Monte Placido Vacation Home Rentals — Hotel in Las Terrenas

Location: The location is stunning, with breathtaking views and a peaceful atmosphere in a lovely village. However, the steep hill can be difficult to navigate, especially after rain. I slipped a few times, and my dad had a heavy fall. The taxi struggled to make it up, as it wasn’t a 4-wheel drive. I enjoyed the exercise walking up and down (I parked my scooter at the bottom), but it’s something to consider when booking.

Wi-Fi and power: Although advertised as suitable for digital nomads, the internet and power were unreliable. Frequent outages affected my work. The hosts said this was unusual, but a returning guest had similar issues before. They claimed power and Wi-Fi were worse in town, but I found the opposite and often worked there. Short outages during rain were understandable, but a four-day Wi-Fi blackout was frustrating. The hosts offered to take guests to Clave Verde on day three, which was appreciated. However, internet also cut out 8-10 times some days, seriously impacting my work. Despite solar power and a backup generator, outages occurred, including one night when the lights went out mid-dinner with no one to restart the generator. If reliable internet and power are essential, consider a strong data plan or alternative accommodations.

Maintenance: Maintenance is reactive rather than proactive. I had to move due to a broken water heater. While I appreciated being given another place, the hosts framed it as an ‘upgrade’ rather than a necessary solution. In the second house, I dealt with leaks, mouldy clothes, and an ant infestation. The necessary roof repairs took weeks, causing a tar smell and loud noise that interfered with calls. The walls remained damp, and I had to store clothes outside the cupboard to prevent mould. The hosts provided a fan, but it wasn’t enough. They had also given me ant powder but later claimed they were unaware of the infestation.

Bugs: The second property had few bugs, but the bungalow had many, making the mosquito net necessary. The hosts provided a sound machine to deter lizards and frogs, which helped somewhat. Mosquitoes were worst during rainy season, and I had bats swooping in at night until I insisted the netting be secured.

Bungalow and Casa Lily: The bungalow is outside the security gates, which wasn’t clear from the website. The village felt safe, but this was unexpected. The space is simple and functional. The bed was comfortable, the desk useful, and the outdoor kitchen practical but hard to keep clean. When my dad visited, the hosts kindly set up a bed in the living room. Casa Lily was spacious with a great balcony and spectacular sunrise views. The bedroom has a double and single bed, though the bathroom entrance only has a curtain. The kitchen was well-sized, and the living space was comfortable.

Hosts: The hosts were responsive but sometimes made me feel like a burden. They often mentioned the cost of requests and occasionally complained about other guests, making me wonder what they said about me. Once, I overheard them discussing me from their house. I also heard them arguing with guests twice, which was uncomfortable. Many issues were beyond their control, but their handling of them sometimes made the experience more stressful.

Staff: The staff were exceptional. Jean-Claude went above and beyond, picking me up from the bus station, sharpening knives, and helping with maintenance. Nené was also brilliant, fixing my scooter and assisting with repairs. Both were friendly, dedicated, and mindful of my work calls, even rescheduling noisy tasks to avoid disturbing me. Jean-Claude speaks some English, so communication shouldn't be an issue if you don't speak Spanish.

Overall: This stay was a mix of wonderful and frustrating aspects. If you’re on holiday and can be flexible with power, internet, and maintenance issues, you might enjoy it. However, for digital nomads or those needing reliability, I’d recommend considering...

We can’t say enough good things about our experience at Monte Placido. My husband and I spent a week of our honeymoon there and are nothing less than amazed with our decision!! We wanted to experience relaxation with a bit of adventure, and this location provided both…

It started with our initial communications with Don and Diana. We’ve never been out of the country before and were a bit nervous about traveling to a remote area - especially in a foreign country. The correspondence from them and their impressive website sold us from the beginning. Leading up to the trip, I had several email exchanges. They responded promptly, answered our questions thoroughly and made us feel like we were in good hands!

We arrived at night and were greeted with a delicious meal prepared by Don and a bottle of wine (there was a charge for this of course but worth every penny). My husband and I agree it was one of the best meals during our DR trip!

The driveway is a climb; however, it is worth it for the breathtaking views. We stayed in the one-bedroom-Lilka. It was very clean, had a great layout, large functional kitchen, and a beautiful balcony. It was warm during the day, but we kept the doors open as the constant breeze helped keep the place cool. The fans, along with the A/C in the bedroom, kept us cool at night. (I believe Lilka is the only house with an A/C unit; the fans would’ve been sufficient.)

You need to be prepared to drive everywhere because you are located on a mountain. We were happy to find a beach in a 5-minute drive and the nearest town 10 minutes away. Don and Diana were so helpful in accommodating all of our requests, including the delivery of items we couldn't easily get on our own!

Don also helped coordinate a 2.5 hour hike, massages, and a driver for a night on the town. (Note: you will need to provide your vehicle for the chauffeur). They were very attentive but also gave us our space. They recently had solar panels installed, and we thoroughly appreciated this because we try to energy efficient too. We were extremely impressed with everything and can't wait to return for our anniversaries - maybe even our one year! We sincerely thank you for everything, Don and Diana! Merry Christmas and...

What a beautiful place!

Don and Diane were very accommodating hosts, providing us with valuable information necessary to make the most out of our time on their beautiful property and in the country of the Dominican Republic.

Very meticulously manicured garden, very clean villas that are well decorated and had everything that we needed and that infinity pool with a view over the ocean and jungle was much needed.

We also enjoyed the yoga studio and Shiva’s cave. It was very peaceful and spiritual for us. One of the things that we liked about this property the most was that we could meditate, deep breathe and have some peace and quiet from our otherwise very noisy and chaotic day to day lives back in The States.

We have special diet restrictions and Don and Diane were very accommodating with a much-needed, all vegan, welcome meal. They went out of their way to provide special accommodations for us and Don’s hummuis Was awesome!

The Dominican Republic has many beautiful beaches and we enjoyed several of them during our time there. It was nice to “come home” to somewhere that felt like home, cook a meal, take a shower and feel safe after a day out of adventure.

Thank you...