I have stayed at a lot of places that ranged from "great value" to
"little expensive but also good value"
I liked both my stays at Kite Beach, they are like a hotel/condo, and
I have stayed with them by calling directly as well as by looking for
kite beach on AirBNB.
But for much less money, I also really enjoyed my stay in "Waterfront
Village" bungalows on Playa Alicia. You are a 2 minute walk from the
beach and can't see the beach from the bungalow, but it was cheap,
right next to a restaurant, and I would love to stay there again.
As I mentioned I also loved La Finca in Las Galeras, they have a
website and also are on AirBNB.
In Santiago, I have stayed at the Platino hotel and casino and felt it
was a great value, but some friends hated it. I have had friends stay
at the Matum and love it, and friends who hated it. There is a small
hotel behind the Hodelpa in Los Jardines that is supposed to be very
nice as well. If you stay at Platino, they have breakfast, but if you
want something better, right next door is Square One in the gas
station, they have great food. I'm currently avoiding them because
they ran out of Presidente one Thursday night recently. First Black,
then Normal, then Light. I couldn't believe any place in DR ran out of
Presidente, and didn't even have the thought to send a waiter out to a
colmado to buy more. But generally, they are awesome. If you want the
same food but with a better view, drive in to PUCMM campus across the
street. They will give you a card that is completely meaningless. Turn
left, and drive for like 2 minutes until you see what looks like a gym
on your left. Turn left and park, that's Cafeteria and Body Shop, a
gym and restuarant also owned by Square One, so it's basically the
same food but it's calm, quiet...eating outside there once, I had a
colorful bird land on my plate and take a bit of pancakes, and ever
since I really do enjoy returning for a tres golpes in the hopes of
another bird visit. If you stay at the hotel behind Hodelpa in LJ,
drive left on that road until you reach a big field, across from
Vincatto, and go to the trailer La Desayuneria, they also have Tres
Golpes that are delicious and the price is lower than Square One. BTW,
Square One is open 24/7.
The cheaper places on AirBNB don't necessarily have AC. By now, I'm
used to the heat and the idea of not having AC doesn't bother me in
the slightest. In the country, Booking.com seems to be popular for
looking up hotels but if you are looking just a few hours in advance,
you should call to confirm they really do have availability.
I forgot to mention you could also go to Playa Ensenada, it's next to
Buen Hombre, about an hour drive. From there you can take a boat to
Cayo Arena, which is just a big sand bar but it's pretty cool day.
There is also a sanctuary for manatees a few minutes drive away that I
haven't visited yet, but I have heard good things about it.
This country has a lot to offer when you aren't busy reading threads
about tourist cards. Just remember to bring $2 to give to the police
There are some checkpoints on the roads where they will quickly
look inside your car to see if you have any haitians inside, and at
those checkpoints they often don't say anything they just wave you
onwards, and they shouldn't expect any money in exchange. I don't know
if you have any concerns about either of those topics but they seem to
be popular here.
Any chance you can extend your trip and take a few days to go to the
south west corner? Lago Enriquillo, Azua, the Dunes de Bani, Barahona,
and best of all: Bahia de las Aguilas. It's practically magical.
I don't know if I would want to buy something here, for a few reasons.
If you aren't here full time, then you need to consider how to keep
your place secure. Where I am in Santiago, half the apartments are
empty and we have a building maintenance guy keeping an eye on things.
I think it's safe. My apartment is also the one one without iron on
the windows... if I were going to be gone more than 2 weeks, I would
put iron bars on the windows. I do have security cameras (Wyze, at $25
a pop, put one in every room!), and smart power plugs (Kasa brand by
TP Link. I used to recommend Wemo, and still have 2 of them, but Wemo
lose connection every few months. When using for my water heater, that
meant every so often, I would wake up with no hot water. The Kasa
switches are the same price and have never even once lost connection
in 9 months of use. Wemo brand is dead to me...3 cold showers....Kasa
brand is much better.) that turn lights on and off even if I'm not
around, plus with Amazon Echo I can play music remotely, turn on my TV
remotely, etc. If you buy a house, and it's not in a complex, I would
imagine you would want someone watching it when you aren't there.
Razor wire on the fences, etc, just to keep honest people honest.
But secondly, and maybe more importantly, this country has a lot to
offer. A lot of different areas. I try to travel around frequently and
I don't know how I would be happy spending all my time in one area. So
if you buy something here, make sure you have money in your budget for
1-2 trips out of town a month. Depending on the vehicle, and your
living preferences, that can mean $100-400 a month. But what is the
point of living in paradise if you aren't going to aprovechar cada
esquina?!
For example, if you live here full time, you might want to spend 3-4
months in Samana/LT/LG area Dec-Mar, watching the whales. For Semana
Santa, they close every beach basically, so the only good option for
beach is Bahia Las Aguilas, might as well go to Pedernales for April.
Summer in the capital is too hot, so escape to the north coast, spend
May through August in Cabarete, or Rio San Juan. Then go to the south
east, La Romana, or the capital, for September to November.