. By 4 km I almost forgot the misery of the previous day. Walked to beach after run. Beach looked absolutely awful. Much worse than I had remembered it. Water turgid, beach eroded, brown sand, trash on beach. Swedes hanging out at beach bar looked much better than the beach itself.
Returned to lobby area to use the pool. Pool was pleasant, sun was nice. Swim up pool bar was fine. Pool structures dated, tile cracking, small pools by the standards of today's Caribbean resorts. Standard finite pool edge. Towels clean, pool deck clean, Swedes clean.
Check-out was a repeat of check-in disaster. Pain on the way in, pain on the way out. Final bill should come with band-aids and neosporin. Long-line. Overwhelmed staff. Bill completely screwed up. Restaurant charges for meals not eaten. Best of all a phone bill of nearly $80.00 for local calls. Would have been rip roaringly funny had I not had to waste 20 minutes explaining to them why these charges could not possibly have been mine. By minute 15 the conversation had devolved into the philosophical challenges of having to prove a negative:
"These could not have been my charges because my phone did not work..."
"But these are phone calls from your phone number..."
"I couldn't have made those calls...I had no phone"
"But your bill shows that you did..."
Ad naseum.
By minute 20 was warmed up enough to take on the question about the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin.
Phone charges are "pending review." Errant restaurant charges removed.
Car ordered to take me to the airport showed up on time, had functioning air conditioning and no red ants.
Check-in at the airport was lovely. American Airlines check-in staff pleasant and actually playful.
Boarded plane. Never have been so happy to settle into the narrow, cramped seats of the ATR-72.
Beautiful view of the coastline upon take-off.
That's it. Sorry that I can't provide a more positive report.
This place is a disaster. An absolute dump. I've been there three times in the past five years. The first two times I found it merely annoying, but this last time was just unbearable.
Let's dispense with the good news first. The airport is lovely and super convenient to the resort (although not as convenient as when the runway was on the golf course). The golf course is still fabulous. But there are lots of fabulous golf courses now in fabulous places. You don't need to endure the sub-par lodging, poorly prepared food and pathetic service to enjoy good golf. Those days are over.
Immigration on the way in was as slow and inefficient as ever. You stand in four lines to: (i) get your entry card; (ii) pay your entry fee (cash only); (iii) hand your entry card to an immigration official who then hands it to a second official (where you must stand in another line) (iv) who stamps it and gives it back to you.
Exiting the airport was a breeze and the ride to the resort just fine.
Check-in was a disaster. No surprise. Been that way for years now. Rooms not ready. Very, very long lines. Line composed of two types of people. People trying to check in and people who had already checked in but had returned to the lobby to complain about the condition of their rooms (alas always a bad sign). My room was ready at check-in time + one hour; but I didn't really care at the time (expected it).
Went to grill for lunch. Plesaant open-air structure. View of the golf course not terribly inspiring. Food was buffet style and not very appealing. Hot food was warm, cold food was warm, flies were thick. Service very, very slow.
Back to check-in. Obtained keys including key to the golf cart that comes with the room. Note to anyone who winds up here--unless you are mobility impaired, ditch the cart. Because everyone is whizzing around on a cart you sub-consciously believe you need a cart. But you don't. Walking in the Carribean is plesant. Hot and humid to be sure but pleasant.
Room. Spacious first floor space but with very tired decor. View of the golf course was not that appealing but it was better than the parking lot.
Air conditioning did not work. Could not adjust the air temperature up or down; could not adjust the very loud fan either. Thermostat setting was fine but fan was too loud and I was unable to lower the fan. Choice was either running the AC Fan or not running it. The four settings were therefore actually two--on or off.
Beds were fine. Shower was basic but fine. Water from the shower always started out brown but no problem. Tile floors cracked and old. Large gaps between doors to outside mini-porch and bathroom. Did not bother me but should have because this became the preferred overland route for the red ants that overwhelmed my bathroom at night.
TV worked. Phone did not. Two phones. Neither worked. Pick up the phone and don't even get a dial tone. Annoying. Presence of 24-hour security guard outside of each of the villa sections suggests that being able to dial 911 might be necessary.
Walked back to check-in to suggest that phones needed fixing. Very large and angry line, mostly composed of people upset with the quality, location etc of their rooms. Did not overhear any complaints about the phones.
Requested that phones be fixed. Check-in staff assured that they would be. Never were. Check-in staff are generally: pleasant, very slow, terribly inefficient and seemed completely overwhelmed by their jobs and what seem to be constant complaints from the resort's clients. Seem like decent people but are terribly frazzled. Need a vacation (somewhere else).
