This had to be the worse room I have ever stayed in... Had an oceanview room on the beach side overlooking the pool. However, the air conditioner did not work well and the room was infested with Roaches and Ants.

I enjoyed the city of Sosua, but this resort is for Seniors or a person that wants to rest with no action at night. Also, this is no place for African Americans... I was treated horribly from the tourist from England. "I guess they think slavery still exist".

I will visit Sosua again, but I will never stay at the Casa Marina Beach and Reef!!!

When i read some of the reviews about this place i was a little worried but went with an open mind. How surprised i was! Couldn't fault the place at all! Lovely little beach which the resort is built on and the most amazing clear warm ocean.

ROOMS - Our room was great, two queen size beds, bathroom, wardrobe, drawers, tv with cable (lots of good channels), air con and balcony...what more do you need? We had a sea and pool view with most rooms actually have so that was great when we were chilling out there with a 'sex on the beach'.

FOOD - You have 3 a la carte vouchers per week to go to either the mexican, italian or seafood restaurant. We didn't do the seafood as my partner hates fish and i am veggie! But the other two were great! Not much choice for veggies but what they did have was very good quality. The buffet on the other hand was amazing for vegetarians...veg, fruit, lots of potatoes, pasta, rice, sauces, cakes, bread...just so much. Different theme of buffet every night too.

BEACH - Beautiful little beach with free sunbeds, just 3 dollars for a parasol. Snack bar right next to the beach serving hotdogs, burgers, fries, salad, pasta and breads from 12 til 4 pm. Sea was so clear and warm with lots of little fish...great for snorkelling!

EXCURSIONS - We booked ours through the tour operator but there is a place opposite the beach side called 'Mels Tours' which i heard was good. We went horseriding which was fantastic. I should add that the horses were kept on a huge ranch with people that obviously loved them alot...don't forget to take your bananas for them, sausages for the dogs and donuts for the owners!! Soana adventure was a unique experience involving lots of boat rides, a plane ride and a paradise island! You will love the excursions.

STAFF - Most of the staff were amazing. The entertainment crew were fantastic, always encouraging you to play fun games on the beach and just putting you in a great mood! Bar staff make you good, strong cocktails, not watered down or weak. Check in was perfect with a cocktail (non alcoholic) on arrival and quickly to your room to chill. Tip the porter because he doesn't even get paid! I tipped my maid with pesos and chocolate everyday and my room was kept immaculate.

Go and have a great, relaxing time!!

Just arrived home from a 2week stay at Casa Marina Beach(12th -26th May 2008 ) -pleased to be back home !

Accomodation -
Stayed in block 7 - ,2 x double beds- Basic but clean sheets and towels lacked basic all inclusive usualls such as fridge,mini bar ,hair dryer ,air conditioning that only worked when patio door open ,lack of power for straighteners and chargers experienced many power cuts .
Bathroom dated and in need of refurbishment- rusted baths and poor fitting vents (that showed bare walls behind) hot water was a luxury item.

Food -
Main buffet restaurant served poor quality food ,often not hot enough,bread dry limited fruit choice of either pineapple or banana never saw an ice cream in the restaurant which you would expect with lots of children about.

Al a Carte restaurants (mexican.italian and sea food ) were alot nicer with better service and attention to detail - we were lucky as we had 2 rooms so were able to dine in these areas more often .

Comfort-
There was no where to sit in comfort at all day or night only white plastic patio chairs to sit on by the outside bars - it would have been nice to have relaxed on a comfortable sofa in a lounge or reception area but the reception was very small and only had 2 sofas and a glass table in.


Entertainment-
These lads and lassess did work tirelessly to keep us amused throughout the day ,they were friendly and did try to get people involved .
The shows that were put on in the amphitheatre were mostly dance related - the "Hollywood " night was fantastic with the best ever Michael Jackson routine i have ever seen -"well done "

Stomach upset- For some reason 3 out of the 4 of us in our party had stomach pains and loose bowels we used more imodium than we should have but it did not clear up - i am having to go to the doctors as i am home and still ill so i have to produce a sample for testing hopefully it is nothing too bad - food/drink obviously did not agree with us never ever have suffered before.

Ricky the photographer - What an ace guy had photos taken by him 2 sessions one lasting 2 hours all round the grounds,sea jacuzzi s then beach shots at sunset ending up buying loads but well worth the money.


I feel that the star rating of this should be no more than a 2 star -they need to look at what other hotels of the same star rating provide.

Loved the resort but would not return to this particular complex (casa marina beach and casa marina reef) all the same place.

We arrived to the resort at about noon on May 17. Surprisingly enough we were able to check in to our rooms already! That was awesome considering we weren't supposed to till 3pm.

First off there are two resorts in one here. The reef resort and the beach resort. They all share the same amenities so the only real difference is the lobby that you are checked in through and the buildings that you stay in. We were in the beach side.

