Hotel La Saladilla Beach Club

The staff are friendly and helpful, and the pool is very clean. Rooms are well kept, with air conditioning and fans. They serve a nice, traditional Dominican breakfast. The place is a short distance from the restaurants, shops and stores on the Barahona malecon. You can also ask the grounds crew to wash your car for an optional tip. The blue-water beach is beautiful and only steps away, though it has washed-up debris that could use a cleanup. It looks like they're working on it.

There isn't any beach access, and the room curtains don't block the awful lights outside. The intense exterior lighting creates so much light pollution that you can't see the stars. There's no breakfast, coffee or bar either. This is the only place on this stretch of coast. Playa azul is about 5 km farther along and much nicer.

The beds were firm but comfortable, but the rest was disappointing. The place felt locked down and brightly lit like a prison, with an electric fence and no beach access from the hotel. Front desk staff were distant, unfriendly and unhelpful. It's a gorgeous part of the island, but I'd stay somewhere else.

The pool is available whenever you want, and the view is pretty awesome. I liked this hotel a lot. The rooms are spacious, clean and really comfortable.