Went to bar with colleagues. We were the only ones in the bar. Incredibly loud music. Asked if they could turn down the music (four times). They said they could and would. Four times. Volume stayed constant. The fifth time that we asked, we were told that the DJ had left the house with the keys to the soundroom so volume could not be lowered. Though comical, this is a fairly typical experience at the resort. Requests are always granted verbally but then nothing is done. It appears that the resort does not train its staff at all and the result is self-help on the part of the resort employees that leads to a less than satisfactory customer experience. Drinks were fine; liquid trembled with the thumping bass. Wait staff were generally not very friendly (even before we started complaining about the music). Waitress asked us to pay the tab before we were done because her shift was over. Asked for chips/peanuts/cocktail mix/chocalate covered red ants/anything three times before they were brought to the table.
Dinner. Restaurant at the marina. Italian restaurant. Excellent food. Excellent service--very friendly; quite refreshing. Tuna carpacio was superb. Lobster Thai style was very good although slightly dry.
Upon returning to the resort after dinner around 12:30 am I discovered the red ant invasion. Tried to call the front desk to ask for reinforcements but remembered that I had no dial tone. Considered asking security guard to dispatch them with his .38 but thought better of it. Wiped down the counter with water, moved my toiletry bag to a high shelf in the closet and went to bed in long pants and a long sleeve shirt. Vivid dreams of Woody Allen.
Flight at 2:00 pm gave me the morning free. Beautiful morning. Excellent 5 km path around the resort that is marked each km for walking and jogging. Path wends its way thru the resort grounds and golf course. Went for a very pleasant run. By 4 km I almost forgot the misery of the previous day. Walked to beach after run. Beach looked absolutely awful. Much worse than I had remembered it. Water turgid, beach eroded, brown sand, trash on beach. Swedes hanging out at beach bar looked much better than the beach itself.
Returned to lobby area to use the pool. Pool was pleasant, sun was nice. Swim up pool bar was fine. Pool structures dated, tile cracking, small pools by the standards of today's Caribbean resorts. Standard finite pool edge. Towels clean, pool deck clean, Swedes clean.
Check-out was a repeat of check-in disaster. Pain on the way in, pain on the way out. Final bill should come with band-aids and neosporin. Long-line. Overwhelmed staff. Bill completely screwed up. Restaurant charges for meals not eaten. Best of all a phone bill of nearly $80.00 for local calls. Would have been rip roaringly funny had I not had to waste 20 minutes explaining to them why these charges could not possibly have been mine. By minute 15 the conversation had devolved into the philosophical challenges of having to prove a negative:
"These could not have been my charges because my phone did not work..."
"But these are phone calls from your phone number..."
"I couldn't have made those calls...I had no phone"
"But your bill shows that you did..."
Ad naseum.
By minute 20 was warmed up enough to take on the question about the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin.
Phone charges are "pending review." Errant restaurant charges removed.
Car ordered to take me to the airport showed up on time, had functioning air conditioning and no red ants.
Check-in at the airport was lovely. American Airlines check-in staff pleasant and actually playful.
Boarded plane. Never have been so happy to settle into the narrow, cramped seats of the ATR-72.
Beautiful view of the coastline upon take-off.
That's it. Sorry that I can't provide a more positive report.
Nov 3rd, 2005, 01:00 PM
#2
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This AND the fact that the resort is owned by the infamous sugar barons , the Fanjul Brothers of Florida ...... Not far from this resort are acres and acres and acres of sugar-cane , where poor Haitan workers are basically slaves and human rights violations abound . I would not darken the door .
Nov 3rd, 2005, 08:22 PM
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Fathie: I've gathered from your 30+ previous posts with the same message that you don't care for the resort. I would gladly stay there if the place deserved it--"enslaved" Haitians or not. Actually don't you think that the source of their problem is Haiti, not the owners of this resort?
Nov 4th, 2005, 08:26 AM
#4
Wow this place sounds like the pits! I am assuming that this is located in the Dominican Republic near the Haiti border?
I always heard this was a very nice resort.
Too bad. I am sorry you had such a terrrible trip.
I always heard this was a very nice resort.
Too bad. I am sorry you had such a terrrible trip.
Nov 4th, 2005, 09:04 AM
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I have "30+ posts" about this resort ?????? I think you are greatly mistaken . I posted once before with regards to this , in response to another poster mentioning the same thing . If you can find these 30+ posts , please share them , do NOT make things up . Why you would take offence is beyond me , you called it a disaster and an absolute dump , and unbearable ?
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