Monte Placido Vacation Homes

Casa Lily was spacious and comfortable, with a lovely balcony and spectacular sunrise views. The bedroom has a double bed and a single, though the bathroom doorway is covered only by a curtain. The kitchen is a good size. The bungalow, by comparison, is simple and practical: a comfortable bed, useful desk, and outdoor kitchen that was hard to keep clean. When my dad visited, the hosts kindly made up a bed for him in the living room. The bungalow is outside the security gates, which the website hadn't made clear. The village felt safe, but I hadn't expected that. The views and peaceful village setting are beautiful, but getting up the steep hill can be tricky, especially after rain. I slipped a few times and my dad fell hard. Our taxi struggled to climb it since it wasn't a 4-wheel drive. I liked the walk for exercise and parked my scooter at the bottom, but it's something to think about before booking. The staff were exceptional. Jean-Claude picked me up at the bus station, sharpened knives, and helped with maintenance. Nené was brilliant too, fixing my scooter and helping with repairs. They were both friendly, dedicated, and considerate of my work calls, even moving noisy jobs to another time. Jean-Claude speaks some English, so getting by without Spanish shouldn't be a problem. I had trouble working because the internet and power kept cutting out, despite the place being advertised as suitable for digital nomads. The hosts said this was unusual, though a returning guest had apparently had similar problems before. They said the power and Wi-Fi were worse in town, but I found the opposite and often went there to work. Brief rain-related interruptions made sense, but the four-day Wi-Fi outage was frustrating. On day three, the hosts offered to take guests to Clave Verde, which I appreciated. Some days the connection also dropped 8-10 times, seriously disrupting work. Even with solar power and a backup generator, there were outages. One night the lights went out during dinner, and nobody restarted the generator. Maintenance felt reactive. A broken water heater meant I had to move. I was grateful for another place, but the hosts described it as an 'upgrade' rather than a necessary fix. In the second house, there were leaks, mouldy clothes, and ants. Roof repairs took weeks, and the tar smell and loud noise interrupted my calls. The walls stayed damp, so I kept clothes outside the cupboard to stop them getting mouldy. A fan the hosts provided wasn't enough. They had given me ant powder, but later said they hadn't known about the infestation. There weren't many bugs in the second property, but the bungalow had lots, so I needed the mosquito net. The hosts supplied a sound machine to keep lizards and frogs away, and it helped a bit. Mosquitoes were worst in rainy season. Bats kept swooping in at night until I insisted the netting be secured. The hosts were responsive, but sometimes I felt like a burden. They often brought up the cost of requests and sometimes complained about other guests, which made me wonder what they might say about me. Once I overheard them talking about me from their house. I also heard them argue with guests twice, which was uncomfortable. A lot was outside their control, but sometimes the way they dealt with problems made the stay more stressful. It was a mix of lovely parts and frustrating ones. If you're on holiday and can be flexible about power, internet, and maintenance, you might enjoy it. If you need reliable service for remote work, I'd consider another place or make sure you have a strong data plan.

The quiet and peace here gave us a chance to meditate and breathe deeply, a welcome break from our noisy, chaotic everyday lives back in The States. We enjoyed the yoga studio and Shiva’s cave, which felt peaceful and spiritual. After days of exploring the Dominican Republic's beautiful beaches, it was nice to come home somewhere safe, cook a meal, and take a shower. Don and Diane were generous hosts, sharing useful information to help us enjoy their property and the country. The gardens were carefully maintained, and our clean, well-decorated villa had everything we needed. The infinity pool, overlooking the ocean and jungle, was much appreciated. We have special dietary restrictions, and Don and Diane went out of their way to prepare a much-needed vegan welcome meal. Don’s hummuis was awesome. Thank you both for everything.

The hill was quite a workout. Some of us walked up and down it each morning for exercise, since Monte Placido is set high on a huge hill. I co-led a yoga retreat here and had an amazing time. Don and Diana made everything easy and fun, and the grounds are beautiful, the villas are perfect. We couldn't have asked for a better place to stay and host our retreat. I highly recommend it.

The food was fresh and delicious, and the rooms were clean and comfortable. Don and Diana were wonderful hosts while I was here for a yoga retreat. Four-plus stars! If you want to get away from the touristy spots, this is the place.