Hola,

This is my first post, and was also my first visit to DR, spent a few days in Santo Domingo, nice city, Colonial Zone has great restaurants and walk-able streets, but I want to give a heads-up and a quick review of Boca Chica. Spent 2 nights there a couple of weeks ago, curfew in effect 9 pm weekdays, but that means places were closing at 8 so employees could get home.  By 9, streets were deserted, only activity was hotels bars, which there are very few open now.  Spent the first day walking along the beach, decided on Boca Beach Resort, $76 to $106/night, but is the ONLY place that felt secure, clean and anywhere near a 3-star property.  The beach is nice, as you can see on thousands of photographs, but at high-tide, water comes up to many of the beach-front restaurants, making walking a bit tricky.  dozens of touts, vendors, slimy characters accosting you all the time.  Being my first time, I was really disappointed - Pattaya, Bali, AC, Jaco, ... are far more cleaner and feel safer than Boca Chica, sorry if this is old news, but this place is a S**t hole.  There are plenty of bars with girls available all day until curfew, but most now are Haitians, really aggressive, skanky girls, with a few exceptions. Going rate is 2,000 for short time, but they will spend the night for the same price.  Here is where the trouble started - on the beach, a bar/restaurant named "Nancys", had girls walking by, as well as guys and older women recommending (pimping them).  A friend was introduced to one, agreed to 2,000 plus 500 for the woman pimp, and was spending most of the day with her. She initially seemed nice and quite.  But as the day went along, she started drinking more and more, her story started changing, and after dinner and a quick session in his room, she said not feeling well, wants to go home.  My friend offered the 2,000 as agreed to, and this is where the s**t hit the fan - "NO, I want 200 US Dollars, you pay me, or I call the police!!" yelling and theatrics in the lobby, hotel staff and guests all converging downstairs, the desk clerk, who we generously tipped previously,  said let her call the police, its nonsense...  Amid the yelling and crying, she calls the police, and they show up immediately - at which point the hotel staff get scared, 2 cops come up, and basically side with the girl, tell my friend to pay her $200 or he is going to jail.  Long story short, he pays her $200, she gets in the police pick-up, at which point another guest sees her handing money to the cops, and they drive off.  Always heard of stories like this, but definitely never experienced it in person, frightening and a feeling of helplessness overcame us.  Pics posted are of the girl, STAY AWAY from this one, think goes by "Nellie", but who knows, hangs at Piano Bar, and is pimped by an older short-haired skank along the beach.