We spent February at the Fishing Lodge and had a great experience. First, the property looked exactly like the pictures on the website. Our fourth floor condo marina was beautiful and well-appointed with travertine tiles, a full kitchen and a washer and dryer, a plus when staying a month. The king size bed was extremely comfortable. From our balcony we had a view of the marina and could watch as the boats and yachts came in and out. It is a short walk to Threel pools or the beach. The Alsol beach is not the best, but we could get to either API beach or Juanillo Beach with a short drive and they were beautiful and large. The owner Ricardo, from whom we rented the unit, was extremely receptive to our needs. We emailed him about a couple of issues and they were resolved quickly. A new remote was delivered when the old one got quirky and a light over the stove replaced promptly… not big deals but he was on them immediately.
Renting a car is highly recommended since there are many interesting places to explore within a 15 to 20 minute drive. With some searching, we found one @ Europecar rental for $20 per day with tax. The collision insurance was covered with a benefit of our Visa card. (You must bring a letter of confirmation from the card company) This saved $10 per day. Punta Cana has few private cars on the roads and there is little risk of accidents. PC has only two traffic lights so I opted out of liability insurance.
We opted against the all-inclusive option and did a pay as you go. By leaving our credit card at the desk we could charge meals in any of the resort’s restaurants and local sister hotels.. We especially enjoyed the seafood at the resort beach. We did a lot of cooking in our condo, which we enjoyed doing. The local super market, National, is well stocked with great food, meats, spices, liquor and wine. One might consider bringing any specialty luxury type foods because most likely you will not find it in Punta Cana.
Most things end about 10-10:30 in all of Punta Cana so if you want to relax, this is the place. There are though several clubs that open @ 11p and Ricardo can point you in that direction.
We liked the all the restaurants in the Punta Cana Village (outside of the resort next to the grocery store. Outstanding and very affordable Chinese, Mexican, Spanish, Italian and a great pizza take out. Credit cards are accepted universally.
We would recommend this vacation condo and location to all our friends.
