Sosua Hotels

[Boriman]

Hello,

I will be doing an extended stay in Sosua this summer. I think I may just stay at a couple different hotels while I am there, instead of renting an apartment (unless I can find a safe / secure, clean, quiet and conveniently located place for under $1400 for 2 months). I have a couple questions that I am hoping some of you might be able to answer. First, how far is Voramar from the bars and clubs? The owner quoted me a nice price for my stay and it looks like a nice, chill, hotel. Casa Valaria is also on my list of places to stay. Are they guest friendly? Anybody have experience with the Hotel el Rancho. I would like a more laidback place for my stay. Any other recommendations are welcome.

Thanks for your help.

From what I recall Casa Valeria is chica friendly but they expect you to escort the chica in and out of the place. They do not like chicas by the pool, or hanging around the balcony. They will only accept chicas with cedulas. They have a small restaurant, and the food is delicious. El Rancho is a small hotel but I never stayed there. I think this hotel has a Central or South American working there (but I could be wrong). One time, while staying at the Europa, I was disappointed with the quality of service by Diego. I then took a walk to check out all the hotels in Sosua. I went to El Rancho and talked with one of the workers. I remember some of the rooms being small but they were well priced.

[Beats]

Hello,

I will be doing an extended stay in Sosua this summer. I think I may just stay at a couple different hotels while I am there, instead of renting an apartment (unless I can find a safe / secure, clean, quiet and conveniently located place for under $1400 for 2 months). I have a couple questions that I am hoping some of you might be able to answer. First, how far is Voramar from the bars and clubs? The owner quoted me a nice price for my stay and it looks like a nice, chill, hotel. Casa Valaria is also on my list of places to stay. Are they guest friendly? Anybody have experience with the Hotel el Rancho. I would like a more laidback place for my stay. Any other recommendations are welcome.

Thanks for your help.

[Boriman]

People will keep stealing until they go to jail. But as long as a manager or the owner does nothing then why stop. The average salary in the DR is around $200 a month and the average salary in Cuba is $23 a month. The only thing I suggest for people to do is to tell them that you are going to post reports over the computer about your negative experiences on the site and a site called Trip Advisor.

I assume whenever I go into a hotel that the workers have access to the safe. What I do is use a lock with a thin cable to lock the closet door where the safe is. Second, I have a Pacsafe pouch that I put my documents and money in, anchor it to the inside of the safe, and have the zippers locked. They would now have to cut the cable lock, and slash the Pacsafe pouch to steal anything.

Whenever you use a safe with a digital key pad there is usually a hard key that can open it (there has to be, otherwise once the battery runs out noone will have access to the safe since the keypad no longer works!).

Second, even if you change the combination number on it there is a master code that can open it (many times it is the default one set by the factory.) So many safes to install that many hotels do not change the default, master, combination number. I should know about these type of safes since I have one at home.

If the hotel safe uses a keylock I guarantee you someone else has that key. The most secure method I have seen a hotel use was, what they call, a removable core. At Mercure you pay for the key and cylinder, and then install it in the bracket for the safe in your room. The security is based on the fact that the cylinder is always changing in the rooms since it is pulled out a box of cylinders. Also, the key is very difficult to duplicate. I still use the same precautions even with this method. In all due respect, I secure things in the hotel room not just for the company I keep but also against the workers there.

Heck, the Pacsafe pouch I wear around my waist when I travel through the airport I have locked so when it goes through security I do not want the workers there to open my pouch without me present. This almost happened to me once. A worker was desperately trying to open my pouch, which went through the xray machine, but I was still going through the metal detector. She could not figure out how to open it until I went through the detector and caught her. By that time I opened the pouch but did not let her touch my wallet, but only showed her the contents.

[Mongerman69]

They will remove the sink or plumbing and put it back if they really want it.

Oh, and I'm sure the average domincan hotel worker has a cutting torch, tools to cut off the water, ; since there was no shut off in the room, a ratchet / wrench set or bolt cutters, along with the know.how to get it done in the 5 hours I'm gone from the room.

[PussyHunter007]

They will remove the sink or plumbing and put it back if they really want it.

[PussyHunter007]

Wow, based on this latest report, plus what Buscemi & PussyHunter007 have posted after my OP, it looks like what happened to me at Cayena last month wasn't an isolated incident! What's really sad is that W HAS TO really know that someone on his staff is a fuckin thief, but he chooses to call his guests liars (in person & online) & lose business! I hope this latest victim share his story online too.

Like someone said on this thread recently, unfortunately it looks like W has spent too much time in the DR & has adopted some of their worst business practices! Apparently he takes his rep for granted & feels that if a guest has a problem, it doesn't matter because other other mongers will still stay at his hotel anyway.

Before I learned about the other thefts, I sincerely hoped that posting about my experience online would force W to make some tough choices to clean up the situation at Cayena. Now hearing that several weeks later guys are still gettin robbed there, I hope that place gets fuckin mothballed! Obviously the thief over there doesn't give a shit about the bad press that the hotel's gettin.

At this point, no one should feel sorry for W anymore.

