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Travel notes on Punta Cana The Dominican Republic does not hide this fact : the policy is deliberate and is in fact working quite well. The all inclusive strategy (bar included) has been quite successful and has allowed for the takeover of a large part of the French Antilles clientele. In any case, this strategy allows the proposal of very competitive prices. If you still want to go to Punta Cana, avoid the Barcelo group of hotels.
Natura Park The lodges are in a kind of park (a lot of vegetation) with a lot feathered animals (ducks, herons…) sometimes a bit loud during the night!! As is the case in much (all?) of Punta Cana, the hotel is rather big (some 500 rooms) but it is nevertheless one of the best addresses of Punta Cana. For more info on Natura Park : Samana As for myself, I organized the trip on my own (otherwise fully book at the time I wanted to travel): This region is still very wild with immense beaches lined with coconut trees, deserted except on weekends when Dominicans go pick-nicking. There are still few tourists and these are for the most part French. It is truly the ideal region for those looking for beautiful, wild and deserted beaches. This region is protected by the fact that there is no major airport close by and no highways connecting Santo Domingo... but projects do exist !! As one would expect, there are few hotels; these are small (20/30 bedrooms) but very comfortable; they are not “all inclusive”: which means you’re free to discover the different restaurants of the area! Baya Las Ballenas
Run by French people, the welcome is average, environment and lodging very pleasant, average restaurant. For all information:
Hôtel Atlantis The cuisine is very good and the setting is simply enchanting.
Last important point:
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I travelled to Punta Cana for the first time in 2001: the airport
is close by, the beaches are absolutely magnificent (coconut trees, white sand) but most of these hotels cater to “mass tourism” (average capacity 500 rooms): all of them are somewhat “tourist factories” albeit of good standard in terms of comfort. 
I stayed at the Natura Park, certainly one of the best hotels of the area. Beautiful bedrooms in separate small lodges; great beach, 4 restaurants of which 3 offering specialties, rather small and nice; the architecture is all in wood and rather pleasant. 
In May of 2003, I returned to the Dominican Republic but this time on the peninsula of Samana I had read several articles vaunting this magnificent and still protected region. Thus, I went to Las Terrenas for a week stay. “Marsan”, at least in France, is one of the few tour operators covering this region of the Dominican Republic (
Transfer airport/hotel by taxi organized through the hotel (4 hours by comfortable car for 120 USD) an opportunity to see some country! (possibility of transfer on small planes but constraints concerning time: flights can only be scheduled by day).
I stayed at the hotel Baya las Ballenas. It is situated
along the Playa Bonita, close to Las Terrenas (4 km). It is comprised of 32 bungalows, big and comfortable (king size beds, open-air bath room, large terrace). The best ones are on the edge of the sea, where one is rocked by the sound of the sea… a pleasure !
Next door and also on Playa Bonita is the Hotel Atlantis.
For more info :