La Roma in Domincan Republic
 

Anyone visit LaRoma in Domincan Republic? I found good all-inclusive spa resort packages there, but don't know much about the area. Anyone have any good information? Would Punta Cana be better to visit?

Any feedback is welcomed!

Do you mean "La Romana"? If so, I was there once. It is on the Caribbean side, so the water is usually calmer than Punta Cana. Which resorts are you considering?

Yes, La Romana. Thank you. We are considering the Sunscape Casa Del Mar. It's about a 1.5 hour drive on the west side of the coast, I believe. Have you been to La Romana before? How do you rate this compared to Punta Cana or other popular Dominican Republic spots?

I hear that the Iberostar hacienda dominicus in la Romana is awesome. It has one of the best beaches in the DR. Supposedly the beaches in La Romana are calmer and clearer than the ones in Punta Cana.

I've only been to LaRomana in the DR, so I can't offer comparisons to other parts of the DR. You may want to check out the TripAdvisor Domincan Republic forum. There seem to be a lot of posters there who have been to the DR alot, and I have seen questions about LaRomana versus other areas discussed there and have seen specific discussion about the hotel you mentioned.

I don't know if it is an option from your departure city, but if you can get a flight into the LaRomana airport, that will be an easier and shorter ground trip than flying into Punta Cana or Santo Domingo.

I've heard mostly positive things about the Sunscape Casa del Mar and also the Iberostar in LaRomana/Bayahibe. I stayed at the Coral Canoa in Dec 2002. It was fine for what I paid, but if I went back, I probably would consider other hotels because the rooms at the Coral Canoa were not that nice.

In some ways, La Romana is nicer than Punta Cana. There is that beach, which is spectacular. The Sunscape resort gets high marks, as does Iberostar. I'd also strongly second the poster's recommendation to fly into La Romana airport instead of Punta Cana. The drive is very long and the return to the airport will require you to leave at least 4 hours before your flight on your departure day. Not something I'd look forward to at the end of a relaxing vacation.

I just returned from the Iberostar in LaRomana and it was AMAZING. The rooms and grounds are spotless and gorgeous, food was very good, the beach and water....incredible! Sometimes in calm like glass and other days wavey but fun to body surf (haha) The water is much nicer than Punta Cana, but the beach is smaller as far as walker but we far prefer LaRomana. In fact we loved it so much we just booked Sunscape Casa Del Mar (found an amazing deal on Cheap Caribbean) for November. We are planning on going back to Iberostar in April. Please e-mail me if you have specific [email protected]. I'll glady answer. Kathy

Well, now your taking about something that I'm an expert on.. La Romana..We have been to resorts all over the world, stayed i Santo Domingo three times, Punta Cana, three times and La Romana at Sunscape Casa del Mar six times...It my home awayfrom home..the water is warm, blue and calm..Yes, I would definetely, positively make an effort to fly directly intoLa Romana as the resort is only 15 minutes give or take from the airport.. If you would like my review (and reviews are read on the internet by all the managers) I will be glad to send it to you and answer all your queestions.. BTW Sunscape is an American owned resort.. I know it's not fair to compare an Iberostar to a Sunscape,but my experience was so negative at an Iberostar in Mexico that they wuld have to pay me to go to one.. Yet, SCDM .. it's not glitzy, nor is it huge, nor do you have to wear bracelets...nor do you have tosign up for "speciality restaurants".. I could go on and on about my SCDM and the people who genuinely are friendly..go out of their way to be helpful from the grounds keeper to the Manager, Daniel Hernendez who walks the resort every day talking to guests and employees.. Guess I have gone on long enough.. [email protected] and I'll send you my last review

If you're only planning on taking advantage of what's available at the resorts (and they're all fabulous), then Punta Cana is fine. However, if you want to get out and do some sightseeing, La Romana is better: there's Altos de Chavon, a roman style ampitheatre that holds great concerts - everyone from A to Z has performed there at one time or another; Higuey is a really pretty colonial town about 40 mins away, and it houses La Basilica de Higuey which is about 500 (maybe more - can't remember) years old. La Romana also has ancient caves with real Taino indian markings & other archeological wonders, such as a geological natural park; and if you like to dance, the clubs are plentiful. If you want a specific suggestion as to where to stay, I'd go for the Coral Canoa, which is all inclusive.