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"Noise-free" - Resort then Condominium rental

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pfaure
Hello

Though Dominicans are very kind and helpful from what I have seen, they are very noisy and have no respect for other people.. especially with their use of smartphone.. or with music.

After having almost finished my process for permanent residency, I am planning to spend 2 weeks in a resort and then to rent a studio or one bedroom apartment in a condo.

Does anyone can recommend :
- a resort in "usual tourist places" which is very quiet both inside and outside, and with comfortable beds
- an area where I could find a condo with same constraints, with pool and gym, good internet, safe area, could be in Samana, Las Terenas, La Romana.. but i am open-minded

Thanks all in advance for your help.

PS : If some people want information on Thailand, I can provide quite a lot... I spent almost 7 years there.
olgaglenn
Check Grand Bahia Principe in Las Terrenas
planner
WE are now headed into shoulder season with tourism and resorts. Things will quiet down somewhat.  I cannot help you with resorts in those areas, sorry.

May I suggest you also post your knowledge of Thailand on their  forums here?  You will likely be able to make a real difference there! 

We are more than willing to help you here.
Akinkunmi Akinpelu
I wonder why our friends from North America, describe the vibrant and lively atmosphere in these lovely islands as noisiness. I thought the whole essence of seeking change in a completely different geographical space is about meeting new and different people and soaking up new cultures and mores. Coming to live in the Caribbean Islands is not solely about soaking up the sun, sand, and sea. Why quit the stone-cold and graveyard silence of North America's suburbs in the first place?
RockyM
Replying to the above post. Not this discussion again. One more time....much of the complaining, if you read the local news, is from Dominicans. They are tired of noise laws being disregarded. These are people that have to "work in the morning" and have families. This isn't a matter of a boom box blaring out a window, this is serious noise infractions. Read some of the "noise" threads here and you will get an idea of what the complaints are. It is not simply "North Americans want to change our culture, so go home". That is a useless statement.
ddmcghee
Either of the all-inclusives in Las Terrenas will offer some escape from the noise! Wyndham V Samana is on Playa Coson, west of town, and the Grand Bahia El Portillo is east of town.

You can find condos on those beaches as well that will be much quieter than anything on Playa Las Ballenas or Playa Popy.
ugpulse

@RockyM Point taken... but though meant well, it "comes off" rather pompous to "move" to a country and label it's citizens as "very noisy and have no respect for other people". Like we are now experts on Dominicans. Simply say you are looking for a quiet location and keep it at that... There are so many factors at play when making such a conclusion that "Dominicans are noisy", and may very well ultimately "generally" be a statement of fact. But there are many Dominicans that also what their quiet as mentioned, so that conclusion already starts falling apart.... Simply say you are looking for a quiet location and we will all maintain the respect for one another ;)

UncleBuck

@RockyM Point taken... but though meant well, it "comes off" rather pompous to "move" to a country and label it's citizens as "very noisy and have no respect for other people". Like we are now experts on Dominicans. Simply say you are looking for a quiet location and keep it at that... There are so many factors at play when making such a conclusion that "Dominicans are noisy", and may very well ultimately "generally" be a statement of fact. But there are many Dominicans that also what their quiet as mentioned, so that conclusion already starts falling apart.... Simply say you are looking for a quiet location and we will all maintain the respect for one another wink.png

- @ugpulse
Not to gang up on you ugpulse, but RockyM is one of the cooler heads and is a great addition.  Spend some time reading the forum, and the many other news sources, and you will see he is echoing the rest of the country.  "Read the room", as they say.  2 posts in, and being critical of someone, is pretty reactionary.  Leave your prejudices at home, and understand that most of us have, as well.  Trying to improve things is very different than changing things.  By that, I mean, working alongside the vast majority of Dominicans who seem to want the same thing is different than forcing your views on them.  If Locals and Expats agree, it isn't racism.

RockyM

@RockyM Point taken... but though meant well, it "comes off" rather pompous to "move" to a country and label it's citizens as "very noisy and have no respect for other people". Like we are now experts on Dominicans. Simply say you are looking for a quiet location and keep it at that... There are so many factors at play when making such a conclusion that "Dominicans are noisy", and may very well ultimately "generally" be a statement of fact. But there are many Dominicans that also what their quiet as mentioned, so that conclusion already starts falling apart.... Simply say you are looking for a quiet location and we will all maintain the respect for one another wink.png

- @ugpulse
I am not sure where you inferred prejudice from my posts. All I am saying is we, as expats, agree with many Dominicans and want existing noise laws enforced.

