We stayed at Daniel's villa for March Break 2017. We have visited the DR before and stayed at a resort just up the highway and had an amazing time. This vacation, I convinced my husband we should rent a villa and be closer to a town to better see what DR life is like. Well, I got my wish. Regular DR life is not like resort life. Yes, there were power outages. Yes, the water pressure is non existent. Yes, there was little hot water. Yes, there were tons of mosquitos due to the trees and shrubs surrounding the house. The villa itself is well laid out. The place was clean and the maid came most days to clean up. She is not that friendly and often played very loud music while she cleaned. The kitchen's amenities were severely lacking. Basic things like the can opener frequently broke. If you plan to cook for yourself, good luck with that oven. We were never able to get it to light and had to confine ourselves to meals made on top of the stove. We had asked for a cook months ahead of time, but when we arrived, Daniel had no recollection of that request. He was able to secure us a cook, Nellie, who was great. However, the food from the DR grocery stores spoils very quickly, especially the meat. A lot of the ingredients we bought on Saturday had spoiled by Monday and so we decided to just throw it out and eat at restaurants. Groceries are very expensive here. If you buy groceries here for a week, expect to spend over $300 CDN at either Janet's or Polla. The restaurants in Sosua or Cabarete are expensive. Decent entrees will cost you $18+. On average for dinners, we were spending $100 CDN for two adults and a child with entrees and a couple drinks. The restaurants run by Europeans or Canadians are your best shot in terms of quality, quantity and breadth of choice. There are things in the villa that do need repair. The pool's filtration system was broken the entire time we were there and we had to clean the pool ourselves because of all the pollen, bugs and such that accumulated each day. The tap handles in the master bedroom kept falling off after each use. The toilet in the downstairs bathroom kept leaking onto the floor. The master bedroom is the ONLY room in the house that has an air conditioner. It was a good AC but the only one. The bed in the downstairs room is small- not quite a double. The second room upstairs is small too- a double, not queen. The master bedroom is a true king and the most comfortable bed. It gets crazy hot upstairs during the day. The only comfortable seat to sit in the whole house is the wicker furniture on the master bedroom balcony. We often had coffee and drinks out there but the bugs were vicious and we constantly had to reapply bug spray. I had over 40 bites in the first three days and I was using bug spray that I use in Canada to keep black flies and deer flies off me. The couch and seats in the living room will make you long for a nail bed to sit on. Daniel is....condescending. He had a car accident the day we arrived and was flustered about it, which we understood. But he was very impatient with us and when we asked him and his driver Edwin to drop ups of at a restaurant in Sosua, he literally left us in the middle of downtown, and stomped off saying he'd never heard of the restaurant we had asked about and that we'd be fine. To be honest, if you've never been to Sosua on a Friday night, you'd be a little nervous about being dumped there and not be able to speak the language. It looks tres shady. There are a LOT of people loitering, including hookers and their security.Several of the email interactions with Daniel were frustrating, as he would react with a scolding to questions I had. The car service with Elias Taxi was great. We recommend you ask for Leonardo. He has an air conditioned van. Most cabs are just cars. It costs $10 USD to go to Sosua from the property and $15 to go to Cabarete-one way. The private beach is great and only a little walk. The private beach entrance is currently under massive repair because of recent storms. You have to negotiate with the guard at the local condo building to use their access. Access to the children's water park will cost you about $25 USD for two adults and one child. Many of the things you think are "Free" are not. The "security" is minimal. There is a fellow at the guard house who opens the gate to people but there is no checking of identity cards or any such thing. The other villa residents are friendly and polite. There is constant construction in the little villa community, and the hammers begin swinging loud and early in the morning, so be aware of that should you plan to sleep in. There are some good things about the property and the villa. With a little upgrading of amenities, like a good couch or chair, improving the amenities in the kitchen, like knives and bowls to cook with, and fixing toilets and faucets, the house would feel more comfortable. All in all, this mode of vacationing cost us more than our week at Lifestyles Vacation up the road and was significantly less enjoyable. I won't be renting this villa or any other villa. The cost of transportation into town adds up quickly, the groceries aren't that cheap, restaurants aren't that cheap and the accommodations are nowhere nearly as luxurious as a good resort. Lesson learned.

Our first time in DR was a blast, mainly thanks to the wonderful stay we had at this villa. Very comfortable, quiet and close to the town and the beach. Well kept and lacking no essential amenity it provided the perfect escape from NY. We had a blast!

