Caribbean Luxury Villa, Private Beach house rental, Dominican Republic Vacation Rentals, Playa Cofresi Vacation Villa

Nothing gives us greater pleasure than to get enthusiastic, unsolicited fan mail from our guests. We love this country and its people, and most of all we love our home here. We try to tell it like it is; the good and the bad so that our guests will have realistic expectations. We hope that they will fall in love with this dynamic, colorful country just as we have.

Here’s what some of our guests have said:

Cindy

I wanted to send you an email to tell you how much we LOVED your home. I cannot tell you enough how wonderful your extended family are at the house. Julio, Mercy and Nelsida are just the most wonderful people and it was sad to leave them yesterday, it felt like they were a part of our family. They were so good to us and the food that they cooked was the most wonderful in the world. I have a request for a couple of the recipes if you don't mind. The fried yucca, how they made the beans so tasty and the paella.

I also wanted you to know that Gus was awesome! He set us up on a horseback trip, jeep safari so we could see Dominica life and climb the waterfall and we also went snorkeling and to Ocean World. He was terrific and most pleasant with all of us. I can tell how you Daddy fell in love with the place, this will definitely be somewhere we come back to again and again.

If anyone ever needs a reference for your home, please feel free to contact me as I will give you a reference. We are all trying to figure out how to come back next year. I also would like for you to know that we thought the paintings in the house were stunning, the ones done by your Mother are beautiful. We had asked Julio where we might go to buy one and he told us that it was your Mom :-)

Thank you again for sharing your home with us and allowing us to be a part of the Dominican life and meet Julio, Nelsida and Mercy. If you are talking to them, please, please tell them again that we appreciated everything that they did for us and made us feel at home in their country.

Best Wishes,
Dawn Buttrum (July 2007)

Hi Cindy,
I have been meaning to send you an e-mail about our trip. We had a fabulous time! I wish I could be back there right now. Thanks so much for everything on your end. Julio, Nelsida and Mercey took such great care of us--they're truly wonderful people.

Having been to the house before, I cannot really think of anything that didn't meet our expectations. Here are a few random thoughts I had meant to share with you...

Good call on the new air conditioning! Our week was pretty hot--and we used them. And we were happy with the improvements to the house!

Did I mention that Nelsida, Julio and Mercey are FABULOUS. And Gabino came by to check up on things, he is so nice.

As for the food shopping situation, I am not sure how most of your guests work it, but we really had Julio do almost all the shopping. We did do one stop by the market almost for fun (and bought junk food!) but I think that's the way to go. We paid him for each trip and had everything we needed.

We went to dinner and played a few rounds of blackjack at the (Ocean World) casino. Nice place!

We did the tour of the Gri Gri Lagoon, and we didn't like it. We LOVED the Playa Grande part--it was so beautiful--but the van ride was really uncomfortable (very hot and slow) and the lagoon and boat ride was nothing great.

We went horseback riding, per your recommendation in the mountains, and it was a blast!

Cindy, thanks a million! Your house has now hosted two of our best vacations ever. Feel free to use me as a reference--I just LOVE the house, and I think it's a fabulous vacation. I am telling MY friends and family--

Thanks for everything,
Keith Edwards (New York, NY June 2007)

Dear Cindy,

I will say that the pictures don’t do justice to your home. I realize that when letting a house be used by so many strangers, one must leave this rather child-proof, but your home delivers just enough warmth to feel comfortable yet an astute sensitivity to ruffians that relieved me of a vigilant eye on the kids for fear of them damaging things. I especially appreciated much of the art that adorned the walls. Obviously, someone in your family has a discerning eye and some good local contacts. By the way I love your Villa Orientation Books

As for Julio’s absence (due to illness) I’m not really sure what he would have done that wasn't attended to. I'm assuming that the handsome young man who cleaned the pool was his son. Admittedly, I was a bit concerned about your property on the night of the storm. (Hurricane Dean) Oddly, I was kind of hoping that we might get hit with the hurricane just for the excitement and experience. I didn't know if I should make some effort to bring in furniture. But as it turned out, the winds were not too disruptive and your property was fine, except for some rain coming in the north side windows, which Nelsida promptly tidied up anyway. At 53, I do look at many of the places we travel to as possible second homes to spend some quality time, and obviously the DR is certainly one of them, although I think I might still be a bit partial to Panama or Costa Rica and they don't seem to have much hurricane issues at all.

