Seventh Anniversary Trip
Airline: US Airways to Punta Cana, 2 hour drive to La Romana (US Airways now flies directly to la Romana)
Location: La Romana (southern coast, west of Punta Cana, east of Santo Domingo)
Hotel: Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus Link to my review
Day Trip: Altos de Chavon
My spouse and I
stayed at the Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus in La Romana/Bayahibe for six nights
in early September 2003. Three Iberostar hotels are located together; however, if
you stay at one of the two standard properties, you are not really welcome to
use the facilities at the highest end property. The pool has mature
landscaping, lovely water gardens, and beautiful fauna, particularly koi and
flamingos. The resort also has a cute shopping street and shopping center area.
The property has a fancy restaurant (called Sibilia) that was great; however, it
offers a set three-course or four-course menu, and if you didn't like what they
were serving, you did not have any other choices. Other restaurants include
Japanese, Mexican, and Steakhouse. The evening entertainment is campy, and the
theatre seems like it was an afterthought rather than being part of the original
resort plan. The resort also has a small casino and spa. We wrote ahead to
request a specific room, and we were granted a corner room that had two
balconies: one facing the pool, and the other facing the ocean. We took a day
trip to Altos de Chavon, and we also stopped by Casa de Campo to see that
resort.
Bar Louie is a chain restaurant with 90+ outlets that began in Chicago in 1990 and focuses on hand-crafted martinis and American food. Previously, we visited the Pittsburgh location at Station Square twice in the mid-1990s. This hip neighborhood restaurant and bar specializes in oversized sandwiches and artfully created jumbo martinis, but also offers an extensive selection of appetizers, pastas, and entrees, plus a wide assortment of interesting beers, microbrews, and wines by the glass or bottle. Warm surroundings with an urban feel includes nightlife photography, signature hand-laid tile artwork, hardwood floors, and exposed brick walls.
