I don't know what you are looking for, beaches, rural, etc. There is a little place I like to stay at in the middle of the country, Santiago Province located right on La Ventana River. It is a new hotel, about 1.5years old and costs about 15US a night for a single room and is frequented by very few tourists. It is called Hotel Sajoma outside of San Jose de las Matas(Sajoma) owned by Mariana y Miguel Pena. I have 2 telephone numbers plus a cell number: 939-4223, 578-8234, and cell number 914-7763.
I have stayed there on two separate occasions and is about 30 minutes from Santiago and about 2 hours from Santo Domingo. It is a few minutes by vehicle to San Jose (Sajoma), I would say that Sajoma is a town of about 50,000, I am just guessing, I am horrible with estimates. That is if you appreciate local culture, beauty of nature and getting up and swimming in the river, etc. The town has a happening bar/club on the weekend called the Igua Bar where they usually have a Bachata/Merengue singer perform and last I knew the cover charge was either 50 or 100RD. There usually is about 500 people there on the weekends. This is if you like hiking, experiencing local culture, and not concerned about the beach. You could always head to Santiago on the bus from Sajoma and see the historic sites there, go to Cascada (sp) Water Park there, etc. I mean there are so many great places in the DR like Jarabocoa (sp), Santiago, etc I believe the best part of the country in the south is Santo Domingo for culture, nightlife, etc and El Cibao region if you love mountains, local culture where few tourists travel, and nature. I always spend a few days at the beach in Boca Chica, then hit Santo Domingo, and then head up north and see my boy and family in Sajoma.
dale7(Howard)