Ama - Ask Me Anything

So how easy is to get to the Dominican Republic?

 

Flight times are about the same as Cancun, but overall flights are a little more expensive, less airline carrier choices and less flight choices per day.

IMHO if the Temptation DR location happens, it is going to have other challenges to overcome compared to the Cancun location.

1. It's located in Miches DR which is about a 1hr 40min drive from the Punta Cana International Airport DR
ie: expect your transfers to be a lot longer and more expensive than the Cancun location

2. It's located in Miches DR which is pretty isolated ie: don't expect to do anything "off campus" compared to Cancun if and when you get there.
- no local bus system
- no nearby local stores for medicine, booze, etc
- no nearby clubs/attractions/excursions

 

And I felt the drive from the airport to the Hard Rock (at the end of the hotel strip in Punta Cana) was a long drive lol

 

YIKES! We thought the beach in Negril Jamaica was a long way from the airport. This would be further! Is there something appealing about the location that made it favorable? A really nice beach or something?

 

I think the beach is really nice (like Punta Cana beaches) and it looks like both Club Med and AMResorts are already building in Miches.

 

Just checked flight to Punta Cana. We can't get there on the same day flight. It would require an overnight in a major east coast hub. Although we can get home in 11 hours with a 2:30 pm departure. That means leaving the resort by 10:00 am, which means packing the night before or getting up early to pack. At TTR we try and get a late checkout so we can still enjoy Bash the final night, sleep in a bit, order room service breakfast, take our time packing, say goodbye to our friends, have lunch, and then leave the resort around 1 pm.

Cancun flight we usually depart our home airport at 6 am and get to Cancun around 1 pm (one stop, same time zone)
Return is 3 pm to 11:30 pm.

So Miches would be more travel for sure, but we would probably try it once for a winter getaway.

 

It remains to be seen if the DR location(beach wise) is any better than Cancun.

IMHO, what makes Temptation and the Desire properties special are the vibe and the people that are there. The Miches DR location has many challenges vs the Cancun location - if it's worth it, that we won't know unless it opens ....

 

I would guess that the beach will be much better than TTR's (worst part of the resort, besides obnoxious bachelor parties, slippery tiles, elevated dance floor) a 3 on a 10 scale. But I see that there is a river dumping into the ocean not far from the proposed DR location. That could muddy the waters (no pun intended).
Cokewithlime is correct, its the vibe and the people. But...a fantastic beach would be awesome!

 

I was wondering the same thing.

 

Regarding beaches, I can't speak for Miches, but my impression of Punta Cana beaches is the physical beach/sand is very nice. However, being that it is on the unprotected northern shore, the waves are rough and not much to see if you try to snorkel. So if your goal is to lie out on the beach and have a pretty view, DR is great.

If you want to actually get in the water, I think Cancun is likely a better spot (haven't been to TTR yet so I can't give location specific assessment). Even down in Riviera Maya at Breathless, while not an amazing area to snorkel, there was more to see and the waves were not beating you up the whole time.