Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 809-583-3121;
www.campingtours.net
; Calle Two 2, Villa Olga)
Offers the cheapest trek to Pico
Duarte. Expect Spanish-speaking guides and groups of 20 to 25 people. Prices per person
are US$220 on foot and US$255/290 with a shared/private mule.
Sleeping
Hotel Colonial
MAP
BUDGET HOTEL
$
GOOGLE MAP
( 809-247-3122;
colonialdeluxe@yahoo.com
; Salvador Cucurullo 113-115; r with fan RD$655, s/d with
air-con RD$1000/1300; )
If price is an object, the Colonial is an acceptable hotel in the
center. But staying beyond a night or two can't be recommended. Hallways reminiscent of
a military barracks lead to no-frills rooms, some lit by single light bulbs; all have small
TVs with cable and some have fridges.
The rooms in the hotel's ambitiously named
Colonial Deluxe
building next door are of a
similar quality and there a few other budget flophouses on the same block.
Camp David
( 809-276-6400;
www.campdavidranch.com
; Carretera Luperón Km 71/2; s/d incl breakfast RD$2500/
3000; )
On a mountain ridge about 30 minutes northeast of Santiago at 923m,
Camp David offers sweeping vistas over the city and valley below. The recently upgraded,
extremely large rooms, now with high-end boutique-style features like marble sinks and
porcelain tile floors, still come with private balconies.
Ask for room 2203 for fantastic city views and room 2205 for comparable mountain
ones. The property was founded by an admirer of Trujillo which explains why the former
dictator's 1956 Cadillac is displayed in the lobby. As it's set several kilometers off the
main road, you'll need a car to get here (or helicopter - it has its own heliport), or take a
taxi (RD$500).
The white-tablecloth
restaurant
is easily the most romantic spot around. Service is
worthy of a resort called Camp David; beef is the specialty here - go for the filete gener-
alissimo, 8oz of Angus beef (mains RD$550 to RD$1300).
HOTEL
$$
Hotel Platino
(
HOTEL
$$
809-724-7576;
www.hotelplatinord.com
; Av Estrella Sadhalá; s/d incl breafkast from RD$1900/ 2400;
)
Set at the back of a small strip mall, a short drive from town, this is an excellent-
