Tropical House: The real story

[isa]

Hello, I read this thread and got curious. I have not stayed at Tropical House so I have no comments on that at all. I live in Puerto Plata for 5 months and previous to that I lived in Santo Domingo. I know from this stay, and stays before, that there is no, or very few decent work options available, mainly as Rocky says, commissionbased work where the chances to live on the salaries are very low. The island, more the North Coast, are full of people who have stayed over the winter, and will be rehired by the activity companies etc in the first hand, as they know the island, the way of working etc. To come as a new person is hard. It is not as easy as Ms Pellerin claims.

You write a drive back to Tropical House at night is 200-300 pesos. Its alot of money, and on a monthly basis impossible if you have a commission based work.

Your story, "The real story"... makes me wonder why you take upon yourself to cover for a lady living here. I have lived in great places in DR, and places Is rather forget about. But I would not start tell the "real story"...
If you prefer the countryside and know this island for 4 months, that is OK. If someone else prefers the city, it is OK too.
I guess what people react on is the way to promote and guarantee work, like the ads in Canada "Job guarantee program". This is what is wrong, not the location of the place.

I am anyway glad you like this wonderful island, and I am sure it is place for everybody, living on the countryside or in the cities. We all,though, need to follow the laws. Companies here pay taxes, are registred etc. According to another posting, Ms Pellerin does not do this.

I am curious, when did you work at Playa Naco? I have a friend working there for 6 months, and she does not remember anyone in kids club living at the place you mention.

Cheers to you!

 

[lilcanadiangal]

Hello, I read this thread and got curious. I have not stayed at Tropical House so I have no comments on that at all. I live in Puerto Plata for 5 months and previous to that I lived in Santo Domingo. I know from this stay, and stays before, that there is no, or very few decent work options available, mainly as Rocky says, commissionbased work where the chances to live on the salaries are very low. The island, more the North Coast, are full of people who have stayed over the winter, and will be rehired by the activity companies etc in the first hand, as they know the island, the way of working etc. To come as a new person is hard. It is not as easy as Ms Pellerin claims.

You write a drive back to Tropical House at night is 200-300 pesos. Its alot of money, and on a monthly basis impossible if you have a commission based work.

Your story, "The real story"... makes me wonder why you take upon yourself to cover for a lady living here. I have lived in great places in DR, and places Is rather forget about. But I would not start tell the "real story"...
If you prefer the countryside and know this island for 4 months, that is OK. If someone else prefers the city, it is OK too.
I guess what people react on is the way to promote and guarantee work, like the ads in Canada "Job guarantee program". This is what is wrong, not the location of the place.

I am anyway glad you like this wonderful island, and I am sure it is place for everybody, living on the countryside or in the cities. We all,though, need to follow the laws. Companies here pay taxes, are registred etc. According to another posting, Ms Pellerin does not do this.

I am curious, when did you work at Playa Naco? I have a friend working there for 6 months, and she does not remember anyone in kids club living at the place you mention.

Cheers to you!

What I wrote, I wrote based on my experiences down there, my personal experiences. I wrote the 'Real Story' because before I left, I had read only horrible things and things without detail. Everyone said "The place is horrible! Diane rips you off!" And that's it. No detail. I believe what I wrote gave a lot of detail and it was the truth. The truth from my perspective, however. I liked the place. Yes, there are of course things I may not like and I don't know all of Diane's business problems or about taxes she doesn't pay or anything like that. I just lived there, paid my rent and lived there without having interference from her.

About the cost of returning to Munoz at night, yes it is expensive. I said that. But as a tourist, like most of the people who live there are, 200 pesos is nothing! It's like 5 bucks, which is a lot less than you'd be paying in the USA or Canada for a taxi for that distance. Yes, with a Dominican salary it's tough, I'm not going to deny that. I was simply telling the people who much it costs and how I found it to be, which wasn't too bad when I had other people to split the cost with me.

