Santo Domingo

[OldKool]

Wow she is gorgeous. Not what I expected she looks classy. I want!!

About 6 months ago me and my boys hooked up wit 3 venezuelan chicas working in sosua. They said they would come for 3 months go home for a period then come back. About 2 months ago my boys who were staying there said 6 of them were out there. My boys left two weeks after the start of the crackdown so I don't know if there still there. But I bet we will be seeing a lot more venezulean chics in the dr. Here are pics of one of them

[Grandnash84]

There seem to be quite a few Venezuelan ladies working now in Santo Domingo. Yes. I know there country is exploding. Any idea where to locate them?

Thanks.

About 6 months ago me and my boys hooked up wit 3 venezuelan chicas working in sosua. They said they would come for 3 months go home for a period then come back. About 2 months ago my boys who were staying there said 6 of them were out there. My boys left two weeks after the start of the crackdown so I don't know if there still there. But I bet we will be seeing a lot more venezulean chics in the dr. Here are pics of one of them

[Knowledge]

Go to the usual places, they will find you.

There seem to be quite a few Venezuelan ladies working now in Santo Domingo. Yes. I know there country is exploding. Any idea where to locate them?

Thanks.

[Joey Smith]

There seem to be quite a few Venezuelan ladies working now in Santo Domingo. Yes. I know there country is exploding. Any idea where to locate them?

Thanks.

[Troubleman69]

Thanks, everyone for their input on Airbnb. I still haven't made a choice on which apartment I want to choose, but I have asked questions about electricity (and backup power), along with guest policy. I only allow my main girl in my room anyway, or in this case apt. I take the others to a cabana or do onsite if at a casa.

[Ozzie1451]

Thanks for the info and will keep that in mind. Although, I will say you may run into a situation where if you book a place for only 2 days and you end up liking the place, it may be already booked for all the other days you were hoping to stay there. That strategy works well with hotels, but based on my experience with apartments in Medellin, it (deciding to extend your stay after a couple of days) is really not an option because they will already have the rest of the time booked up.

Could be a different story in SD though.

Without a question it is the short coming of booking 1-2 days first. But one needs to take into account if it is high or low season, if there is demand for this particular city or area. The other advantage of booking 1-2 days is that you can get a better price for the rest of your stay. Owners are asking generally speaking more when one books through airbnb. It is a little bit of luck either way. But I will emphasize again asking all the questions and getting all the information needed before booking full stay.

[Tempoecorto]

Thanks for the info. In reading yours and Tempoecorto's report I didn't know that the "no guest" policy was even an issue!

Let me rectify my account somewhat. The SD rentals (two) did not have any issue with guest but there was a huge issue of electricity. The French guy around La Union, with his house did not have any issue whatsoever with guests either but again a huge issue with the electricity. It is in Santiago that I ran into this problem of "no guest" - one was a woman owner and others were men but yes, I was renting a room with enclosed bath and not the whole apartment. These were also high rise condos and there were issue of checking ID by the security etc. For me, electricity and guest are two critical items. I could not care less about a kitchen when I could go down elsewhere and have a cappuccino and brioche made by someone else, instead of having to go shopping for coffee. Of course, for long term stays, the dynamics presumably could be different.

[SavePros321]

I did have 2 other good experiences. But they were in other locations in the DR. One was a nice cabin up in the mountains of Jarabacoa (only $42 per night for a 2-bedroom.) I stayed there for 3 nights with my GF.

The other was a room to rent in Santiago for $30 per night with full kitchen privileges. For that location, I could not bring a chica into my room, but I was not looking to do that anyway.

I think AirBnB in the DR will grow in popularity. And--hopefully--in reliability. Go for it!

Thanks for the info. In reading yours and Tempoecorto's report I didn't know that the "no guest" policy was even an issue! I do see them having a tough time enforcing that though (I am speaking on renting an entire apartment vs only a room)). They've have to have surveillance cameras all over the place and be watching you like a hawk 24/7, LOL.

I mean seriously, how can they rent you a spot and not expect that you may have friends over? What if you meet up with a fellow monger? It reminds me of those movies in the 80's where the parents would go out of town and tell their teenagers not to throw a party while they are gone, lol. I could see the conversation now (Monger 1 to Monger 2): "I can't let you come back to my place because my mom said I can't have any visitors..." Hahaha.

[SavePros321]

But I will recommend very strongly to communicate very well with the owner ask all the questions get all your answers before booking. I would still book only for 1-2 nights to see the apartment and decide if I like to stay longer there.