John went shopping with Nelsida a few times and I fear he may have given her a bit too much instruction. It seemed to me that the few times she was left to her own devises, things were much more to my liking. I suppose that was one shortcoming of bringing a native chauvinistic Dominican along for the ride. Something tells me I may have enjoyed her fried-yucca delectables a bit too much, and needed to have them taken away from me before I needed an extra airplane seat for the trip home.

Both of the women (Nelsida and Mercy) were so lovely and attentive, and ever so professional and discreet. Even though I well understand the roles of domestic help, I found myself embarrassed watching the children quickly adapting to being waited on like spoiled brats. And I must admit that having someone clamoring to fill my coffee cup was even a tad unsettling for me. Clearly, they know what a great position they have with you. Cindy, to be sure, they both serve you well.

Like the words that are constantly repeated in your letters of appreciation, I too, wished I could have stowed Nelsida, Mercy and Julio Jr. into my luggage.

One of my favorite moments was upon arrival, when Gabino greeted us with his tried-and-true line “Welcome Home”; what a wonderful touch. Clearly, my saddest moment was departing. Thanks again for the use of your home. Of course, I am happy to be an indisputably positive reference if you should ever choose.

Ralph Potente (August 2007)

Hello Lenore and Cindy,
I just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know what a fantastic time we had at your villa. Nelsida, Mercey and Julio were a great joy to have around and did their utmost to ensure our comfort and enjoyment throughout our stay. Indeed some days we had to force Nelsida and Mercey to leave they were so keen.

The pictures on the internet could not do the terrace and pool area justice- they were an absolute delight - we are missing it so much now we are back to the harsh reality of life - work, supermarket shopping, driving in the rush hour etc. Oh for the quiet of the pool once again!

All that it remains for me to say is thank you so much for creating such a beautiful villa in the most gorgeous of surroundings - we had a fabulous time and hope to return one day.

With kindest regards, Debbie Wenham (October 2006)

Cindy,
I just wanted to thank you again for offering your fantastic house to us for the past week. We had such an amazing time…I don’t even have the words to express how much we loved it!

Everyone was so lovely and helpful…Nelsida, Julio, Gabino, Jose, Gus….the list could go on! It was so hard to leave and come back to reality. We can’t wait to visit again, possibly in the spring.

Thanks again. Kara Dove (Sept 2006)

Hello Lenore,
I wanted to let you know that we enjoyed our time in the DR. Words simply cannot describe the week that we spent. We Loved It!!!

Mercey, Julio, and Nersida were absolute delights; we thoroughly enjoyed their help and smiles. Gus was a blast and the tours that he recommended were great: Catamaran, Safari, and the Horseback riding. Chris and Mady's was a nice place to eat and drink while watching the locals and taking in the beach and ocean. Thank you for allowing us to spend this wonderful week in your home. Among the 8 of us there is not one that would not wish to go back. I'm sure we'll be in touch again in the future. Take care and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Sincerely, Patti Conway (July 2006)

I haven’t had a chance to say Thank You to you and your daughter for the absolutely great time that we had at Villa Vista Del Mar in late August. My group rented your villa from the 26th through the 30th & we had a real blast!! Your staff was absolutely wonderful to us and Gustavo the event planner was great about organizing our horse back riding and ATV excursions. Julio went out of his way and left church to help us when the lights went out one night. They all went above and beyond to make the experience a wonderful one. We’ve recommended your home to everyone we know.

Thanx Again. Jazmin Jourdain (August 2006)

Two of my girlfriends and I just returned from a week long stay in your beautiful Villa Vista Del Mar. It was the best vacation I had. I absolutely hated to leave. Your staff at the house is priceless... Julio and Nelsida are the best in the world!!!! They made all the difference in the world. Nelsida is a wonderful cook and kept that house spotless. Julio and Gabino were also very attentive. Please thank everyone for the hard work and hospitality, please include a heartfelt thanks to Jose for watching the home at night. Naina, the young woman who came to do massage was super!!! I had such a great relaxing vacation. We will return....Lenore and Cindy, please let your staff know how much we were impressed with their care and service and how appreciative we all were.