The house is beautiful, the big pool refreshing and the Playa Laguna beach appeared to be for just the four of us. The security of the area is unbelievable and Teresa, the housekeeper, a diamond. Conveniently situated between Sosua and Cabarete, we very much enjoyed both and had a great time. Highly recommended. Muchas, muchas gracias! (Dates stayed March 27-April 5, 2013)

Booked this villa on more or less on a whim to escape the cold of the Northeast and boy, did we luck out! The villa and its surroundings were even better than expected. The arrival was smooth and Daniel turned out to be an excellent host - oriented us and gave us a ton of tips on what to do, when and where. The Wi-fi - very important for me - was there and with a strong signal. All ACs and appliances worked; there is even a washing machine, very convenient! The pool guy came on a regular basis to keep the beautiful pool in shape for us. The housekeeper did an outstanding job every single day and even cooked breakfast for us, which was not part of her duties - we were happy to leave a big tip for excellent service. The villa is in a very secure gated community with access to its own beach that is literally 2 minutes away - clean blue warm water, and it was almost always deserted, no annoying crowds (for crowds, water sports, bars, restaurants and general liveliness go to Cabarete or Sosua, both within minutes of driving). Even though it is surrounded by other villas, it is situated in such a way as to offer us total privacy, including in the garden/around the pool. The villa itself is rather large and would have easily fit two more couples comfortably. After tiny city apartments it was nice to be in a place that gives you a sense of freedom and spaciousness. We really enjoyed the tasteful decorations and the comfort. The master bedroom is a dream with a large terrace overlooking the pool to have breakfast or relax, and there is a spacious terrace on the ground floor where we had our dinners and drinks when not going out. Overall, our stay was magic and we would have happily stayed another week! Will definitely return and recommend to friends!

Unfortunatley Daniel was indisposed when we stayed here for 2 weeks and judging by the other reviews this might have made a difference. Renting a private villa in this kind of location does require some kind of local help. The maid ( who did not always show up) was clearly not happy at being burdened with this - and incidentally if we had not spoken Spanish that would have been problematic. There were two lengthy power outages in the first two days - I had anticipated that and asked for candles/torches when we arrived but that was met with a shrug. Eventually on the third day arrangements were made to deliver a generator. Similarly the plumbing leaves something to be desired - it is not possible to have the water on in ground floor bathrooms without using an external pump that makes a horrible shrieking noise. The gas oven is also pretty lethal - it is very difficult to light - the maid had difficulties when she was demonstrating it. The second time we used it my dress caught on fire from it - so we stopped using it. The most irritating thing was the recommendation for so-called 'Savings Car Rental' . It is vital to have a car in this location and Daniel told us that he had arranged for the owner to meet us at the airport and then to show us to the villa. The owner was not there - but her rather unpleasant side kick who insisted on charging us more than had been agreed, and then demanding we pay him a tip. Within 7 km the car overheated and broke down. It was repaired and broke again the next day. After some aggravation it was replaced by a much smaller car - useless for a family of 5. The owner told us that it was impossible to get a large car over the Christmas period as they were all pre-booked. (We had booked months earlier) Eventually after various phone calls Daniel intervened from afar and and within a couple of days we got a car that would fit us all - but it was not an idea way to spend the pre-Christmas period. By the second week things had settled down and we managed to have a more relaxing stay - the villa has lovely antique furnishings and the master bedroom in particular is delightful. Given that we were rather marooned to start with it might have been useful if there was a list of nearby recommendations - restaurants/ supermarkets. Two tips if you do stay here. My children had Spanish lessons at the Casa Goethe in Sosua which was an excellent place. And we were very impressed with the tours organised by the Eco company Iguana Mama based in Cabarete.

I joined my friend and stayed a week in this Villa. Location is perfect between Sosua and Cabarete. Located in a gated neighborhood with armed guards at gate, and at entrance to driveway. its a two minute walk to a semi-private beach. The three times I went there I was the only one on the entire beach. The rooms are nice and big. Theresa the maid does a great job keeping the place perfectly clean. The power went out about 3 times during my stay, but it really wasn't any sort of hassle. From what I've heard power outages are pretty common. The owner offered to get a generator if we thought it was necessary. there was a pool man who came by frequently to keep the pool in good order. I would definitely come back!

The house was better than I hoped for. In a gated community with 24 hour security so you never have to worry about your belongings. The property looks even better than the pictures! Only minutes from Sosua and a short ride to Cabarete. Daniel was an excellent host. Arranging pick up from the airport and checking to make sure all was going well several times. Teresa was incredibly nice and did an amazing job keeping the house clean and cared for. Edwin helped us get around and showed us different places in town. For a great rental only minutes from the action yet secluded enough for privacy this is the place!

What a beautiful house to enjoy a vacation in. Daniel was a wonderful host, the beach was quite, and the pool was very refreshing. The waves at the beach were really rough. Not so great for young children to swim in, but great fun for teenagers and adults. All in all we had a great time.

The Villa was great.... three bedrooms that satisfied the other two couples that were with us. I wish that the fan worked in the kitchen as it did get a little hot when doing some cooking. I would suggest that anyone renting the villa do take some mosquito repellent with them. The pool is great but wish it were heated as the weather was not warm enough to heat it. The ocean that is close by is great but the waves were pretty heavy. I loved the patio and we spent many hours out there enjoying the weather (when it wasn't raining). All in all, I would recommend the villa and Daniel is a wonderful host who is very helpful in the ways of existing in the DR.

The villa was even better than advertised and the owner extremely helpful in everything. We really had a great time, enjoyed the pool, the beach and the entire area of Sosua and Cabarete. Everything nearby and other villas in area but we felt as we were on our own secluded island.