Cheap, on the beach and guest friendly

Would also recommend. Beautiful wood interiors-- ask for room facing the beach if you want less noise and more breeze off the ocean. Very friendly French couple runs the place. Nice place to eat the local fare up the street and on the main drag (maybe you have to go one block to your right, can't remember) I don't remember the name but it's painted light blue. Lots of girls waiting to catch your eye (and more) in the bars to your right as you get to the main drag.

Calle Dominguez esquina Duarte
809-523-5721
809-523-6994/fax

When I planned my first trip to BC last fall, I decided to stay at the Europa because of its location near the beach, and being right near the action of Duarte. The pictures on the website make the rooms seem really nice, so I paid the deposit, and stayed there for my first night...only.

First, I had requested an airport pickup, and had stayed in contact with the hotel up to the day before my arrival so they wouldn't forget. They forgot, or just blew me off. No real problem since there are plenty of taxis waiting outside the airport, but I was trying to be cheap and save the money for the chicas.

The hotel is no longer run by the French couple, it is now run by a guy who lived in the states for quite awhile, so he is fluent in English (not sure if he is American or Dominican). Anyway, the room I had was one with a "view". The truth is I could just barely see the water out of one of the windows over the tops of some two story buildings. The airconditioner was less than adequate, and there was a huge gap between the doors and the floor, so the room always seemd hot to me. The bathroom was very small with really old, barely functional shower and small sink. I could barely turn around, and actually had to step out of the bathroom to dry off after a shower. The overall construction of the place just seemed really shabby, with gaps around windows and all doors, so the heat gets in.

The other problem I had was the noise. There is noise from the stairway all night long, and the disco is just a few doors down, so the music is pumping all night also. It was too much for me, so I moved to the Costa Lunga on a recommendation from an expat I met at Playa Vista. With the disco shutting down, the noise might not be as bad now.

The staff at the Europa were really friendly, and the breakfast was good in the restaurant. When I told him I was leaving, the manager did not have any problem refunding my money, and said he gets alot of noise complaints, so it was no problem to move.

All in all, nice people, but I can't recommend this hotel.

EZE

The way to get around the noise problem at the Europa is to request a room on the beach side. I've stayed there and was never disturbed by any noise at all. As a matter of fact, NOBODY goes past Hotel Europa (toward the beach) at night. It is where the lights end, and venturing toward the beach from there (only a half a block) at night can be hazardous to your health. Do your partying on Duarte and sleep on the beach side of the hotel for peace and quiet. I will be there in July and I'll give some updates on Boca Chica when I get there. All of the posts I've seen (on this board and others) are pretty stale because it seems that everybody gave up on the place after they closed a few bars. There may or may not be any action there now, but I'm willing to check it out again to see. I had a ball there in 2003. If it doesn't pan out, then I'll pop over to SD.

straight to the point;
CLOSED !!!!! local is for sale !!!! RIP !!!!!