We had a fairly good size earthquake in the DR this morning. While I didn’t feel it in Fantino. It was felt from Via Gonzalas north to Puerto Plata.

Magnitude 4.3
Date-Time 22 Nov 2013 23:24:47 UTC
Location 19.719N 70.816W
Depth 13 km
Distances
• 4 km (2 mi) SSE of Imbert, Dominican Republic
• 15 km (9 mi) WSW of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
• 18 km (11 mi) NNE of Villa Bisono, Dominican Republic
• 19 km (11 mi) N of Villa Gonzalez, Dominican Republic
• 160 km (99 mi) NNW of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

While you are visiting the lifestyles Tropical and Colfresi Palm Resort you are likely to want to check out some of the varies bars and for some the Nightlife. Most of the bars are open during the day so you can pick up a frozen drink, soft drinks, and at a few even snacks during the day while swimming in the pools or ocean.

Most of the bars use a cheaper local alcohol for their drinks. If you head down to the VIP area on the Tropical side of the resort you will be able to get higher quality drinks than you can in the other locations. You can also order snacks, burgers, salads and other items at the two VIP bars. If you purchased your resort reservations through “CheepTickets.com” then you likely got the VIP reservations which will get you into some of the better locations (although not all, some are reserved for the Gold Members”

Swim up Bars

One of the things that is pretty cool at the Lifestyles resorts are the swim up bars. Many of these have barstools, tables and other places to sit right up next to the counter area. The Colfresi Palm resort has several of these along with lounges that are sitting in a foot or so of water which make lounging a bit cooler. The Aqua pool bar is one of the more interesting locations; there is a (more…)

(10/14/13) Since we moved here several years ago we started finding some of the best locations and best deals for resorts in the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, we don’t get the opportunity to take advantage of all of them! This does though seem to be one of the more frequent requests of readers of this blog for me to start listing deals that I find. This works out well both to see what deals are currently running (that I know about) as well as patterns of when the resorts offer the best deals. So as I get notice of the resort vacation deals, I’m going to try to start listing them. In particular for one of our favorite all-inclusive resorts in Puerto Plata, the lifestyle resorts.

One of the reasons we like this resort so much, in addition to the great price, is that during the better priced deals there are usually quite a few of our friends there. We also meet people from all over the world including Bethal in New York and other branches.

The latest deal just came out today as a “One Day Only deal” of $29 per night per person. This deal is for both the Lifestyles Tropical and the Lifestyles Colfresi Resorts. Usually you need (more…)

Food is usually one of the highlights when you are vacationing and there are plenty of options to choose from when you head over to the Lifestyles Resort. While there are still a few of them that my family and I haven’t tried this should help you to get started. There are two main buffets a couple smaller ones and at least 8 other locations that serve A-la-cart Items. You can go to the buffets at any time that they are open without reservations but you need to get reservations for the A-la-cart (regular, sit down, order and they bring the food to you) restaurants.

Other Lifestyle resorts Articles

• Lifestyles Cofresi Palms Resort vs Lifestyles Tropical Resort
• Puerto Plata Lifestyles Bars and Clubs
• Cofresi Resort Puerto Plata
• $29 resort deals Puerto Plata

All of the restaurants and bars are available to both guests of the Colfresi Palm and the Tropical resorts. With few exceptions all food and drink are included with the price of the room. Tips are not required but it doesn’t hurt to be friendly with the staff and leave a dollar or two for tips once in a while.

Lifestyles buffet restaurants

Both the Lifestyles Tropical Resort and the Lifestyles Colfresi Palm resort have large buffets. The Casablanca is located in the center of the Tropical resort and the Pearl is located in the center of the Colfresi Palm resort. This is where you will likely get most of your meals. In addition to the mail buffets the Tropical resort has a burger and snack place that is open from 11pm to 5pm and the Colfresi Palm has a Dominican food buffet down near the beach and lower pool. (more…)

Likely Jazz isn’t one of the first things that come to mind when you think of the Caribbean and the Dominican Republic. However for that last 17 years the Dominican Ministry of Tourism has held an annual Jazz Festival on the island.

The event will be held over 4 consecutive days from October 31, 2013 through November 3, 2013 in three separate locations along the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. The venue will be moved each day from one location to the next.

Oct 31, 2013	Dominican Jazz Festival, Puerto Plata	Independence Park, Puerta Plato, Dominican Republic	Puerto Plata
Nov 1, 2013	Dominican Jazz Festival, Sosua	Hotel Casa Marina Amphitheater, Sosua, Dominican Republic	Sosua
Nov 2, 2013	Dominican Jazz Festival, Cabarete	Cabarete Beach Town Center, Cabarete, Dominican Republic	Cabarete

2013 Dominican Jazz Festival

All three of these locations have a heavy tourist influence with a large number of foreign residents. If you are planning to visit the DR this would probably be an interesting time to plan your visit giving you a good reason to take a break from the beach and get to know a few of the locals!

So, you’re checking out the latest deals for lifestyle Resorts on Cheapcaribbean.com and you are torn between booking at Lifestyles Cofresi Palms Resort or Lifestyles Tropical Resort in Puerto Plata? This is a tough choice if you haven’t been there before, but likely you will enjoy either one. Here is a few tips on which one to chose for your dream vacation to the Dominican Republic.