Thanks for the info and will keep that in mind. Although, I will say you may run into a situation where if you book a place for only 2 days and you end up liking the place, it may be already booked for all the other days you were hoping to stay there. That strategy works well with hotels, but based on my experience with apartments in Medellin, it (deciding to extend your stay after a couple of days) is really not an option because they will already have the rest of the time booked up.

Could be a different story in SD though.

[Ozzie1451]

We're there any reviews of the place before you booked? Most listings have reviews from past guests.

I don't remember the details right now. But I believe there were not many reviews at that time for this particular apartment and it was my fist experience with airbnb. Now most places have many reviews which are very helpful. But I will recommend very strongly to communicate very well with the owner ask all the questions get all your answers before booking. I would still book only for 1-2 nights to see the apartment and decide if I like to stay longer there.

[Robby Burns]

Has anyone had any good experiences with AirBnB in Santo Domingo?

I had mixed results in the DR. You must be very careful about where the owner says the apartment is located.

I rented one place that said it was in Boca Chica. Instead, it was in Juan Dolio--a $50 cab ride from the airport. The owner refuse to refund my money, saying "Technically, it is on the outskirts of Boca Chica. " No way! Technically, it is on the outskirts of San Pedro de Macoris, 40 km from Boca Chica.

Another owner misrepresented his location within Santo Domingo. I thought I was renting near the Zona Colonial. Instead, his place was out near the far end of the Malecon. Again, the owner refused to refund my money. Eventually, I was able to get credits from AirBnB for future usage, but I had to track down a phone number to call them, and show them screen shots of the misrepresented locations on their site. (I don't know if the banned those two owners from the site.).

The customer service reps explained that they do not have the manpower to verify the location of every place that is advertised. The onus is on the customer to verify location.

I did have 2 other good experiences. But they were in other locations in the DR. One was a nice cabin up in the mountains of Jarabacoa (only $42 per night for a 2-bedroom.) I stayed there for 3 nights with my GF.

The other was a room to rent in Santiago for $30 per night with full kitchen privileges. For that location, I could not bring a chica into my room, but I was not looking to do that anyway.

I think AirBnB in the DR will grow in popularity. And--hopefully--in reliability. Go for it!

[Tempoecorto]

I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago, but never got a response. I'm going to use them for my next trip in Oct.

I have used airbnb two times in SD, about two years back. First one was owned by a resident German (5 minutes from Pacos) and the second one by a Dominican. I actually used the first place (nothing to write home about) but the second one was canceled. I have also rented single house in Sosua and Santiago, via airbnb. Based on numerous experiences, for me, it is just not worth the time and bother. The biggest issue is electricity. Most places have no continuity and if the AC is gone, you may as well leave the room / house. In one place, rented to me by a French guy, I had to scream at the owner to get someone to get the generator on and then they complained that it used up all the gasoline. WTF? Also several places would not allow guests and in one case, a Dominican owner living in NY, had the gall of asking me for my passport, in addition to "no guest". I told her to go where she needed to.

The hotels are fine for me essentially because everything works including continuous electricity, compared to guest places where there is no guarantee. I do hate the idea of having to show ID of my guests in hotels but I have figured out that one so no airbnb for me any longer.

[SavePros321]

Long time ago I used airbnb to get an apartment at malecon for a week. Pictures were much nicer than the apartment itself. Traffic was very noisy 24/7 and I had difficulty to sleep at night. There were issues with internet but it was fixed after two days. I would strongly recommend to get the apartment for 1-2 days first just in case if you don't like it. It would be good idea to ask about AC, hot water and internet or other things which may be important for you. Good communication before booking would be very helpful. I was not happy with apartment but I paid fully and I had no choice but stay. It is almost impossible to cancel with airbnb.

We're there any reviews of the place before you booked? Most listings have reviews from past guests.

[Ozzie1451]

I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago, but never got a response. I'm going to use them for my next trip in Oct.

Long time ago I used airbnb to get an apartment at malecon for a week. Pictures were much nicer than the apartment itself. Traffic was very noisy 24/7 and I had difficulty to sleep at night. There were issues with internet but it was fixed after two days. I would strongly recommend to get the apartment for 1-2 days first just in case if you don't like it. It would be good idea to ask about AC, hot water and internet or other things which may be important for you. Good communication before booking would be very helpful. I was not happy with apartment but I paid fully and I had no choice but stay. It is almost impossible to cancel with airbnb.

[SavePros321]

I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago, but never got a response. I'm going to use them for my next trip in Oct.

Yeah, we may have to be trailblazers in this particular area, LOL 😎.