Regarding the job situation, after arriving on the island, I found a job within 10 days, and with very little effort. My first job was as a secretary for Jurassy Tours, a safari company which has since gone down the tubes, I have heard. I quit that after just over a month (Serious management problems) and took some vacation time before looking for another job. After about 10 French students arrived at Tropical House looking for employment, I was informed of positions open at Playa Naco for anyone who knows French or a little French (in my case). I began to work there at the end of June and quit in August. I don't know who your friend is or why I didn't meet them, but it could be because I worked there for a short period of time. I worked with Annette and you can ask her about Annette and tell her to talk to her because she certainly knows who I am! She's the only other employee in the Kid's Club and has been working there for seven years. Well, I guess all I'm trying to say that depending on your skills and with some luck, there are jobs out there. I said that "I" had no problem finding a job. I found a job ALONE, with no help from Diane or anyone else. I went out applying all over the place, talking with whoever I could and searched any possibilities.

Again, I need to stress the fact that I called this story the Real Story because it is a true account of my experience there with great detail. I liked the place, so of course, my story is biased positively. I did however say bad things about place as well, such as transportation and the prices of the apartments. Overall, I felt comfortable there and I enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the countryside. The people of Munoz are incredible and as a young, solo traveler, I felt immediately at home. I made tons of friends and people I will consider family for probably the rest of my life and I will never forget. It was so great to have the river right there when living in the August heat and to have the comfort of the mountains right there beside you. It was always so calming for me to just take a walk up in the mountains, you certainly can't do that in the city. For me, Puerto Plata was a place of stress and noise. Don't get me wrong, it's a very charming little city that has its perks. But it's very loud, dirty, hot and it's impossible to escape the insistent motoconchos and cars that beep at you every two seconds, and the men yelling 'rubia'! 'gringa'! I felt relief the second I arrived home and was welcomed by peace and quiet. That was MY experience, everyone is different. I respect other people's views and opinions and was simply sharing those of my own.

 

[isa]

And I, on my side, respect your opinions. As I wrote, people should stay where they feel good, in the city, or on the countryside, or in the more touristic areas... Its up to everybody.
The only thing I did not get with your report, is that you call it the "Real Story" and kind of cover up for the owner, and really, it looks like you are against all other people who have come and left the place, because they did NOT like it or because they did NOT get the promised work. This is what the other threads have been about, not if a fridge is fixed or not etc.
The Dominican countryside as well as the villages by the beach coast line are beautiful, peaceful and also far away. In heavy rain you cannot even cross the bridges to/from Munoz or other villages. You cannot drive on dirtroads, and are pretty much isolated. There are many things to take into consideration when booking an apartment. Some people like the victorian city of Puerto Plata. Some prefer the centre, some Torre Alta, Bayardo or any of the very calm and nature covered areas.
The above, the prices, if you want to be guaranteed light and safety etc.
This is up to each and everyone.

I hope you enjoy any upcoming visits to DR, and I also hope you consider stoping this naivity to cover up for other people, whos business or illegal business we dont know about. Take some time, visit the city above the centre, see the residencial areas, Atlantico with access to beach, Bayardo, Torre Alta that are very calm and alots of gardens. Cofresi and Costambar..
There are many options on living styles here, Munoz is only one.

Other people have posted here and on other boards, that this place, with about 5-6 websites with different alias, have no registred company name, the do not pay the taxes of 12-22 % that other touristbased companies does. I might be wrong here of the procentage, maybe some other person knows this better. If this is the truth, and added that there is a job guarantee program, voluteer program etc. etc. then it is ripping off.
I dont belive these previous threads are based on all lies or on how the owner is as a person.

Everybody is entitled to post their reviews, yours was good and it is fully fair to post it, same as a person not satisfied with a hotel etc can post that. But it is has nothing to do with The Real Story. I dont think we know the real story.
As you wrote, you paid your rent, you liked the place, you did not mind it was far away from the city. This is all very fine, but it is just a report, no need to cover up for people and peoples business that you dont know anything about. I would never dream of doing that.

 

[lilcanadiangal]

Okay, first of all, I wasn't covering up for anyone. Where are you getting that idea? What is with this sort-of attack here? I posted my experience, I didn't cover up for anyone. I don't personally care what people think of Tropical House or Diane...I just simply thought that I could give some light on what the place was like, besides the job situation and everything else. She certainly does make it seem like it's so easy to find a job, but for me, it was. It's totally dependent. And I don't believe it's fair of her to get people to come over by saying that, but I have no control over that. Her business is her business. I stated my own experiences and nothing else.

