RSSAuthor Archive for Tim Hall

Centennial College at Tubagua Ecolodge

Getting to Tubagua

Locate Tubagua Ecolodge on Google Maps. The GPS service will lead you right into our parking lot. We have no sign out on the highway, so this is the best way to find us. Our entrance is the only paved, uphill side road. There is a blue coconut selling shack on the corner.

Airport transfers: if you need to be picked up please send us an email to ecolodgetubagua@gmail.com and provide us with airport, date, airline, flight number and time of arrival.
Puerto Plata Airport: 30 minutes, $30. Pay the driver directly.
Santiago Airport: 90 minutes, $90. Pay the driver directly
Santo Domingo Airport: 5 hours, $230.
Punta Cana Airport: 7-8 hours, $300.

Coming by bus: There are comfortable coach buses traveling to Puerto Plata from Samana, Santiago and Santo Domingo, for $10 or less. A taxi from the bus station should cost $30. Pay the driver directly.

Public Transport
There is a local “guagua” that serves our highway, leaving from the hospital in Puerto Plata. It only costs 50 pesos (US$1), but you have to wait until they have minimum eight clients. Tell them you want to get off at “La Casita de Popea”. This is a blue coconut selling shack at our entrance, the only landmark for our entrance.

You can also take a “moto-taxi” or motorcylce taxi from our Junction on Route 5. The junction is called Gran Parada. Moto-taxis charge 100 pesos, or US$2.

Deposits

Some people make multiple reservations at different hotels and then decide at the last minute where to stay. But Tubagua is a small hotel and so we cannot afford to hold rooms without knowing that you are coming.

And so, during busy periods we will ask for a US$50 deposit per room, by way of a separate email. The email will provide you a link to follow and process the payment with a credit card. You can cancel with no penalty with 14 days notice.

If you do receive a request for a deposit please attend to it right away. If we don’t hear back from you within a few days we will move you to a waiting list. This means that you probably won’t get the room type you reserved, or, there might be no rooms in the inn when you arrive.

On a budget? How to save money at Tubagua

• Pay cash on arrival and save the 5% credit card fee.
• Opt for our daily Meal Plan for $25 per day and save $10/day on meals.
• Guests are free to bring their own snacks and keep them in the fridge we provide in the social area. Note there are no cooking facilities for guests.
• Guests are free to bring their own drinks. There is a corking fee of $4. per bottle for drinks consumed in the social area. No corking fee for drinks consumed in your room. $5 fee for a cooler with ice for the room.

Please read this if you booked through an online travel agency

Our website is the only place where we can fully represent our products and services.

Each online travel agency has a different system for setting up and managing hotel offerings. All of them are designed to show thousands of hotels of every type, the world over.

For this reason, we ask that you take the time to look over our own website.

While we do everything possible to accurately represent ourselves in online travel agencies, it is possible that something has been overlooked or missed

If after checking our website you find that Tubagua is not what you were really looking for, we’ll understand and we will charge nothing to cancel if you decide to do so within a few days of reserving.

Here are a few things that are not always clear on the online travel agency websites:

Taxes: The Dominican government charges 18% sales tax on all hospitality items. This is not hidden in your room or meal rates. We show this on your invoice as an added sum, for all products and services purchased.

Tipping: The Dominican government allows us to add a 10% staff gratuity, which is shown as an added sum on your invoice.

Credit Card Charges: your invoice will show a 5% credit card charge, which we deduct if you pay cash.

Note that after you make your reservation, we will send an email to your online travel agency inbox that details your room rate, taxes and surcharges. This will give you a full and correct rate long before arrival.

The Casitas, our most spacious and private option

Each casita is a fully independent structure with its own unique design
  • Private balcony
  • 400 square feet living space
  • Private facilities with hot shower
  • Queen-sized bed plus loft with two single futons for up to 4 persons
  • Price for 1 or 2: US$135 per night includes all surcharges. Extra adults +$17 ea. Children under 16 free when accompanied by an adult
  • Optional meal plan: 3 meals/day only $35 pp, 20% discount for kids
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The Palapas – think romance, think “glamorous camping”

Palapas are private, independent structures with a queen bed on one level and two singles on the other. Large curtained windows provide amazing views. Hot shower in shared facilities
(Max 4 persons)
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The Igloo – a dome for backpackers

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Student travel leader rates Tubagua Eco Lodge safety, services

What makes Tubagua a great place for students? We asked the country director for International Student Volunteers in Dominican Republic 2011-2013 to tell us why Tubagua scored on top of the lodging list for ISV students and this is what he wrote:

A stay at Tubagua Ecolodge is “seeing the real Dominican Republic” says award-winning travel writer

The Longhouse – fab views at a great price

Fabulous views for a great price. $50 single or double occupancy. 1 queen bed. single beds for up to 2 more, add $25 pp.

The Palapas – think romance, think ‘luxury camping’

$75 double occupancy. Queen bed, shared facilities, single beds for +2, add $12.50 pp

The Casitas, our most cosy and private

$100 double occ. Fully private with queen bed, private bathroom, hot shower. Single beds for +2, add $15 pp.

The Riome family visits – again!

The ultimate compliment for a lodge owner is having people come back. Like the Riome family, who have made this their winter retreat returning each February since 2008 when we opened our doors

Caribbean real estate: how small an investment can you make?

The Tiny House Movement comes to Caribbean real estate.

Alexandra’s YouTube Video

This video, done by Alejandra Gil, will give you a glimpse of the lodge and of a trek to God’s Swimming Pool

Taino Indian visits Tubagua Eco Lodge

Everybody says that the Spaniards killed off the Taino Indians but living up here in the mountains it becomes harder to believe all the time.

BBC Travel: Lodges Robinson Crusoe would love…

Tubagua has a charm – and a roster of delicious, home-cooked local food – that made me want to stay for another year, if not a lifetime.

An unwanted guest blows in…

Hurricane Irma blustered through September 7, knocking over a coconut tree and the roof of our social area.  What a great crew we have; within 24 hours we were cleaned up and ready for a group of 15 already-paid guests to check-in. And so for a short while we’ll be enjoying an open-air deck. But not for long!

 

 

Popular women’s blog features Tubagua

Tubagua Ecolodge awarded GreenLeader Gold status by Trip Advisor

Tubagua Ecolodge today announced it has been accepted as a Gold-level GreenLeader  into the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program, which helps travelers around the world plan greener trips by highlighting hotels and B&Bs engaging in environmentally-friendly practices.

Tubagua Ecolodge wins the Atabey national environmental award for sustainable tourism

Tubagua was one of seven award winners at the 2016 nationally televised presentation

Tubagua’s Trip Advisor Reviews

At this time i would like to thank Tim Hall and his staff at Tubagua Plantation Eco Village for maintaining a wonderful little B&B in Tubagua. This little corner of the garden of Eden that is the Dominican Republic was a restful oasis at the end of a tumultuous journey. Tim there are not enough stars on trip adviser to do justice to the beauty, tranquility and peace we found there. Thanks again

 

Ken Brown

Tubagua: a perfect mountain/ beach combo, says TravelDRnow

Tubagua is one of the Caribbean’s 10 best ecolodges

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