Sincerely, Debra Dullinger (October 2006)

Hi Cindy,
Villa Vista del Mar was everything I expected - and more. Julio, Nelsida, Mercey and Jose are fantastic. My one daughter adopted Jose and checked with us everyday to make sure he ate and had something to drink. She understands and speaks more Spanish than I do so they got on very well. Everyone spoke a little so it was fun trying it out. I usually ended up by resorting to sign language.

The villa was lovely and the art work beautiful. The terraces and pool made it delightful to just sit and take in the scenery. All of the activities went well. Iguana Mama turned out to be a very good choice for cascading. Swimming with the dolphins was great fun as was the horseback riding and catamaran trip. The mountain was cloudy everyday except for the day they decided to take the tram up to the top and then it was crystal clear until they came back down.

We ate twice at Chris & Mady's, once at Teddy's and the last night at Cofresi Bar & Grill. Leaving was difficult. I can see why your family loves the Dominicans as they are truly gentle people. You have every right to be extremely proud of your Dominican family. Not only are they hardworking but their honesty and friendliness is superior. I never knew if they ate or not because I never saw them - but I made sure to tell them

We brought back a lot of very special memories and hope to return sometime soon. You were very helpful in the planning of our vacation and I thank you so very much. Please give my best to your mother and tell her that her love for Cofresi is now shared by 10 more people. Another thing we came back with was a taste for Nelsida's yucca. Justin is going to try to recreate it since they have a Caribbean market near by; however we're pretty sure it won't be recognized as anything close to Nelsida's. We all truly loved your staff.

Regards, Darla Knoll (December 2006)

Dear Cindy, Lenore and Family,
Our vacation was beyond amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful and comfortable home with our family. Cofresi villa is beautiful on so many levels. Not just because it is a beautiful home but the energy and spirit in that house is one of love and peace and togetherness! Your staff treated us like family, leaving us with the desire to go back to the DR, not only to vacation, but to see them

Our family will never forget this vacation. My parents love the country and the people, just as I thought they would. My niece had the best birthday party she could dream of. We were fortunate enough to be able to share her day with some of Gabino's and Nelsida and Julio's children who were so thankful to be invited to share her birthday -- they even bought my niece a gift!!! Amazing people.

Cindy, EVERYTHING, was perfect. The birthday cake was HUGE and beautiful, with tons of Pony's on it. The piñata was a hit, the horses they brought, wow. The band became friends with my Father who had them over on another night to play again. The baptism was really beautiful too. Everyone in the church treated us like family. They genuinely showed joy for my niece and nephew to be baptized.

Julio, Gabino, Nelsida, Mercy, Jose and everyone who was there, was kind, generous, loving and very, very courteous. My Mom, as I predicted, enjoyed getting in the kitchen with Nelsida and Mercy to talk to them and help. She took it upon herself to take care of Jose. Every night, she would serve his dinner and would give him water and fruit.

Nelsida's scooter was missing a light and my Mom had the pleasure of giving her money to fix it. These are the little things that truly added joy to our trip. I went there with 2 suitcases and returned with one little one. It was my pleasure to give some of my clothes to Nelsida and Mercy and her kids.

What a trip! Ocean World was a blast; we were there early and were the last to leave. We spent countless hours in your lovely pool and enjoyed every day, every moment.

Once again, thank you for your willingness to share the love of your home and your staff! We can’t wait to come back.

Adriana Moret (November 2006)

Hi Lenore,
We had a wonderful time at your Villa- What a beautiful location. What a gem you found in Julio, he was the perfect host, not to mention his wife and sister. They made the vacation so enjoyable. I enjoyed looking at all the paintings, I love your paintings. My favorite painting is the one you did of the Palm tree that sits in the living room, although I am also very partial to the two ocean paintings one with a sea horse at the bottom the other one with a turtle. I have to say that I also love the painting of two of your grandchildren holding hands and going into the water. You must enjoy painting, and you are good.

I can finally say that our boys (Antonio, Lucas and Daniel) are water babies. They did not want to get out of the pool or the beach. They loved the frog and “rana” that live in your outdoor shower and the crabs that Julio caught for them.

