Colonial Charm on Hispaniola: My Comfy Stay At Novus Plaza Hotel In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic🇩🇴

On my 2022 to 2023 Caribbean adventure, I visited the magical mysterious island of Hispaniola for the first time ever. This always held intrigue for me. It was another of those islands split into different countries and therefore I had to visit both Haiti 🇭🇹and the Dominican Republic 🇩🇴. Here are a few other split islands from my travels…

1.Great Britain – this island houses Wales, Adammia, Scotland, England, Austenasia and a few other countries.
2.Ireland – this island houses my home country Northern Ireland as well as Republic of Ireland, Podjistan and Lleylandistan.
3.Borneo – this tropical island is home to Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.
4.Timor – both Indonesia and East Timor share a spot of this gem.
5.New Guinea – Indonesia is at it again, sharing this time with PNG, Papua New Guinea.
6.Cyprus – officially there are three countries and three currencies on Cyprus!
7.Malta – both countries in Malta have the word Malta in it, including the quirky Sovereign Military Order of Malta!

Here in Hispaniola, I started off in Santo Domingo which is the capital city of Dominican Republic. I shortened it to “The Dom Rep”. I honed in on the old town as the place I wanted to stay.

Of course while backpacking in the Dominican Republic I also wanted to visit the beach and the huge Christopher Columbus monument, mausoleum and museum but I kicked things off in the Zona Colonial in Santo Domingo. Here I stayed at the wonderful Novus Plaza Hotel by Hodelpa!!

What is Hodelpa?

Hodelpa is a super hotel group operating in the Dominican Republic. They have a range of hotels in the country to suit all budgets, clients and travel styles. My 2021, 2022 and 2023 Caribbean trips all involved a range of accommodation. Sometimes I slept on a sofa in a bar, other times a hostel, sometimes an old house, sometimes a swanky hotel. Here I would be staying at the lovely Novus Plaza Hotel which is right in the heart of Zona Colonial in Santo Domingo. Here are five reasons why I loved it.

1.Comfy Rooms

I still love a comfortable bed and room where I close the door on the world outside and enjoy the relaxation. I couldn’t have been comfier here – the Caribbean trips can be tiring with the island hopping, hot sun, multiple flights, visa issues and fast backpacking pace (that I crave myself) so I was pretty satisfied by my comfy room and bed here!

This was one of my cosiest rooms in recent times. I had a double bed, air conditioning, a clean bathroom and there were Christmassy things on the television.

For the record I was in room 424 here. I plan to write a blog post sometime about every exact room number etc. I’ve stayed in. All rooms have interesting themes and decor, here is one I didn’t stay in…

2.Welcoming Staff

All the staff here were very welcoming and friendly, including Lizandro below who helped me organise my onward journeys.

3.Intriguing Breakfast – Huge Selection

I loved the selection for breakfast here at the Novus Plaza Hodelpa. Drinks wise, fruit juice, tea, water and coffee. Then you can look at the bread choices from toast to croissants to rolls. Hot food is a real treat with sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, cooked vegetables, including bananas and plantains. There is also cheese, salads plus cereals, yoghurts and finally some tasty sweet treats! You definitely won’t go hungry here. Breakfast hours are also very cool – from 7 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. so I caught breakfast both days due to the timing, before I headed off on my journeys again…

4.Zona Colonial Location

You guessed it, you are going to sleep in the heart of Santo Domingo Old town, the Zona Colonial! This is a truly beautiful old city, which came as a surprise to me as I never expected such charm here.

You will be sleeping on Calle Hostos right in the centre of the old town. Nearby, you will find many bars, cafes, shops and restaurants. You will also see Catedral Primada de America, Fortaleza Ozama, Plaza Espana, the River Rio Ozama, the harbour and many colonial buildings. Here are just a mere few photos I took there…

5.Fast Wi-Fi everywhere

One thing that upsets me about backpacking in the Caribbean is usually the slow Wi-Fi and the power cuts (witnessed in Cuba, Saint Vincent and Haiti). You needn’t worry about that here at the Novus Plaza Hotel which has super fast Wi-Fi all over the building! This was a brilliant bonus.

So this is definitely the place to stay if you are visiting Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. While touring the Dominican Republic, I also loved the beach – I went to Boca Chica beach which is simply beautiful and I also visited the intriguing Christopher Columbus Lighthouse – basically a monument, museum and mausoleum dedicated to Christopher Columbus!

Here are a few more photos from my time in the lovely Novus Plaza Hotel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and around the city too.

Here are the details for booking a room at the Novus Plaza Hotel In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic:
WhatsApp: (809) 683-3636
Hotel: (809) 688-5500
Bookings: (809) 688-5500
El Conde Street corner Hostos, Ciudad Colonial Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
[email protected], [email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/hodelpahotels/
https://www.hodelpa.com/novus-plaza/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/hodelpa-hotels-&-resorts/
http://www.hodelpa.com/
https://www.facebook.com/novusplazahodelpa

Here are some videos from my stay At The Novus Plaza Hotel In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: