Private Villa, 'House of the Mermaids', Fully Staffed Private Home with Pool

The pictures of the Villa don’t do justice of the beauty of the landscape and decor of this place. Ee felt like home the moment we got there. Verry safe for kids. The villa has a gate with padlocks and you get your set of keys when you check in. The beach is not the nicest I have seen. But take a cab and go to Playa Grande (10 minutes drive). The staff is professional and friendly.

We had an amazing time!

We returned home on Feb 24th after a 10 day stay at this lovely villa.

Villa - The Villa was beautiful, spotless, kept immaculate every day! The rooms were cleaned, beds made, and all living areas were cleaned perfectly daily! The air conditioning units work AMAZING!....in fact we turned ours off in the early morning hours each day as our room was chilly. Those hot blooded folks will find these units a dream. The villa has beautiful views of Cofresi beach and the mountain, and we spent hours just watching the clouds change the mountain landscape. The property manager Gus came by on arrival and ensured we were all set! He even came back the next day and placed a bar in the shower for my Mother in Law!!!! Such a lovely thing to do.

Landscapes & Pools - The gardens, grounds and pools were kept beautiful and sparkling and Narcisso helped in all ways asked. He ensured we had water, and ran errands if asked. He was a HUGE help and a lovely man.

Food - Our group consisted of 8 adults, one of which was a vegetarian (me lol). I had previously been to an AI in DR and struggled with food, as alternatives and options appear generally not available. I struggled over the 10 days with vegetarian food, but Tonia tried her best and made some great meals. I just couldn't eat them. I found it easier to cook my own food, or grab it from the Restaurant Los Charros just down by Cofresi Beach. The concept of vegetarian seems a little tough perhaps. For example: making soups with chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, layering chicken on top of the rice, scooping the vegetables out of the dominican/meat stew into another pot for me (for the veg option), and making a meat spaghetti sauce for dinner but leaving my can of sauce unopened on the counter(I assume perhaps I was to just to heat it up myself? which I did and just chopped my own vegetables etc), having just hot dogs for lunch etc. Nonetheless, Tonia and the staff certainly tried to attend to my needs and it was something I expected to happen anyways. If you are coming as a vegetarian I would suggest to go shopping with Tonia and make sure you have supplies you will need to make yourself a meal, or grab some food at Los Charros or Chris and Maddy's (2 restaurants across from Cofresi Beach). Overall remember you are in a beautiful, warm country and it's just food!:)

Overall we had a lovely stay! Thankyou!!!!

We stayed at this villa to celebrate a special occasion and spent 5 days and 4 nights here. I’ll start off by saying that Brian, the owner, was very responsive and helped us with arranging transportation from the airport and answering all our questions prior to arrival. The villa was very clean and well-kept. The gardens and pool were well-maintained. A delicious meal was planned prior to our arrival and waiting for us when we reached the villa. The staff was very nice, friendly, non-interfering, and professional. Language was definitely a problem for us as none of us spoke Spanish and the staff spoke little English. A few of my family members including me are vegetarian and although Tonya was able to substitute and get creative, the food options were limited. We carried some snacks from home and instant meals which turned out to be life-saving especially given our dietary restrictions and having a 3 year old with us!

This is a great place for a relaxing vacation. Since the staff leaves at 3 pm and at 1 pm on Sundays, meals must be planned in advance (that includes deciding the menu a few days in advance and having all groceries available). The location is less than ideal for eating out (only 2 decent restaurants within walking distance) and for those wanting to spend time on a beach. The Cofresi beach is only a 5-10 minute walk, but it is not clean and it is not a sandy beach where you can laze/sit around.

We did a city tour recommended by Gus (a tour agent) who came to greet us the first morning after we got there. It was a private taxi tour, in which we visited the rum factory, chocolate factory, amber museum, and rode the cable car up to mt. Isabele de torres. There are other activities such as ocean park, paradise island, waterfall hike, catamaran tour, etc and each of these are anywhere from $75-$190 per person.

We had a very pleasant stay but things that could’ve improved our experience are 1) air conditioning in the common areas, 2) house phone to make local phone calls to call taxis or order food, 3) a visit by the property manager to give us some much needed info re: eating out and getting around. We bumped into the property manager of the next door villa who arranged a taxi and restaurant reservation for us on one of the evenings. (Unfortunately, it turned out to be a tourist trap and a not so pleasant experience) but that is precisely why a visit from Gabino would have been helpful! Overall, great stay! Don’t forget bug spray!

The staff was great, the food was great, the location was great. Enough space for each of us and more. The only thing I would love to see is an air conditioner in the downstairs sitting area. It was nice but sometimes it just got too hot and we all went back toniur room.

My family wanted to try something diffrent other then resorts and gave a private Villa a try. Boy was this better then we expected, my family was more then overjoyed , not only, with the Villa itself but the staff was amazing. Tanya was the best cook and more then excellent attention. Simply the best and definitely will return.