Be Live Hamaca Garden Reviews

Negatives: The service was not good at all. The buffet dining room was extremely disorganized in terms of assigning help to specific tables. I waited ten to fifteen minutes for a glass of water and other Americans and Canadians felt the same way. After the third day I found one waiter who seemed to be more attentive and he brought me coffee and water within a minute or so. I must confess I did give him a small tip. The fish and vegetables were fresh and cooked well, however there was very little variety to the meals. Several times when I sat down the table was partially set. On Christmas Night the Buffet Restaurant was extremely crowded. They had someone seating the guests. I was there by myself, yet two groups of two people who entered the restaurant after me were seated before me. In Spanish I explained that I was waiting to be seated. Another couple and I were told that a host would take us to our seats. The host sat the other two people and left me standing in the middle of the restaurant. I returned and finally after twenty minutes I was seated. Being a single woman I did not want a room on the first floor and asked to change my room. I was given a room on the third floor. There are lots of steps with no railings. When I arrived in my room. there were no towels, toilet paper, soap etc. I had to wait about forty minutes to get the supplies that I needed. I also payed three dollars a day for a lock for the safe in the room. The initial lock did not work so I had to cross the street to secure a working lock. I did have hot water all the time although periodically the electricity would go off for a few seconds. There are two sides to the hotel. The garden side that houses the Buffet Restaurant and the Theater. The regular hotel faces the beach. On that side there is a Casino and if one walks down several steps, one can find the disco, a bar at the beach, and a snack bar which I think is open 24 hours. With all the steps and two sides to the hotel, this is not a handicapped friendly hotel. I was on the garden side of the hotel facing one of the swimming pools. The pool was very nice and clean with a swim up bar. Chairs were available as opposed to the beach where there were not enough beach chairs to accomodate all the guests. I did find a picnic table.where I was able to put my beach bag. Positives: The entertainment was very good. They entertainers did an excellent job of interacting with the audience. The entertainers who work at the nightly shows and at the beach that has games and activities were exceptionally friendly. The woman who cleaned my room was also as nice as could be and very helpful. Being that the hotel is only fifteen minutes from the airport, one does not kill a whole day traveling. The water on Boca Chica was absolutely beautiful. It was clear and one could walk out a fair distance from the shoreline in order to swim. There is not a lot of shade at the beach. In closing this was the fifth resort I had been to in DR and my least favorit due to the service. With some basic modifcations with the managing of the restaurant and making the hotel more handicapped friendly, this could be a very good resort because of the location and the price. This received the same ratings as the Riu Bachata which was much nicer and much better managed. Where ever one goes in the Dominican Republic, the Dominican people are wonderfully warm, friendly and helpful especially if you can say even a few words in Spanish.

customer servicewas terrible from the time i tried to check in... checkin is at 3 i didnt get in my room until midnight. they stated lackof rooms . at least i got a room otheres were being sent to different hotels. tried to make dinner reservations was unable to until last night. staff was rude at check in and lobby desk.

I live in Philly and am not a 5 star princess nor snob. I read mixed reviews and thought I would go for it but this resort was like no other we visited even in DR. we had to wait over an hour for a room after we were advised we may have to stay @ quality inn until a room @ the resort was available, entire trip the bathroom floor had inch of water even with the towels on floor, room had bugs we advised management and room was fumigated which seemed to cause more bites on us. you have to ask for clean towels dailly and we lost power and hot water several times a day/night. The beach is littered with annoying solicitors and the hotel has more guests than beach chairs so you must get to beach by 8 or lay on sand. This is truly a "you get what you pay for" place so I recommend spending the extra bucks.

I booked this trip as a last minute getaway for a steal...and then I read the reviews on Trip Advisor. They were not so favorable and truthfully worried me quite a bit. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. The resort itself it very visually appealing and our room was rather large. When we tried to use the water, we discovered that neither the sink, toilet or shower was working. So we called the front desk and took off for the swim up bar. An hour later or so we returned and everything was working fine. The service was great at all of the bars, the buffet and Pelicano. At the gourmet restaurant (Rodizio?) it was kind of slow, but the food was excellent. Albeit, the beach was small but that is really the only area that has a beach anywhere close to Santo Domingo (most of the coast line is rock/ small cliffs) so crowding is to be expected. I think that a major reason that this place got so many poor reviews is that people fail to realize it is not Punta Cana or La Semana where all the higher end resorts are situated and the surrounding area is pretty impoverished. If you are looking for a great vacation for a reasonable price and are okay with the fact that the rooms are a little dated you will absolutely love this place. The staff was very friendly, food and drink were good and the experience itself was awesome. You can't beat the value and the scenery is truly gorgeous, we loved it!

I liked This Resort, beautiful, simple and not expensive. Not the best part of Caribbean Sea, since in front of resort it was blocked by stones to protect from waves and this aria not deep at all. You can walk a hundreds meters ahead and sea still cover only your feet. But good for families with little children. Very safety.

I RECENTLY WENT TO HAMACA GARDEN- MOST THE PEOPLE THERE ARE WARM AND PROUD PEOPLE- THE LAUGAGE BARRIER IS A PROBLEM BUT WE GET BY. I WAS HAVING PROBLEMS W/ CASH MOST PLACES WILL NOT TAKE A CREDIT CARD. DID NOT HAVE MY DEBIT CARD WITH ME- MISTAKE. I HAVE TO SAY BOTH LOUIS AND STANLEY-WERE VERY HELPFUL- THEY WORK @ ATV RENTALS AND TOOK ALOT OUT OF THEIR DAY TO TAKE ME AND INTERPRET @ BANK AND WESTERN UNION- WHICH MADE MY STAY MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE. THE STAFF CONSTANTLY CLEANED UP AROUND THE POOL AND GROUNDS, WHEN THE BUGS GOT BAD THEY FOGGED, IF YOU ASKED FOR SOMETHING THEY TRIED THEIR BEST TO ACCOMADATE YOU. RESORT ON GARDEN SIDE IS OLDER AND WE HAD PROBLEMS W/ TOILET- PLUMMER CAME TWICE ,THIRD TIME I ASKED TO BE MOVED AND THEY HAD NO PROBLEM WITH IT ;NEXT TIME I WOULD MOVE AFTER FIRST INCIDENT. BEACH SIDE WAS VERY NICE AND NEWER WAS TOLD IT WAS MORE EXPENSIVE. FOOD CHOICES WERE GOOD- WE'RE NOT SUPER PICKY AND ENJOYED THE BUFFET'S ALOT EXCEPT FOR CHINESE NIGHT. THE MAID SERVICE WAS EXCELLENT- ROOM CLEAN,SMELLED GOOD ETC. WENT ON SANTO DOMINICO TOUR WISH THERE WAS SOME LITERURE IN ENGLISH ABOUT THE PLACES WE WENT TO. STREETS AROUND THE RESORTS COULD BE ROUGH ESP. @ NIGHT.

I've been to this resort 2 times before this trip when it was called La Hamaca, and I have to say that they have change and not for good. The entertaiment was not that good, we had to make reservations for all the restaurants and most of the time they were booked, so we had to eat at the buffet. I got a room upgrade and my AC wasn't working too good but it was not hot in Santo Domingo so the AC wasnt needed much. The staff was friendly, the room cleaned every day, Overall it was good for the price, make sure you tip the bartender so your drinks are not water down.