The Rooms
If you have problems walking or taking stairs then you need to request for a first floor room as there are no elevators. We were on the 4th floor so we got our exercise! The rooms aren't fancy but then how much time do you spend in them really? There was two double beds (mafe it tough sharing one bed with my hubby but we managed!), a desk, TV, lamp and of course A/C.The bathroom was in need of some repair but everything worked so that was all that we really needed. It was lovely having a balcony with which to sit and read, or stare out at the resort/ocean. The only thing to note is that your key card for the door also operates your power (and A/C), so when you aren't in the room the A/C isn't running so it's gets quite hot. A minor inconvenience but its saves on power and that's fine. Other thing to note is the power outages (through out the whole resort)...happens a few times a day but only for a minute or less.

The Grounds
Excellent is all I can say. There are two beaches (reef side and beach side). They beach side has the busier beach - that's where they have all the activities. The reef side is a quieter beach but lovely nonetheless.
The reef side also has 3 cold water saunas. They are awesome! The water isn't heated but the sun heats them enough - great for just sitting and having a drink! There are also hammocks located in a treed area for relaxing.
Each resort has a large pool. Plus the beach side has a second smaller pool. On the weekends it's hard to find a lounger, but during the week we had no problem.
There are quite a few bars and you don't need to wait very long for drinks. The only downfall is that the free bars close at 11 (after the show) and then you must pay for your drinks. We never had a problem though as we started early enough (and brought our own mugs which held about 3 of their cups).
There is a gift shop (where you can also buy booze if you want to mix your own after the free bar closes), an internet cafe (there is also one about 2 minutes walk to the right when leaving the Reef lobby that is cheaper), and a beauty salon.

The food
We found the buffet to be fairly good. Hubby loved the breakfast of fresh omlettes. I can't eat eggs so I have no comment. There was fruit, yogurt, french toast, pancakes, sausage (no bacon), breads, juice, etc. so enough to fill you! My only issue was that that food, although tasty, didn't agree with me that well. By the end of the trip it was getting better though so it was probably just a case of getting used to the differnet cooking techniques. They have amazing chocolate cake though! We found the best buffet to be the one on the Reef side...they refilled the food faster and it seemed a bit fancier. If you want 5 star food then this is NOT the place to go to. The ala cartes were OK. The Italian was the best in our eyes, but we could only compare it to the seafood as we missed our Mexican one (drinking too much at the Saunas!!).

The entertainment
During the day there is always something going on at the reef pool or the beach side beach. So if you are into games then that's where you will want to go. There is also nightly shows (from about 9:30 - 11:00) and they were great as well. They work hard to make sure you are entertained. The staff in general were great. Always willing to make sure you were happy.
My only problem was that there was nothing to do after supper and before the show. The pools are closed, it's dark by 7:00 so the beach is also closed. We would always eat supper when the buffets opened as we were hungry, but that left us with a couple of hours with really nothing to do. There was a baseball diamond outside the Reef side lobby so we would watch the locals play after supper, lots of other people went for walks, or just sat around and drank. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays local vendored came in and set up tables to sell their products. I found them somewhat pushy, but nothing that we couldn't handle.
As for the disco we never went so I can't comment.

Outside the resort
We only went on one organized tour and that was the Puerto Plata City tour (1/2 day). We enjoyed it! The Rum factory, although a quick tour, was great and we got 4 bottles of their best rum for $32 US. Can't beat that. We also saw the Fortress, the Amber Museum, went to a jewellry store (where I bought a great larimar ring). They really push larimar as Dominican is the only place in the world where it is found apparently. Lovely light blue stone with white running through it. We also went to the Flea market in Puerto Plata - it was alright, but it you have been to one flea market you have been to them all. My only disappointment was that I thought we got to go up the cable car and we didn't so I must have booked the wrong tour.

Besides that we did our own wondering in Sosua. We found this great little bar called Checkpoint. It's run by two Canadian's (Albertans) and they really make you feel welcome! And since we are from the same area we found lots of things to talk about. They also make a great burger and mojitos!!

I never had any problem walking outside the resort. Obviously you need to use more caution at night but that's the same everywhere. If you don't want to buy anything then just say no to the vendors and keep walking. EVERYONE will try and get you in their store but they aren't really pushy. Another thing - we used mostly DR pesos when buying things (most of them carry calculators and the exchange ranged from 30 - 32 pesos per US $ depending on the vendor). If you are going to use US then make sure to ask for US change or they will give you pesos. If they say they don't have US, then go to a different vendor as most of them do (or so we found). Most of the vendors are selling the same things anyway. When negogiatiing with them, make sure to take their price and divide by 3 or 1/2 and then barter.

I think that's about it. Overall I had a great time! The weather was awesome (about 33 plus humidity - about 42ish)...hot, but there are lots of shady areas so cool off! I would go back again, but I think we will try a different resort next time just for something different.