Review - Vacation Purchased by Auction

Tropical Beach Resort & Spa -Dominican Republic This post will be my attempt to review the overall experience of purchasing a vacation on line through a vacation auction site. I will rate both the auction experience as well as the resort. I am sharing this information for those who do not know what a travel auction site is; or know but have never pursued that avenue with regards to travel. I will be upfront and let you know that many really unpleasant auction stories abound. I am also letting you know that I am not promoting purchasing a vacation through an auction but just wanting to shed my own little piece of light about my own experience. I am the consummate bargain hunter. It runs in my blood. I will spend inordinate amounts of time to "find that best price". This was once upon a time a challenge, now it's a necessity! When I decided to pursue the auction venue, I did use due diligence in doing my research. This included research about the type of vacation I wanted as well as pricing allowing me to compare apples to apples and not apples to elephants or something stupid like that....you get the idea. I have to admit that this bidding thing is a bit like gambling and you can really get carried away in the excitement and suspense of it. However, I stoically remained focused on task not even allowing myself a potty break until "mission complete". I admit that once I hit the "purchase auction" button, it was only a matter of nanoseconds when the fear and doubt swept up through the "enter" key and straight to my brain like a tsunami causing me to break out in a cold sweat and start imagining all the horrible things that could, and most surely would, go wrong. This was frightening, but worse was knowing I would hear the four dreaded words from Hubby, "I Told you so"! I envisioned arriving at the resort and being escorted to our room located directly behind the trash dumpsters of the seafood restaurant. This, of course was in conjunction with the fact that the room had no A/C...you get the whiff. Our transportation to the resort was also a source of heartburn, as I could picture the second leg of the journey to be by rowboat. This was a wake up call with regards to my lackadaisical attitude about my gym membership and usage (or lack thereof) and I vowed to do better at getting physically fit. Well folks......my dread and fears were totally unfounded. I found the whole experience to be excellent in all regards. You can imagine my sigh of relief once securely tucked in to our lovely room with a beautiful view of the gardens and ocean. The very relaxed quiet colors of our room's decor was just right to blend with the overall ambiance of the resort. The balcony was an added bonus to sit a have a drink as you prepared for your evening. The grounds were meticulously maintained and the staff was polite and courteous. The downside is you do get pestered to take the "tour" of the time share offering. Be polite but firm and they will eventually leave you alone. When staying at this resort, there are different levels of service and amenities. Those folks that purchased their little piece of the resort are offered more privileges. This might be a real negative to some but did not bother me or Hubby. The buffet had enormous amounts of food but no matter how hard they tried to add variety, it was still somewhat monotonous. There are several other specific cuisine restaurants in the resort but the food was mediocre at best. There was always plenty of fresh fruits and salads so even the pickiest eater can find something. This resort is not a (5) star resort. I give it an overall rating of (4) based on the type of resort it is. There are many who would disagree with this rating. The resort did not have much in the way of nightlife and entertainment but is more the type of resort to just kick back and relax. I would not penalize a rating, as some do, because they did not do their research and choose a vacation and location right for them. The auction experience was quite an easy process and I would give it a rating of (4) out of (5). The only glitch I experienced was with getting the exact date I originally wanted. This was resolved and the date was pushed up only by a few days so you must have some flexibility when purchasing through an auction. The only other negative was the slowness of communication with regards to questions. This could use some improvement in my humble opinion. Now to the nitty gritty - the total price for both Hubby & I was $1,700. This included trip insurance to boot! This was a 7-night all-inclusive vacation. I mean all-inclusive (yep..alcohol too). Wow - did I quickly jump on that, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere" bandwagon and breakfast was a pina colada! The only things not included were airport transfers and tipping. A word to the wise...tipping is strongly advised. This is how these people make their living so don't PISS them off or you may find yourself using the same dirty wet bath towel for a week and find pool water in your bahama mama! Take a look at the photos and you be the judge.........Kat

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Photos - Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort & Spa