LUXURY VILLA ON THE BEACH WITH 18 ROOMS,16 BATHROOMS, POOL, HAMMAM, JACUZZI,..

We spent a week at Villa Del Mar with family and friends. We had 20 friends and family members ranging in ages 8-75 and everyone had an amazing time. The staff at the Villa made the whole week delightful and memorable. Olivia was very helpful in making arrangements for our stay and making sure everything ran smoothly. The entire staff were amazing hosts. They were very helpful in getting us whatever we needed at any time. We've stayed at many 5 star resorts around the world and have never received the attention and care that these fine people provided. We would go back in a minute just to visit our new friends. We miss them already! The Villa is incredibly beautiful, but also comfortable and welcoming. With a gorgeous pool, beach and game room - we were never short on activities. All the rooms are beautiful and very well appointed and they all come with their own bathroom. The villa is located directly on Playa Coson! It is an incredible beach just outside your door step. You can wake up and run for miles on this beautiful unspoiled beach. It is also very safe for children of all ages. The villa is a bit out of town and we had a blast getting around the area with the ATV's that we rented. The food was amazing - Ronal is a star in the making and was happy to make whatever we asked for. We also had a great dinner at the Ocean Grill restaurant just a short walk down the beach. It was an incredible week and we are already planning our return visit!

If you are reading this then the question on your mind is probable: is this place for real? I'd like to assure you that the answer is an enthusiastic YES.

PROS
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- the photos posted of the house here actually fail to do it justice -- every one of my 25 guests agreed it was even better than advertised. The beach, the grass, the pool, the tub, the living area, the rooms. Amazing.
- The staff were even more exceptional than the house. They were always a step ahead of the guests in cleaning, setting out snacks or arranging drinks, and chef Jose is AMAZING -- honestly, the food he cooked for us at home was much better than the restaurants we ate at.
- The location is great, private and safe but very close to Las Terrenas and lots of great tourist activities.
- I'm out of characters, it is just amazing...


CONS
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- The floor in the house is wildly unsafe when wet, and with the open floor plan and the pool right there it is basically always wet. My mother fell and hit her head quite hard on a pillar.
- The day I arrived the staff approached me and asked for $350 more than the negotiated contract for someone to stay late and clean. I think it was a totally fair request but I was disappointed it wasn't handled in the contract beforehand.
- We had at least a partial power outage every day and twice we had extended total outages. This was partly expected, of course, but it happened more frequently in this house than anyplace else on the island in our 2 week stay.
- We also had a water outage and spent a whole day carrying buckets of water from the pool to the toilets to keep them working. This was disappointing.
- Pre-trip communication was difficult. The owners/managers can be slow to respond over email and hard to talk to on the phone in english. We had trouble getting directions to the house, for example, and someone had to spend a day trying to find it before people arrived.
- Some people didn't like that the rooms didn't have doors on the toilets for obvious reasons
- The open floor plan means there are more bugs in the living area than if the house was closed. This is totally worth it to me, just FYI.

After all that, I'm STILL GIVING IT 5 STARS. Why am I giving it a perfect rating even with some flaws? Because of the price. It is an absolutely insane value. it might be the best value in the world for houses of its type, at least according to my pretty extensive research on large scale rentals across the globe before picking this one

Every day I was surprising with charm and beauty.
The location is close to the little town of las Terrenas,very safe with plenty good restaurants with a touch of french and italian cuisine.
Frenh bakery with croissants and pastry from the famous 'Nadine".
Horse back ridding for sunset and nice cocktails before diner with the local chef on the beach.
Very friendly staff ,who kept the house nice and clean all days.
Warming welcome with Martine and Francois ,who's always here for us ,organising trip to the water fall or the "route du cafe".
Just a perfect place to chill out and enjoy the swiming pool and make the perfect vacation.