Both are great all inclusive resorts, sitting right next to each other with access to the same section of beach and the same restaurants, so does it make a difference which motel you book at? Yes, each resort has its own feel, while you can cross from one to the other freely there are advantages to booking your vacation in one resort or the other.

VIP Beach Access

One advantage to the Lifestyle Tropical Resort is it is closer to the VIP beach. You can get to the beach in 5 minutes or less from any of the rooms, you have about a 10-15 minute walk from the Cofresi rooms. The VIP beach has several advantages over the other beaches. To take advantage of some of these advantages you will need to be one of the first people on the beach, the gate opens at 8:00am and the line usually starts at around (more…)

Cofresi Palm Beach & Spa Resort is one of the newest resorts added to the Lifestyle Resorts all inclusive resorts. Lifestyle Cofresi in Puerto Plata has been newly remodeled and was just reopened last year. Over this last weekend (April 4-8, 2013) my family stayed at our usual all inclusive in Puerto Plata the Lifestyle Tropical Puerto Plata which sits directly next door to the Cofresi Palm. Due to the fact that our VIP band allowed us access to both resorts we spent most of our vacation on the Cofresi resort checking things out.

Best All Inclusive Deals

Without a doubt the best deals you are going to get on either the Cofresi Palm Resort or the Tropical Resort owned by Lifestyles is at cheapcaribbean.com. All deals that you purchase there automatically come as VIP, which is well worth the effort. If you subscribe to their newsletter you can frequently get deals like $25 per person per night and we have seen it go as low as $10 per person per night. Other deals come with airfare also.

Cofresi Resort Restaurants

Getting into the different restaurants offered by Lifestyle Resorts is a bit of a pain. If your stay is for 4 nights you will automatically get reservations in one of the restaurants, usually whichever one is the least booked. If you want to eat somewhere else you have to stand in line for about an hour or so to see if you can get something open. The services area only takes reservations at a particular time of the day (more…)

When you’re sitting in the Caribbean sipping your Rum and Coke or Pina Colada you really don’t expect to be thinking about how a snow storm is going to affect your vacation. That is until you remember your return flight or flight taking to the Dominican Republic takes you through New York. As of noon today (Friday the 8th of Feb) over 3000 flights were canceled around the New York and Boston areas (over 1000 in New York Alone) with more than 60 airports already affected. And at this point the storm has just begun. This affects all flights going to New York from Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, La Romana, Santiago, and Puerto Plata.

The main snowfall from winter storm Nemo is expected to come in the late afternoon to early evening and things are expected to taper off by noon Saturday.
JFK Friday Morning

My wife and I were sitting in the airport in New York this morning hoping our flight was going to make it out before the winter storm Nemo hit. As we watched the snow starting to fall many of our fellow passengers were starting to get anxious. By 7am in the morning airport employees were starting to mention the possibilities of delays and cancellations of flight within the next new hours.
Something else you don’t often see at the airports in the Dominican Republic (more…)

If your looking to visit the Dominican Republic during this next year now is a good time to book at some of the all-inclusive resorts in Puerto Plato. There are two resorts offering deals right now both of the resort are going for $24 per night per person. For an all inclusive this is an excellent price. All-inclusive means that all food, drinks (including alcohol), tips, and the room is included at one price. This is one of the easiest ways to visit the Dominican Republic and helps to make sure that you can stay with in a budget without sacrificing what you want in a vacation.

Cofresi Palm Beach & Spa Resort

I haven’t stayed at the Confresi yet. This is a newly opened resort that has 180 ocean side rooms. There are different rooms available some with kitchenettes, a hot tub in the room, and other extra features. All rooms include a King or double beds, air conditioning, mini bars (stocking is included with the all-inclusive price), hair dryers, TV’s and YES, HOT Water. Pretty funny that that has to be listed, but you will find many of the smaller hotels don’t have hot water although that is pretty rare fore the larger resorts.

The normal price for this resort is $99 per person per night. (more…)

UK to Dominican Republic Travel Tips

The Dominican Republic is one of the most important Caribbean islands and one of the preferred holiday destinations for many UK holidaymakers. According to the Dominican authorities, more than 200,000 British tourists visit this Caribbean nation each year, and it is not difficult to understand why.

Although relatively small in size, this island offers a variety of attractions that go beyond its beaches and nightlife. The Dominican Republic is home to no less than 14 national parks and to numerous historical towns and villages that will delight the visitor with their rich heritage. The island’s capital, Santo Domingo, is a designated UNESCO site thanks to its well preserved examples of colonial architecture. There are 26 golf courses located in some of the island’s most stunning locations, and as a result, the Dominican Republic is a premier destination for golf enthusiasts from all over the world.

And of course, there is the beach life. The coastal towns of Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, and La Romana are home to miles of beaches of breathtaking beauty, which are often the backdrop for weddings, honeymoons, and other special occasions. The popular resorts of the coast also make for a great base from which it is possible to explore other destinations, like the coffee growing mountains of the interior and other less well-known fishing villages on the island’s eastern coast.

However, being 9 hours away from the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic still remains a long haul destination, and as such, booking a holiday to this Caribbean island can be an expense that turns out heavy on the pocket. If you are planning the holiday of a lifetime in the Dominican Republic and want to know how to go about finding the best deals to the island, this article will tell you everything there is to know about it.

Tips for finding the best deals from the UK to the Dominican Republic

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