We just returned from a 6 day vacation in Las Terrenas. First, we have to commend Cathy Kiefer, the manager, for her excellent services not only during the months leading up to our stay but also for all the hospitality, friendliness and advice she provided during our stay. She arranged transportation from Santo Domingo to the hotel and even though we arrived several hours later than our intention, we were pleased to find spotlessly clean, comfortable, and exactly as depicted on the web site, accommodations. Many of the other guests had been there before, and all shared our appreciation for such a quiet retreat away from what can be a rather chaotic downtown scene. The villas themselves were just beautiful and comfortable. Only one minor concern. The security people walked a little too freely, armed when it didn't seem to be necessary, through the property. One night sitting on our deck and another night sitting on the deck of two young women who were traveling alone. While we appreciated the security provided, it seemed just a litttle too visible and at times too obstrusive. The road you must walk to get into the town is not well lit, rather dark and rather rough to maneuver, especially in flip flops or sandals. In all, we felt very priviledged to be able to spend our vacation together ( coming from Boston, San Fransisco, NJ and Santo Domingo) and received more than we anticipated.

We were staying here in mid November 2007 and found the hotel to be excellent in quality, style and comfort, good service and friendly staff. The management were very helpful and attentive.

Be advised that they are constructing some new villas above the property so this could create noise during the day so do ask about this buiding work when booking.

The town of Terranas is ok but nothing special and very noisy in the day with traffic. Some reasonable restaurants and for self catering not very good supermarkets. The beaches were not too clean but this was during a very stormy period and post hurricane.

Michael Logan France.

Where do I begin?

From the first time I contacted Lomita Mara Villas inquiring about potential reservations, to the moment we checked out - I was greeted with genuine hospitality. My sincerest thanks to Cathy for being such a gracious hostess. I truly felt as though I was a guest at her home.

The Villas are impeccably clean and absolutely stunning! My friends and I rented the luxury villa with private swimming pool, and it was truly luxurious. We felt like queens in our own little private palace.

Breakfast delivered to your villa, delicious cocktails and beverages served at the pool-side bar, in addition to internet-access make this the perfect place to lounge (and mix business with pleasure, if necessary).

I highly recommend the Villas if you are at all interested in visiting the Samana coast. You will feel held and cared for by trusted hands.

My boyfriend and I booked a 'Junior Suite' (double room) here for a week in October 2007. Booking was made over the phone and was really easy... and when we arrived we had the fantastic surprise of being upgraded to a villa at no extra cost! Lomita Maravilla is a really beautiful hotel - the villas are all brand new and fitted to a really high standard, and have their own private deck and jacuzzi each. The pool is really nice aswell, and we virtually had it to ourselves most of the time as there weren't many other people staying. The cocktails at the bar are fantastic and very reasonably priced... as was the breakfast.

Location wise - to get there from the main international airport in Santo Domingo, you need to book a small internal flight with AeroDomca. You can do this on the phone and it costs $75 dollars each way per person. The flight only takes about 35minutes and is in a really small plane so you get fantastic views of the island. The hotel is just a 10minute taxi ride from the tiny Portillo airport - in the town of Las Terrenas. It's about a 5/10minute walk to the beach from the hotel through the busy village streets - which we didn't mind at all but some people might prefer to be stay somewhere on the seafront. There are lots of mopeds and cars to watch out for but the walk doesn't take too long and then you're on the beautiful white sandy beach, with crystal clear water to swim in.

The town has a really nice selection of restaurants, although most are about a 10/15 minute walk from the hotel. We found a great shortcut by walking across the beach rather than round the bendy road that goes inland.

All in all we had a fantastic holiday here - it was very peaceful and relaxing and we would love to go back again. Thanks so much to all the lovely staff!