My only regret was that I didn't book for two weeks as we lose two days just to travel and by the time I was starting to feel relaxed it was time to leave.

I would love to keep in touch with you and to hopefully vacation at your villa again. It was wonderful. I am attaching a few pictures of our family.

Sincerely, Emilys Pena (July 2006)

Dear Lenore…
Just to let you know that all the Lewis’ had an absolutely marvelous time in your house at Cofresi. We all felt very comfortable and happy right from the minute we stepped in the door- and after the week flew by we were quite reluctant to leave. Everything was very attractive and just right. How do you manage that with so many people traipsing through all the time? Nelsida and her crew looked after us very well. Our favorite dishes were her Paella and Sanscocho. We even asked her to make Bacalhao the Dominican way one morning- The weather couldn¹t have been nicer- with sun every day except the day we left. We appreciated the dirt track road with wandering roosters and horses, the empty land around. It was a very successful tropical holiday for us. Thank you- and Happy New Year-

Kirsten Lewis (Christmas holidays)

Hi Lenore…
Thank you for sharing your lovely home with us. The villa is fabulous- so elegant yet relaxed. We had a wonderful time (although it could have rained a little less). We would be honored to have our pictures and comments on your website. We often reminisce about our wonderful vacation in the DR and your home and of the wonderful staff. They are lovely people and you are doing wonderful things for them and their family. They must be the best on the island- Please say hello to them all for us and tell Julio that Shai is so big he wouldn't recognize him - He'll be 3 in August (2005) and the girls are: Amanda, 7 next month, Ruby, 5 in June and Sydney 3. I look forward to future updates from you.

Susan Schor (New Year's week 2005)

Hello Lenore and Don…
We thought we would just drop you a line to let you know how much we enjoyed our stay at Villa Vista del Mar. Your maid is a very good cook, and she works hard. While she doesn't speak much English, we had no problems communicating and my Spanish vocabulary (albeit limited) really got expanded. Julio was very helpful and also worked very hard around the pool. Jose is a sweetie. You have good staff working for you. Lou was very helpful and knowledgeable; he has a good team working with him.

The villa was extremely comfortable, the pool was lovely to swim in, and the gardens extremely pretty. The location of the villa is superb, with gorgeous views and being situated to catch the trade-winds. I never tired of the view from the master bedroom balcony. I could have sat there all day. Your décor and display of artwork is just perfect- you both have a very lovely home. We had a very relaxing time, except for fighting over whose turn it was in the hammock---- Thank you. We hope to return again sometime.

Simon and Judy Watt (July 2005)

Lenore and Don…
We have stayed in numerous villas in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France and have always vowed to never return to the same place twice. But we enjoyed your villa so much this year (2003) that we just can't stop thinking about it. So we have decided to break with tradition. If there is availability next summer then we would like to return. Please let us know what dates you have available for next summer. We are looking for 10 days, anytime from early June through to early July.

Simon and Judy Watt (Repeat guests in June 2006)

Hello Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
I am writing to you to thank you for such a wonderful vacation. You have a beautiful home in Playa Cofresi. My friend and I enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Julio helped us with “everything” so we did not have any worries. Nelsida cooked very tasteful meals and made strong pina coladas. Everyone was very courteous and pleasant. It was truly a postcard moment to walk out on the balcony and look at that ocean view. I've shown others the pictures of my vacation and they are already planning to come on my next trip. I've given several people your email address so maybe you will have some requests in the near future. Once again, thank you for that pleasurable experience.

Nicole Perry (July)

Hello Lenore,
Walter and I want to thank you for allowing us to rent your beautiful villa for the last three and a half weeks. Our family had a WONDERFUL time. We cannot say enough how wonderful Nelsida and Julio were during our stay. So helpful, responsible and kind.

We met a few times with Lou, who even stopped by to make sure we were okay for Hurricane Francis (one day of rain, then the sun came shining through as usual). Gus and Gabino helped us with everything from tours to questions about property we saw in the area. You have a great team in place. We hope to be "return guests" next year to the DR and hope you'll allow us to rent your lovely home once again. Again, many thanks, and we wish you all the best. Best regards,

Joy and Walter Taylor (and Brent and Emery, too!) (September)

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