People will keep stealing until they go to jail. But as long as a manager or the owner does nothing then why stop. The average salary in the DR is around $200 a month and the average salary in Cuba is $23 a month. The only thing I suggest for people to do is to tell them that you are going to post reports over the computer about your negative experiences on the site and a site called Trip Advisor about what happened. Negative reports will hurt there

Business over the long wrong. It appears over the past year and it even happened to myself that people like to argue in this forum and degrade people. We are all allowed to voice our opinion and everyone does not have to agree but we are all here for advice and to help each other out. I was at a hotel in Sosua and lets just say out of all things a few pair of cocks were missing. We are guests in a third world country. Whatever you bring there, even a laptop, expect it to disappear and there is nothing you can do about it. I call the Dominican Republic the Bizarro World. Remember the opposite of Superman. In the Dr, you can drink and drive and run red lights. Women chase the men for money or whatever. Things are cheaper there and men are in control of the women most of the time. Police are crooked and steal from us. You are guilty there until proven innocent. So nothing should be a shocker. Even when I stayed at a 200 dollar a night hotel in Punta Cana a women complained her gold watch was gone from the safe. Just write a report or a few so it comes up under the hotels name when people run a google search and I am sure things will change for the better.

[Mongerman69]

The place turned into a full blown looter fest, another guy got 300 dollars stolen recently out of his safe. Wilfred again claimed the guy was a liar and the guy popped the cover on the emergency key cover which Wilfred says don't exist. How the fuck you get the safe open without a key is the batteries go dead or the cover falls off?

OR buy a pacsafe? Bought one on hillbillys' recommendation before my most recent trip, and with it, added piece of mind. I bought the 12L version, big enough to fit a full size laptop, and anchored it around the pedistal sink and plumbing in the washroom. Probably take 10 dominicans, an 8 hour shift, to figure that one.

[Big Dogie]

Has any one stayed there and is it girl friendiy and how far is it from all the action.

You saved me the ask, this seems the only spot the airlines do a package to Sosua with.

Cheers,

Be the

[Charles Pooter]

Has any one stayed there and is it girl friendiy and how far is it from all the action.

Not girl friendly. 10 minutes slow walk to the main bars. 15 to the beach.

Stay somewhere else!

[Texas C]

Has any one stayed there and is it girl friendiy and how far is it from all the action.

[Rey Kong6]

Wow, based on this latest report, plus what Buscemi & PussyHunter007 have posted after my OP, it looks like what happened to me at Cayena last month wasn't an isolated incident! What's really sad is that W HAS TO really know that someone on his staff is a fuckin thief, but he chooses to call his guests liars (in person & online) & lose business! I hope this latest victim share his story online too.

Like someone said on this thread recently, unfortunately it looks like W has spent too much time in the DR & has adopted some of their worst business practices! Apparently he takes his rep for granted & feels that if a guest has a problem, it doesn't matter because other other mongers will still stay at his hotel anyway.

Before I learned about the other thefts, I sincerely hoped that posting about my experience online would force W to make some tough choices to clean up the situation at Cayena. Now hearing that several weeks later guys are still gettin robbed there, I hope that place gets fuckin mothballed! Obviously the thief over there doesn't give a shit about the bad press that the hotel's gettin.

At this point, no one should feel sorry for W anymore.

The place turned into a full blown looter fest, another guy got 300 dollars stolen recently out of his safe. Wilfred again claimed the guy was a liar and the guy popped the cover on the emergency key cover which Wilfred says don't exist. How the fuck you get the safe open without a key is the batteries go dead or the cover falls off?

[Hillbilly69]

The (alleged) theft from the original poster may end up working out to everyone else's advantage!

The place turned into a full blown looter fest, another guy got 300 dollars stolen recently out of his safe. Wilfred again claimed the guy was a liar and the guy popped the cover on the emergency key cover which Wilfred says don't exist. How the fuck you get the safe open without a key is the batteries go dead or the cover falls off?

[Combo]

Had a nice long chat over a couple of Presidentes with Wilfried, and a couple other Sosua expats, on Tuesday. I had one of the old safes in my room (#104) , but I wasn't too concerned, even after the big flap on the other board.

One thing Wilfried said is that he's ramping-up hard to replace the old safes with new, larger ones, that can be unlocked only with a tubular high-security key. And Wilfried is NOT going to let anyone else have a copy of that key. If you fuck-up your combination, only Wilfried will be able to override it. (Since he lives on the premises, this won't be much of a problem.)

By the way, I enjoyed my stay at CC, I'll go back when I return to the Su, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

The (alleged) theft from the original poster may end up working out to everyone else's advantage!

[Artisttyp]

all of this is mildly entertaining

staying in a decent hotel is important. you can go cheap but if you are risking your well being or a good nights sleep for a few dollars then it isn't worth it. security will improve greatly in that sense.

i totally disagree that a dominican owned hotel is worse. the people who frequent the gringo only places usually have more money and are bigger targets.

the devices i mentioned are not 100% secure. someone can use a bolt clipper and take all my crap. they are meant to dissuade someone from an easy theft. you need to use psychology as well. if you get singled out for a robo then tough shit "yes" but this is when psychology comes into play. work it so no one pegs you as a mark. figure it out.

you can go on various tactical and law enforcement websites to find more ideas. i like to come up with *my own ideas using some of the toys i have.

look up "pelican case". those are pretty good too.

*nothing is more entertaining than seeing my tongue do a left and right split through a chicas nose after it's been lodged up her pooper.

[Member #4480]

200 dollar Pacsafe backpacks aren't exactly cheap, I have 500 between those and my milockie device and locks, if you don't have any of the products why would you comment on them?

You're missing the point. If they can break into your safe, you don't think that they have a pair of bolt cutters? But hey, whatever gets you through the night.