We stayed four nights in the hotel in February booking directly by phone from Santo Domingo two days before. The rate was about £55 a night with breakfast - good value.

Our stay was enjoyable, the staff were pleasant without exception, the beach was excellent with plenty of good quality sunbeds and shade, free internet, very clean, there were activities but no pressure, pleasant small pool. Breakfast was good, although a little cramped at times. Guests seemed to be mainly German and Scandinavian on package tour while we were there. There is no car park, but there was no problem parking on the street. Our room had a spacious balcony overlooking the pool with a partial view of the sea. The room was quiet and spacious with good room service.

Excellent position in the centre of the bay with many bars and restaurants within walking distance, accessable both from the beach and the main road.

The only adverse comments are some design issues with the room - storage space was poor, despite the room being a good size, the plastic shower tray must have been the cheapest ever, two decent sized double beds but only one small bedside light (Aghh!!), no soap or shampoo.

Both the bar and the restaurant were cash only.

None of this spoilt our stay, and I would recommend this hotel for the independent traveller.

Villa Taina Hotel can be summarized simply: good (not great but certainly not bad) quality rooms, good food (though no room service, which would be so easy to do given cheap labor costs), and good service, but the pricing is set for "great" vs. good in all of these categories. Also, the breakfast buffet has gotten stingier, with small things like raisons and cinnamon for the oatmeal now gone vs. prior years.

The manager Franz is a good mannered host, and he seems to hire well. However, much of the staff has gone from very friendly years ago to robotic (at best). The guy making omlettes every morning seemed angry, never smiling and somewhat resentful that we had come to him for something to eat. The waiters were somewhat better, though at times the "standing around doing nothing" routine (vs. checking on tables) got old.

The rooms were so/so to good (for DR standards; bad if you are used to international hotels with non-plastic, flimsy toilet seats and cheap fixtures like at the Taina). It really depends on your standards. However, will tell you for sure that the price/room is way above what the average quality/room delivers. Taina has raised prices (in US$ and Euros) mightily over the past five years, where now a $40-50 room from a few years ago goes for $80-90/night. I must note that this is not due to the devaluation of the peso here, as the hotel prices everything in dollars but probably pays the staff in pesos (making a case for their prices being even more excessive given the devaluation of the peso).

For business travelers, one saving grace is the Internet connection. Broadband speeds and on 24/7, including in the room price. This alone made the hotel worth our staying as we were working on/off during our stay. However, the Agualina Kite Resort reportedly has similar pricing, great Internet and amazing new rooms. I'll be staying there the next time just so I get quality facilities for the money. When Franz decides to spend some of his massive profits refurbishing the rooms, especially the "penthouse" rooms (all three should be combined into two penthouses as they are too small for the money), I'll be back.

TFO

I stayed here about 2 years ago.. we had two days of solid rain, so much that our room was completely flooded. The staff were great - they moved us to another room and by the next morning, our original room was completely dried and clean!
The location is ideal - close to the beach and other restaurants. Get a massage! They're good and inexpensive.
If you don't care much about extra amenities but want a clean, decent room close to the beach, then this is a fantastic value.

I stayed 4 nights at Villa Taina in April 2006. The hotel is in an excellent location, one of the best in Cabarete, far from the noise but at the same time close enough from all restaurants and shops. The breakfast was served by the beach in a great location beachfront with plenty of fruits and juice. The staff was friendly and helpful. They have a small nice pool near the bar and the beach.
However, I didn't like the rooms. We tryed 2 rooms and they smell bad, I think beacuse they stay closed too much. Also, the bed was a little small and not that confortable and the air conditioning thermostat had the room too hot and then too cold. Overall it was a good experience and I recommend it for the location and good service.