You definately will not go wrong with this hotel. Its a hidden gem in the centre of the old city with rooms surrounding a calm colonial courtyard away from all the bustle. The red brick arched cloisters, bathed in history, have a very majestic aura. The rooms are of a very high standard, clean and airy (particularly the upper floors with skyline views across the city). The breakfast was included with our rate which again was of a very high standard offering everything from fresh fruit to a full cooked breakfast. The hotel is run by two very helpful gentlemen who helped us with everything from planning our travels around the country to changing a car battery! The price was very good and we really felt like we really got a lot more than what we paid. PS Don't miss the pool up on the top floor to relax and soak up a little sun between explorations on the city.

Hotel El Palacio was a great surprise as I came upon it one day while looking for a place to stay in Santo Domingo ( I'm a student here, but I wanted to get away without leaving the city). I had a list of hotels in Zona Colonial and when I came across El Palacio, I knew I had found my place. The staff was very nice and helpful. I asked to be shown a room and they patiently showed three different options. The room that I checked in was on the third floor, accessible by elevator, with a 42"Plasma TV, king size bed, comfortable desk, fast internet, and a very comfortable rooftop pool. El Palacio is centric in the Zona Colonial, so I just left my car parked in the garage (very convienet) and strolled on to Calle el Conde, had drinks at Proud Mary's Pub ( best Sangrias!!!- the pub owner is also the bartender and the vibe is quiet, jazzy, and mysterious), and just was able to walk to all the sights in the Zona. This is a great alternative to any Santo Domingo hotel. I've stayed at the Hilton and the Marriot Courtyard, but El Palacio has been the most staisfying.

It's been a while since I've stayed here, but I've been meaning to post a review-- we stayed i think 3 days in Santo Domingo, and booked this place since it was in the zona colonial and seemed like a nice place. It is a very nice place, the pool was nice (the view's kind-of strange-- you can look at other balconies, and they can look at you-- whatever). Yeah, the front desk isn't exactly brimming with friendliness, but they will attend to you, and they will do what they can to accomodate (like when we had to leave for the bus to go to Punta Cana they called the bus company and found the times and prices and called a cab company to take us there). The breakfast could use some improving, but I didn't really want to eat there anyway-- I wanted to get out and explore! Some have not liked the shower with no curtain, I thought it was refreshing and fine. There is a nice atrium style architecture, which I enjoyed. You will be in the center of the zona colonial, which means you will be harrassed and bothered to buy things, use a cab, etc.

Overall, I thought it was very nice, and very well maintained, and liked it very much.

Palacio is a nice little pension/hotel. It's very centrally located to the main tourist spots (walkable). Clean and seems to have a lot of security, both around the zona colonial, and at the hotel (@ night) -- enough to make the fears die down and actually enjoy walking around at night. There's an in-room safe, and the rooms are large. The rooftop pool is a little on the cool side - but overall, the place is clean, well maintained. We'd stay there again.

Tips:

1. bring enough cash with you, since the hotel doesn't always have enough for exchange - (the airport is a total rip off for currency exchange).

2. If you get desperate, there's a hard rock cafe about 2 blocks away (cheaper than the maison de bari and a lot of the other tourist traps) and a whole strip of cute little restaurants on that same main "drag". btw - there are actually a lot of coupons for restaurants that are in the little 1/2 page sized local guide, for places where we ate (noticed the coupons a few days after we left Santo Domingo and were trying to figure out how to match the pictures to the sights).

3: We did take a cooking class in Santo Domingo, at a place called Cookers and Friends (just excellent - arrange in advance) - it's a cab ride, but well worth it.

4. Also, another very authentic Dominican restaurant was called Restaurante Conuco (El) - Calle Casimiro de Moya No. 152. The food was pretty good, but the dancing (to watch) was really quite something.