Rest overseas during a pandemic
The Azur Air flight was direct but long. 12 hours in a cramped cabin was difficult. Last summer we flew to Turkey with the same board, but that flight lasted only 2.5 hours. Here, not everyone could withstand the narrow rows of chairs, the larger men simply slept on the floor at the emergency exits. Fed twice quite edible sets. There was not enough water, it is better to take a couple of bottles with you. Tea, coffee only for extra. fee. But all the difficulties of the flight are automatically forgotten as soon as you arrive at the ocean.
Having taken us to the Vik Arena hotel, the guide was a little surprised by the completely empty reception at 14:00. The driver helped us unload our suitcases, we sat in soft chairs, and none of the hotel staff showed up in the huge hall. The whole situation was a bit like a reality show about the last surviving heroes - there is a paradise picture around, but no one from people. Our guide tried to get through to someone and it was successful - after 5 minutes of such a strange prostration, a porter came to us and loaded our suitcases, indicating to follow him. Waving paved paths among palm trees, flowering bushes and trees, we came to another small reception.
It turned out that this hotel consists of 5 main buildings with 1000 rooms and a separate Cayenna Beach Club. Since the flow of tourists has decreased significantly due to the pandemic, the main buildings are frozen and arriving tourists are accommodated in a 5-star beach club. At the time of our stay at the end of January 2021, the hotel with a capacity of 2000+ people was occupied by about 40-50. We were only happy about this, because we watched video reviews about the infrastructure of this hotel in advance and understood, having settled in Cayenna Beach Club, we would have an ocean view, free Internet not in the lobby, but in the room, a free safe and 10 meters from the room to the beach . Doubly pleasant, given the fact that we paid for a standard room with a garden view.
The pleasures didn't end there. Since the main buildings are mothballed, the buffet restaurant is also closed. Accordingly, we were invited to eat at the a la carte restaurant every day. While we were checking in, lunch time was just over, but the receptionist took care of us and called the restaurant, warning about new arrivals, hungry tourists after a 14-hour journey. At the entrance to the restaurant there is a guard who measures the temperature of everyone and writes it down in the checklists. The temperature should not be higher than 37.0 and not lower than 35.0 (on one of the days, other tourists with a low temperature were not allowed into the restaurant). Next, we sit down at a table, under the glass of which lies a QR code - you scan, you get an online menu. Convenient, safe and environmentally friendly. Compared with the experience of Turkey, where they left the buffet, but put staff on the distribution, which caused wild queues, and of course our people cannot stand in line and at the same time keep their distance, we really liked the a la carte option. Whoever comes first is lucky to take tables by the window overlooking the ocean.
To those who say that in a la carte the choice is less and every day is the same, I will object with reason. Firstly, the menu has 4-6 options for both starters and main courses and 2-3 dessert choices. Namely, different desserts - fruit, ice cream, pie or cake, and not the same biscuit with icing, painted in different colors, laid out on the whole table on 5 trays, as you know where. At lunchtime and at snack time (14:30-18:30) dishes specially for children are offered (pasta, pizza, ravioli, hot dogs, burgers). The soup of the day is different every day, one option for lunch, the other for dinner. In addition, there is a grilled lunch menu, if you are tired of the main chef's dishes (although salmon and squid are damn good! ), You can order your own option - grilled fish with sauteed vegetables, or grilled chicken with rice, or pork with mashed potatoes. It's the same story with eggs for breakfast - there's Croque Madame, Benedict, Florentine style, egg fajitas, or your choice (tell the waiter what you want and the chef will try to replicate). There were no pancakes on the menu, we asked for them and they prepared them for us every day. Secondly, I don’t know about anyone else, but when we arrive at a hotel with a buffet, we usually try for the first couple of days what our eyes fell on, and then we eat the same thing all the days. Here we are conservatives in the choice of food. Therefore, here we are again grateful to the pandemic for the restriction, which in the end turned out to be a plus for us.
The Arena Beach is wide. The hotel has an area with sun loungers, umbrellas and beach beds, with a shower and a pool for hotel guests (all free of charge) and a sandy strip by the water, which is by law a public one. Every morning, the hotel staff carefully cleans it from algae and natural debris, which washed up in waves during the night. In fact, no stranger sits on the sand, mostly people walk along the ocean and rare merchants of tired souvenirs invite to see their goods. There is a hotel security guard near the area with sun loungers and barkers are not allowed to enter this area. So, if you decide to take a nap on the beach, do it on a sun lounger and don't worry - your sleep is securely guarded.
But if I were you, I wouldn't doze off on the beach, but peer into the distance. One day, sunbathing on the beach of the hotel, we saw 2 whales in the ocean, which waved their pectoral fins. They are very visible even at a great distance. The fountain, which the whale releases through the blowhole, can reach 3 meters. Even a child saw it, not to mention the spanking of the tail.
By the way, about the guards - they are all over the hotel, often occupying their post unnoticed. According to our guide, during the lockdown period in the Dominican Republic, crime has increased dramatically, so even tightly closed hotel property also needs to be guarded. These masculine guys in uniform in 30-degree heat turned out to be very friendly, one even treated us to coconuts and showed us how to crack and drink coconut water properly. And it's free too. And the guards of the neighboring five tried to sell us found coconuts for $5. Therefore, be friendly and welcoming to the staff who serve you, and they will reciprocate.
Another nice cleaning innovation is that maids are not allowed to enter your room without permission. Room cleaning must be ordered at the reception, only after that the maid will visit your room.
There is no animation in the hotel now. Therefore, how to entertain a child if your child is hyperactive, think about it yourself. In addition to swimming in the ocean and the pool (without slides), our child learned lessons (took notebooks), practiced English, searched for coconuts under palm trees in an abandoned area, made friends with a hotel parrot and taught him to speak. Ara - parrots are not local, they are not found in the Dominican Republic. They say they are smuggled in from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras. On the beach they are also worn for photos (near the hotel $ 10, on the beach of Bacardi Island $ 5). They are very bright and beautiful, bite and sometimes poop on lovers of photo shoots. They also wear monkeys, they are small and green. Also "come in large numbers".
Every evening the hotel invites musicians, sometimes singers. The best in our race were the saxophonist and double bass player. And in the full moon, under the sound of the surf, live music was incredibly magical.
I really enjoyed my vacation. 14 days seemed not enough. Next time we will fly for a month.
Ah, yes! As for excursions: we went whale watching and Bacardi Island with Two Bananas. The owner and accompanying guide are from the CIS. Do not be fooled by the terrible stories of hotel guides that everything except their excursions is terrible. There are a lot of our compatriot guides on Instagram, choose the one you like and save at least 30-50%.
Whales were seen, the island is not bad, but long and boring. Take your snorkeling masks with you - starfish live near Bacardi Island. You won’t be able to touch it (they lie deep), but you can see it.
