Be Live Grand Marien, Puerto Plata, DOR
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| City, State | Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic |
| Airport | MDPP / POP |
| Hotel Name | Be Live Grand Marien |
| Connection Type (in room) | wireless |
| Internet Cost | FREE |
| Business Center | yes |
| Hotel Gym | yes |
| Hotel Elevator | no |
| Microwave Location |  |
| Refrigerator Location | room |
| Hotel Food Discount | 0% |
| Hotel Points | |
| Van Frequency | 0 |
| Drive Time to Hotel | 25 |
| Van Pickup Location | Outside Customs |
| Hotel Address | Costa Dorada Beach Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic |
| Hotel Website | |
| Hotel Phone | 855-223-5483 |
Miscellaneous Hotel Information:This is the third world, literally, so keep that in the back of your mind when you visit. All currency at this resort is US Dollars and the exchange in the lobby was offering 38 pesos to the dollar. Everyone takes dollars so there was no reason to change money. As stated over and over, some of the buildings have the newer upgraded rooms and some do not. Anyway, water pressure very weak on the third floor (building 8). Flight cancelled and I went back to Be Live for another night and was placed on the first floor (building 9) and the shower water pressure was decent. Low-Flow technology employed in shower with a hanging shower wand, so it wasn't going to be great to begin with, but was definitely better on the 1st floor rooms. My room in building 9 had no hot water from the sink, although there was plenty of hot in the shower. First floor rooms have sliding glass doors that open right to the outside walking paths. Both doors open and when I got to my room, the one on the left was unlocked. Some buildings have a concrete railing to prevent people from just walking up to your room, others (building 9) do not. This is a security issue for me. Although the grounds are patrolled 24-hours by private security, I never feel completely comfortable in a room with a slider that opens to the ground floor. There are no elevators in ANY of the buildings. There are plenty of bellman with golf carts to help out. Of course if you arrive with a bus-load of people, there won't be any bellman. Property is quite expansive and if you get building 9 like I did, it's by the beach but furthest from the lobby. Wi-Fi throughout (more on this later). Convoluted process to get the pass-code. After check-in, go across the lobby and see the concierge for a voucher. Then take voucher back across lobby to "internet guy" to get the code. There are multiple hot-spots throughout the property, including the beach. However, each time you jump to a new hot-spot, you must re-enter the code. Also, if you put your computer/ipad/iphone to "sleep," you must re-enter the code when it comes back on. Even if it was just :30 seconds ago. C'mon people, really? Skype and all the other usual apps worked great once online however. Regarding all-inclusive: Buffet was decent. If you've spent any time in the military, think chow-hall. Considering how large the property is and the number of people they have to feed, I think they do a great job, quality-wise, with the food. Keep in mind dinner runs from 1830-2230 each night. If you show up at 2215 expecting all top notch fresh food and a fully stocked buffet, surrounded by eager employees who would rather spend the next hour and half with you versus wrapping up their shift and going home, well, you're just not going to be happy with your experience. I ate lunch around noon and dinner around 1830 every day and had nothing but great food. On property, there are themed "restaurants" if you will (i.e. "The Gourmet" or "The Mexican") that are not part of the all-inclusive that you must reserve ahead of time. I didn't try any of these so cannot comment on quality. The free beer and booze is served in tiny 6-oz dixie-style cups. Some of the professional drinkers had larger plastic travel mugs that the bar tenders seemed to accommodate. Bar service slow. I tipped on a couple of occasions and didn't really notice any difference in service. Snack bar by the beach had nacho chips that were completely stale. Gym (free) adjacent to the security gates at the entrance. I would give it 1 out of 5 stars. The cardio equipment is sorely neglected, although technically "working." I'm a runner and 1 of the 3 treadmills was completely broken. Of the other 2, both belts slipped while jogging. I requested a fix numerous times but it never happened. The LCD control screens are dim and nearly unreadable. None of the equipment is wiped down and there are no spray bottles or towels to clean any of it. Local Dominican's can come work out here too. They like to prop the door open to let all the AC out for some reason. Water chiller always empty even though there is an attendant in the gym on staff whom, apparently, never feels like changing out the 5-gal bottles. Unknown spilled liquid completely ignored on certain parts of the workout mats. Bottom line, a complete dump. Disco in the lobby that is part of the resort is full of old fat pink tourists. Casino in parking lot, while not part of the resort, has a disco that's better. Things don't start hopping in the casino disco until about midnight - it's the Dominican way. Wine bar across from the casino/disco that offers an alternative to any of the resort bars as well (not included). Pool and resort seemed to have alot of Europeans (think middle-aged men wearing fashion-forward bifocals in a speedo - ugh). The rest seemed Canadian. |
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| March 16, 2012 |
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