Hi,

I've been to the Merengue twice and have only come back from the Victoria a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed them both but I would say the Merengue definitely has the edge depending of course in what you are looking for in a hotel.

The Victoria is much smaller and much quieter - geared mostly towards adults I think kids might be bored here. It's set on the golf course (not on the beach) but it's only a 5 minute walk away and there is a bar and restaurant ther for guests during the day. I didn't think much of the buffet food at the Victoria - in fact we only ate dinner in it once but the al a carte restaurante and especially the pizzeria were very good.

THe Merengue's food was better and in general there is more to do. It does have the advantage of being part of a larger resort so you can also use the bars and restaurants of the Riu mambo and the Riu Batchata if you fancied a bit of a bar crawl one night. At the Victoria there are only 2 bars open in the evening which both close at midnight so if you want a late drink you're out of luck. At the Riu there are disco is open to 2am and I beleive there is a bar open at the Batchata which closes when the last guest leaves.

The rooms were larger and nicer at the Merengue as well - the Victoria was OK too there is just no storage space for clothes whatsoever - luckily we were only staying for a week so didn't have that much stuff - it would have been a real problem for 2 weeks. The Merengue also has a great included room mini bar with optics of Rum, Vodka, brandy etc and soft drinks in a fridge if you fancy a drink in your room - the Victoria only has a fridge with 1 bear, 1 7up and 1 coke in it.

The Victoria did have the advantage of it being very quiet but given the choice I would vote to go back to the Merengue next time.

Hope this helps

Tracy

we stayed at the Merengue in October 2005 and had a fantastic time, very relaxing just what we were looking for with the added bonus of being able to use the facilities of the Mambo & Bachata.

The only negative point was the pool at the Merendue which was only half filled and was dirty so we used the pool at the Bachata, which was bigger.

The food was good and always something different to choose from, as we were at the Bachata most days we tended to use the buffet there for lunch.

My Daughter celebrated her 8th Birthday whilst we we there and when we arrived at the buffet for dinner our table was decorated with ballons, candles and table confetti, they even had a birthday cake for her which finished the day off nicely.

I would definately reccomend the Merengue.

Thanks you both so much for your help. I am definately swaying towards the Merengue
Want to book something soon before I miss the good deals, so I'll let you know when I do

Sunaholic.

Sunaholic,

having stayed at the merengue in aug 04 i can concur the above statements,
you'll enjoy i'm sure.

good luck,

Eifion.

There were 29 of us staying in the Merengue last July. We ranged in age from 9 years to 74 years old.
Everyone in our party said that would definitely return to this hotel. I feel it really does have something to offer everyone.
The beach is fantastic, with lots of shade and as you walk along the bay itself (which is totally self contained) you come across different types of beach. Some rougher with rocks, some bits very sandy. This adds lots of interest in my opinion.
Hope this helps
Lorraine

Thanks for the reply Lorraine.

I'm a little disappointed, as I got my holiday weeks wrong so now we will have to go over Easter and the prices are ridiculous! I will keep looking and hoping that the Merengue comes up

Sunaholic.

Oh and thanks to Eifion too!!

sunaholic,

youre welcome & good luck.

Eifion.