December 2023 - Rebel Flying

Destination review – One day in Santo Domingo

On my way back from the Dominican Republic’s northern coast to Punta Cana, I stopped by Santo Domingo to see what the nation’s capital had to offer.

The main attraction of Santo Domingo is the Zona Colonial – the old Spanish quarter, which allows a multitude of possibilities simply to wander and immerse oneself in Latin America’s rich colonial history.

I started my walk at the Catedral Primada de América. Dating from the 16th Century, this is the oldest cathedral in the Americas.

I continued to the Parque Colón, followed by a slow meander along the Calle las Damas towards to Fortaleza Ozama, finishing with a coffee at the Plaza España.

From there, there was time to appreciate the Parque Independencia, commemorating the independence of the Dominican Republic in 1856 following a 12 year war.

It is important to remember that while Santo Domingo is a coastal city, it is not a beach destination.

Although there are beaches along the Malecon seaside walk, they are in a pretty sad state and unsuitable for use.

If you are looking for pleasant beaches, you need to travel at least an hour west of the city.

Santo Domingo’s charm lies not in its beach life, but in the depth of colonial heritage to be found in the historical quarter.

If you have the chance to spend some time in Santo Domingo, I definitely recommend taking a day to explore the Zona Colonial.

Destination review – Cabarete Caves, Dominican Republic

As part of my three week stay on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, I headed slightly inland for a day to visit the 5 million year old limestone caves near Cabarete.

This natural phenomenon is carved by natural cold water rivers and range from tight, narrow passages to wide open caverns.

Safety precautions are rudimentary, but our group’s tour passed without incident.

The caves are full of intricately formed stalactites and stalagmites, formed over the course of millions of years.

The Cabarete Caves are easily accessible from the main destinations on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, around a 10 minute drive from Cabarete, 30 minutes from Sosua and one hour from Puerto Plata.

My visit was arranged by the language school, where I was studying Spanish, but travel can easily be independently arranged by private or shared taxi, or in the ubiquitous fixed route minibuses known as guaguas.

If you have a spare day in this region, it is well worth stopping by Cabarete to visit the caves.

Hotel review – Piergiorgio Palace, Sosua, Dominican Republic

I spent three weeks at the Piergiorgio Palace Hotel whilst learning Spanish in Sosua, Dominican Republic.

Piergiorgio is one of the best known hotels in Sosua and is situated in a residential area around a 10-minute walk from the centre of the town.

For this reason, it proved to be a good choice as it was much quieter than anywhere in the town itself.

The check-in process was very smooth and I was in my room within around 5 minutes of arriving.

The room was clean, comfortable and already pleasantly air-conditioned.

There was also pleasant sea view from my balcony.

Breakfast was included in my rate and there was variety of options.

I tried a couple of dinners, but I preferred to eat out on most evenings because the restaurant tended to play loud and annoying music in the evenings, which fortunately was not audible from my room.

The hotel also has two outdoor swimming pools, of which I made good use during my stay.

Overall, Piergiorgio was the right choice for a three-week stay and reasonably priced at around $72 (£59) per night.

I would happily return to this hotel if I were staying in the area again.

Flight review – Air Canada Rouge Business Class, Montreal – Punta Cana

Following on from my transatlantic flight and my layover in Montreal it was time for the last leg of my journey to the Dominican Republic, a flight on Air Canada Rouge to Punta Cana.

This flight had originally been booked in Economy Class, but I was able to place an online bid for an upgrade.

My bid of 225USD (£179) was rejected, but during the online check-in process, I was offered a price for a cleared upgrade of 241EUR (£206).

I tried to pay for this online but two credit cards were rejected by the Air Canada website. The payment was eventually processed at the check-in desk at CDG.

On the day of the flight itself, check in and bag drop at Montreal was a breeze and I was through and into the lounge in minutes.

The lounge was pleasant and quiet, with a small selection of food and drinks. As I had already eaten a decent breakfast at the Holiday Inn I contented myself with a couple of beers.

The priority boarding was smooth and I was installed in seat 1F very quickly.

I am normally an aisle seat man, but with the amount of room in the bulkhead seat, the window seat was no hardship.

Although this was obviously nowhere near the comfort level I experienced on my flight from Paris I found it perfectly acceptable for 4 hour flight down to Punta Cana.

Around an hour after take-off a drinks service was offered and I chose a Canadian beer.

Lunch service followed shortly afterwards. I chose the chicken tagine main, which was served with the salad and dessert on the main tray.

After the meal service was finished, the cabin crew retired to the galley and were more or less not seen again for the rest of the flight, although I did manage to get a drink after going up to the galley myself.

Overall I have to say that I was not particularly impressed with Air Canada Rouge’s Business Class product.

Compared with Air Canada’s long-haul Signature Business Class the difference is night and day.

Seating was identical to US domestic First Class and the conspicuously absent service fell below even that benchmark.

Some time ago I wrote an article on whether business class was worth paying for. My

While this was a pleasant enough way to spend a few hours, I’m not convinced it was worth £50 per hour.

In all honesty, were I to fly this route again I would select an aisle seat down the back and keep my credit card in my wallet.

Hotel review – Holiday Inn Montreal Airport

After a superb transatlantic flight with Air Canada, I had a one-night layover in Montreal.

I chose to spend the night at the Holiday Inn close to the airport, using my IHG points.

Shortly before my arrival, I received an e-mail informing me that my booking had been upgraded to a one bedroom suite with a balcony.

The hotel was a short and very easy ride with the hotel’s shuttle, which was sent to collect me after a phone call to the front desk.

My suite was comfortable and well appointed, with a king size bed, living area and kitchen.

There was also a balcony, which I found convenient despite the rather cold weather.

Breakfast, which was included in my booking, was pretty reasonable and included cereals, fruit, yoghurt, juice and coffee, as well as a hot selection of bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, potatoes and baked beans.

The hotel also has an indoor pool and hot tub, which I was not able to photograph as it was in use for most of the evening.

Photographs can be found on the hotel website.

The water in the larger pool was a little too cold for my personal preference, so I stuck to the hot tub, which was very pleasant.

Overall, this was a convenient, comfortable and good value option at 22,100 IHG points, booked during a 15% off redemptions sale.

This is a hotel I would happily stay at again.