I have been to Puerto Plata. I have seen the other places to live in the city and they have been considered. However, "I" like Munoz. It was the first place I went to and I very quickly felt at ease and at home. I'm 19 years old, that's very important when travelling alone. I went to the Dominican Republic to learn about the Dominican culture and studying the language..and to experience what it was like for the people there. I'm studying International Development and for that, I believe my experiences there were very beneficial. The countryside and the city are very different in the Dominican Republic and I chose to experience life in the countryside, that was my choice. I didn't go there to live in luxury, to live in Torre alta with 24 hour power and hot water and a swimming pool. If I wanted that, I never would have left home. EVERYONE has their own choice. I am NOT telling people what to do, nor am I telling people that they should go to Tropical House and can find a great job in a day or anything of that BS. I said what happened to me, that's it! That was my REAL STORY. Okay? I'm not going to defend why I called it that anymore. I obviously wasn't thinking when I wrote it, but then again, I wasn't really thinking 'that' much about the title. I thought more about the content, which I consider to be much more important. Either way, that's it. You've got my story, my experience. If you have a problem with it, dont read it. I dont care. I hope my experiences will be of value to someone, that was the point of posting this. I had no other motive. I am not covering for anyone, nor advertising for anyone, nor anything else.

Gosh, this board is always eating up people.......really makes you think a few times before you write up a post. I doubt I'll ever post another trip experience, that's for sure. This is ridiculous.

 

[Rocky]

Gosh, this board is always eating up people.......really makes you think a few times before you write up a post. I doubt I'll ever post another trip experience, that's for sure. This is ridiculous.

I do understand how you might feel, but you have to understand, that we as a group and as individuals devote a lot of time and energy to protecting newly arrived people, from being scammed.
If you yourself recognize that Dianne falsely promises jobs to potential clients, then you have to understand our position as well.
If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.

 

[lilcanadiangal]

I do understand how you might feel, but you have to understand, that we as a group and as individuals devote a lot of time and energy to protecting newly arrived people, from being scammed.
If you yourself recognize that Dianne falsely promises jobs to potential clients, then you have to understand our position as well.
If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.

I totally understand that, totally. I have certainly heard and read many things about Diane and the operations of Tropical House and I understand that their may be a 'scam'. DR1 and all the helpful people here are what made me change my decision to go to Tropical House. I cancelled my reservation, but was tricked by another woman who works for another housing company and sent there. Apparently the apartment I was supposed to have wasn't open and Tropical House was a last minute solution. I don't know if I believe that. However, there's nothing I can do about that now. I got my money back and I'm satisfied with that.

Diane needs to change something about her business style, she needs to have ethics. Ethics is such an important aspect in the business world and perhaps she should adapt such principles. She needs to stop advertising her place using the high availability of jobs as a main asset to her apartments. She needs to think more of her customers as people, rather than money. But my post was about the apartments, not about how Diane found me a job. I liked the place and I found a job on my own, without even expecting or asking for help. I went with sufficient funds so that if I didn't find a job, I would survive. That's how everyone should go there, with an open mind. How can anyone read that website and really truly believe that it's all true? Nothing is THAT good! That's the first thing I thought when I read it. What is this? How can I just fly to another country and have a job just fall into my lap, live in a place so close to the beach and so beautiful, just like that. Immediately alarms went off and I started thinking. Seemed to perfect.

Tropical House is a good place for those who are looking for peace and the experience of living in the Dominican countryside. Go there for that, not for the promises she makes. I would never have gone or given it a chance had I not been tricked and taken there, but fortunately I liked it and decided to stay. I liked the people and the atmosphere and felt quickly at home. That's how I'm thinking about this. I'm not sitting here defending all that Diane does or anything else. Please don't take it that way. I've never said that. Diane is a good woman, from what I know of her. I've seen her go out of her way for people a ton of times and I've witnessed her saving the lives of two people. That's what I saw. What I've heard and read shows someone completely different. Take it as you want it. My post is my post and my experience is my experience. I certainly should not have to defend myself for what I experienced and for sharing it with others.

 

[Robert]

I think it's time to close this one....