Tippj
What noise ….. traffic.. ?
ExpatRusher
Well now, back to the original post!

PFAURE, this post won't be as much help to you as I would like, but having just spent March in the DR, touring around in the Great Expat/Tourist Circle (Santo Domingo, La Romana, Punta Cana, Las Terrenas, Cabrera, then Puerto Plata, Cabarete, Sosua and Costambar, finally to Santiago and flew home from there), I learned a whole bunch about your questions/goals.

1.  "Quiet resorts or condos" or even neighborhoods is a very transitory thing.  Lots depends on the month/day/holiday/season in question, and who your particular neighbors are that particular day, week or weekend. 

2.  I don't think anywhere in Las Terrenas can be truly quiet and peaceful -- not anymore.  Too crowded now, and they are building new projects and homes on every available scrap of land. 
  • Go to YouTube and search for "Las Terrenas Semana Santo 2022," you'll find a bunch of great videos depicting just how crowded can be.  One video started around Punta Popi and went East, at a crawl due to the traffic...and as they crept along, you got full-tilt musical entertainment from all of the boom boxes -- and in some cases complete stereo systems set up just for the occasion, with huge speakers.  Literally, as you moved along one sound experience just fades as another comes in range.  There's a lot of clashing music in the middle, too.  That is an education in what LT can be like.
  • We looked at a few properties way down -- well, they weren't actually streets and didn't have name, they were more like alleys -- anyway, way, way down deep into these alleys.  The alleys already are too small for the traffic they're carrying now, and yet developers are jamming condos and apartments way back into those alleyways.   Given the DR tradition of parking anywhere you feel like, and you're going to end up with true gridlock. 
  • As others have said about Las Ballenas beach in LT, you have to get there and park and just walk everywhere. 
  • Now, you can have a LOVELY time just outside of LT, as long as you don't frequently go into the Centro and don't come on major holidays.  To the East are several beaches with very nice places.  We looked at Balcones des Atlantico (I hope I remembered that one right), which is an excellent medium-sized development.  Pools and recreation, good parking, etc.  Easy & safe walk inside the gated community down to a gate to exit and then cross the street to the beach and Porto by Mosquito Restaurant.   Even so, talking to some folks let us know that even in Balcones, the holidays can get pretty noisy as folks stay up late to dance and party.   
  • One couple we know on this forum is building a wonderful hilltop home just outside of LT proper, on the West side.  If you have the resources to build, buy or rent such a place, you don't have much in the way of neighbors to cause you too many noise problems, until you have to go into town. 
3.  We found Cabrera to be an extremely nice, quiet and peaceful town -- at least on the weekend we visited there.  Cabrera isn't big, and at least for the moment doesn't have the tourist crowds many other places do.   We had a wonderful lunch-with-a-view at the delightful Catalina Tropical Lodge, which sits on the hills above Cabrera's West side -- absolutely cannot beat the view and breezes. 
  • The Catalina TL is a great place to visit, but if you're staying there, be aware that some of the units are pretty basic.  It's up to the owners to maintain or upgrade their units -- many do, but some don't  Make sure of what you're getting there.  Know what you're renting.
  • We didn't spend enough time in Cabrera to go into detail on other housing possibilities, but having just come from super-busy and loud Las Terrenas, Cabrera was a delightful haven. 
  • Cabrera does have a touristy section down on the main beach, especially toward the East.  Still, it is a far cry from LT, PC or LR. 
4.  We found La Romana disappointing. 
  • If you have the bucks to stay at the elite Caso de Campo, East of LR, then it is a truly luxurious and peaceful place to visit.  CdeC is premium luxury, and the prices help to keep out the riffraff (like ourselves, we got to stay there in 2021 only because of an incredible 75% off rate, not to be repeated).
  • If you don't have the resources for Caso de Campo, a lot of LR is pretty gritty.  Be careful of the neighborhoods you drive through after dark -- most are okay, but some were pretty dicey, and I wouldn't drive there after dark.  Notably, every single house in the entire town that we saw (excepting the resorts to East and West) have iron bars on the windows and doors.  The only exception in town was higher-story condos.   
  • West of LR -- FAR west of LR -- there is a relatively new Bahia Principe development, Playa Nuevo Romano (PNR).   It's the usual mixed-development resort with an all-inclusive resort hotel at the center of it, with some fantastic aspect.  They also have very small roads that are fine now, but in 20 years at full development are going to be painful.  Personally, we wouldn't buy in PNR simply because of the roads.  But they're not having any trouble selling their units, so I guess we're in the minority. 
  • At the moment, PNR makes for a pretty nice vacation spot -- many of the units are spaced away from each other and the all-inclusive partying in the evenings, and I think noise would only be an issue if you're there on the very busiest of weekends or holidays.  The areas immediately surrounding the main hotel, pools and activity venues down there are going to be pretty loud in the evenings, but the shows all shut down by 11 or so.  The only big downside to PNR is that you're a good 30 minutes away from LR, so it really is a Destination resort.
5.  Cabarete and Puerto Plata were pretty nice -- nicer and more comfortable than we expected.  There are a LOT of modest condo complexes that open directly to the beach and all the activities.   
  • A real delight was having lunch in a shore-side restaurant near the Kite School, and watching the AMAZING Kite Surfers at play.  First time I'd seen kite surfing anywhere but on TV, and TV doesn't begin to capture the pure awesomeness of watching these guys (and a couple of gals) giving continuous exhibitions up and down the beach.   MANY DOZENS OF KITE SURFERS AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE!  AWESOME, I only egret that my physical/medical conditions won't allow me to try it personally, but it sure was a kick watching these folks.
  • Now, here's a wild excursion for you:  I stayed four nights at Lifestyle Resort Puerto Plata and it is one of the better-executed all-inclusives I've ever seen.  I loved the place.   There's a LOT of stuff going on, but the landscaping and vegetation generally serves to keep the noise and bustle contained to the immediate areas, and most of the housing/unit areas were pretty darn quiet.  Now, if you go for an evening stroll, you're going to hear the evening's big show over at the arena and maybe some dance contests at the various beaches, if you're close enough.  But it isn't so loud as to make the windows shake, you know?  It's more at the "pleasant background noise of people having fun" level.   And Lifestyles has wisely moved their most-intense partying locations indoors, so the noise isn't ruining everyone else's sleep.  I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO SPEND A FULL WEEK -- OR SEVERAL WEEKS -- AT LIFESTYLES RESORT PUERTO PLATA.   
  • One caution: Lifestyles is well outside of the mainstream of Puerto Plata, and even with a car you're going to be 25 minutes or more getting to any of the nice restaurants in Centro or along the PP beaches.   I did have a car, but found it really was better to just buy the all-inclusive bracelets, stay inside the resort and enjoy different restaurants each meal. 
Okay, that's all I got for the type of experience you were looking for, PFAURE.  I'm sure I went wide of the mark, but I figure others might benefit from the info in the future, too. 

