chris10021

A group of my girlfriends are planning a trip to DR at the end of January. They are looking at booking rooms at "Villa Simply Paradise" which is not a resort. What do you think in terms of safety, access to beaches and restaurants?

doug_stallings

Where in the DR is this? In general, I would more advocate a resort rather than a private villa for safety's sake if you are just a small group of women, but the location makes a big difference. The other consideration is that if you rent a private villa, you will probably need to rent a car, and these can be expensive in the DR, negating some of the savings by booking a villa. Food, however, is relatively cheap in Caribbean terms in most restaurants.

laplaya

friends got sick in Dom Rep

chris10021

The description on the villa's website indicates that they are located on the north shore, overlooking the Cofresí beach. I get the sense that we need transportation to/from the beach and other destinations. Are there cabs? Are they safe? (I'm beginning to favor an all-inclusive resort myself.)
http://www.villasimplyparadise.com/default.asp

laplaya

Try tripadvisor.com

for hotel reviews

Iberostar Costa Dorada comes as most popular hotel. Has photos.
Gorgeous resort.

doug_stallings

The North Shore is much more popular with independent travelers, so there is some level of public transportation and some cabs available, but you have to arrange them in advance. But Cofresi is quite a bit further west than the bulk of the development, so you're a bit isolated out there and a car would be much more useful than cabs. But there are taxi companies in Puerto Plata that you can call. This villa seems to be pretty close to the beach, so you might be able to walk. It seems like a pretty nice villa from the pics on the web site, but if you really are against driving, I think you'd do better by booking accommodations in Cabarete, where the younger nightlife is located.