It’s the sort of sale headline that seems way too good to be true: $19 per night at an all-inclusive Caribbean beach resort!

That’s the travel deal the cool website Cheap Caribbean is offering for the next three days. $19 a night! That’s with food, drink, accommodations and activities included at the Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort & Spa in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

But what’s the catch? you are surely asking.

Is the deal only for specific dates that are already sold out?

Does the included food and drink consist entirely of pretzels and water?

To qualify for the deal do I first have to survive a night in a haunted house?

The answers to those last three questions are no, no and no respectively. Cheap Caribbean’s latest flash sale truly is remarkable. But, as you do doubt suspect, Dear Reader, it also not quite as great as it seems. Here’s Spot Cool Stuff’s take on the good and bad of it:

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Quiz question: What’s the difference between a cave and a cavern?

In common usage the two terms are mostly interchangeable. But, technically, there’s a difference. Pretty much any underground chamber qualifies as a cave. To be a cavern a cave must 1) have formed naturally out of rock; and 2) be able to produce speleothems, which are those icicle-shaped mineral deposits created by dripping water.

There are several bars and restaurants around the world that are in caves. There are only two on the planet that are in caverns. Both of them are in the Caribbean:

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“Affordable” and “Caribbean” are not necessarily contradictions in terms.

To find cool hotels, relaxing beach resorts and luxurious bed and breakfasts in the Caribbean at an affordable price try these tips:

Look at the smaller establishments. They don’t get the press the big resorts do, but they sometimes provide much better value. A good Caribbean guidebook can be an invaluable friend in finding the high value hotel gems.

Check out the less developed areas. In Jamaica, for example, there are lots of great, inexpensive hotel and resort options outside of the major Negril, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay tourist centers.

Decide what’s most important to you and try to find a hotel without a lot of frills you won’t use. If you don’t care about using a spa, for example, you can save money by staying in a resort without one.

Shop around. A superb website for finding great deals on resorts, as well as on cruises and vacation packages, is Cheap Caribbean.
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And, most of all, read on. The resorts below are among Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite affordable Caribbean digs. Each has rooms in the high season for less—and in some cases much less—than $150 a night . . .

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