Dominican Republic is third world , very poor and with know where to go except on guided tours , its and Island which once belonged to Spain then it was split up between them and the French , who bled there side dry took all of its resources , but they did leave an infrastructure , did not last long after theFrench left ,those that remained were old former slaves,They called the place Hatti , a well dodgy place .
When I went to the DR ten years ago , a honeymoon couple were tied up and robbed in there own room, one of them got free and called the reception , the robber was shot dead on the beach.
I can think of better places to go, but the DR is cheap ,make sure you are on not on the Atlantic side, get off the beach well before the sun down or you will get bit to buggery by sand flies.
Hope you find this of use enjoy your holiday!!!!!,