Take care, and I hope you find a great place to stay. 

Jim
ExpatRusher
ugpulse

@UncleBuck lol… no worries. I never accused anyone of racism. I simply said I found the original post disrespectful in its wording. Everything else is assumptions that I will not engage in. Be well.

ugpulse

@RockyM read the original post. I was responding to your response. And commenting on the original post. I was not accusing you of anything. I guess I should keep my mouth shut. Lol. Let you guys answer questions on the quiet areas 

planner
Jim - well written very useful post. Thank you!
stealth19

@RockyM It is a fact that most Dominicans are loud and noisy, they don’t deny it. I said most not all. It seems to be part of their culture. Even in the most upscale resorts you could encounter Dominican Neighbours from hell.

planner
Ok we are going to stop this endless discussion.

This is NOT expats driving the govt to stop the noise abuse.  It effects expats but it is not their fight.

Nothing wrong with anyone seeking whatever it is they need to live comfortably.
tcantey
Well said comments from all as an expat I lived in noisy areas all over the country but you have to put boots on the ground ti investigate what you want in this forum you are hearing opinions from people that have been here for a while so you’re subjected to that source there’s give and take for what you want in this country if you want quiet you have to pay a little bit more to find it I think in ups kill areas but then again you may be subjected to some noises and I said before because I’ve been here for two years you would have a different opinion if you spend some time here

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