Las Cañas

[weyland]

Does anyone have an opinion on this place?
http://www.lascanas.net

From the thread on DR1 it appears that it has been through a bad spell but is now improving under "Judy's" management. (Is this the same Judy who was recommended for currency exchange?).

Does anyone have any fairly recent views on management reliability, harmony among residents, convenience (or otherwise) of location, security, etc, etc?

I would guess the prices quoted on the website are very negotiable. I have seen lower prices quoted elsewhere for this development.

[Bug Boy]

Does anyone have an opinion on this place?
http://www.lascanas.net

From the thread on DR1 it appears that it has been through a bad spell but is now improving under "Judy's" management. (Is this the same Judy who was recommended for currency exchange?).

Does anyone have any fairly recent views on management reliability, harmony among residents, convenience (or otherwise) of location, security, etc, etc?

I would guess the prices quoted on the website are very negotiable. I have seen lower prices quoted elsewhere for this development.

I stayed there during thanksgiving and paid much lower than advertised as well..It is mandatory that you rent a car and the price is a good deal.

The only draw back is only some of the rooms have AC, and you have to pay for your own maid service..I.E there is a girl that comes by to clean the rooms and she charges you based on how dirty the room is lol.

I found a nice chica and paid her to cook and clean daily.

It has its weaknesses but I think its a good deal for an apt...and boy once you see the footage of my pool party you'll book immediately. lol

[weyland]

I stayed there during thanksgiving and paid much lower than advertised as well..It is mandatory that you rent a car and the price is a good deal.

The only draw back is only some of the rooms have AC, and you have to pay for your own maid service..I.E there is a girl that comes by to clean the rooms and she charges you based on how dirty the room is lol.

I found a nice chica and paid her to cook and clean daily.

It has its weaknesses but I think its a good deal for an apt...and boy once you see the footage of my pool party you'll book immediately. lol

Great post, thanks! Exactly the sort of info I was looking for. Anyone else to chip in?

[Kevy]

I went there in August, it was the place being used as an afterhours club. It is a little out of the way, but was nice. It used to be an AI resort, but now people keep trying to make it something.

[Kevy]

did you visit the their site?

http://www.lascanas.net/

[Crossfire1]

I've been to this place several times while looking for a Condo to buy. It used to be an All Inclusive Resort that went out of business. Now they are renovating and selling them as Condos. A one bedroom goes for about $54K USD. I saw one of the renovated places and it looked like it needed to be renovated. Now that's just me being picky because I was looking for a place to buy. It was in just as good condition or better thana Club Residencial where I normally stay. If you are going to rent there I think it will not be bad as long as you rent a car. It's in the middle of nowhere. The owner made big promises I knew they could not deliver so I bought a condo in Cabarete. I met a guy from NY that did buy a condo there and they say they love it. The Large pool is unreal though.

[Apos]

this is a totally different Judy and an acquaintance of mine.

apparantly since she has taken over management there have been vast improvements.

personally i've never been there but it seems to be in good hands.
Does anyone have an opinion on this place?
http://www.lascanas.net

From the thread on DR1 it appears that it has been through a bad spell but is now improving under "Judy's" management. (Is this the same Judy who was recommended for currency exchange?).

Does anyone have any fairly recent views on management reliability, harmony among residents, convenience (or otherwise) of location, security, etc, etc?

I would guess the prices quoted on the website are very negotiable. I have seen lower prices quoted elsewhere for this development.

[Rocky]

A brief:
Las Cañas is a beautiful place.
It's downside is accessibility.
You pretty much need wheels to stay there.
It's not all that far, but it's at the end of a dead end street in La Mulata, and there is little in the way of public transport around there.
It was built to be a resort, but is no longer.
It has been mis-managed in the past, thus the complaints.
Judy, who now manages it, is experienced in the industry.
She used to manage large hotels in the US.
As long as she is managing it, one would assume they will have no problems there.

[Rocky]

I'm informed that there is now a free shuttle service, that is not on an actual schedule, at this point in time.
It is available on request, into downtown Sosua. within reason, of course.

[ErikS]

I went there in August, it was the place being used as an afterhours club. It is a little out of the way, but was nice. It used to be an AI resort, but now people keep trying to make it something.


I was there with Kevy and Ajax. The place looked very nice from the lobby, bar and pool areas. We never checked out any of the rooms. Except for the short-lived "after hours parties", the place had an eerie, time warp, ghost town feel to it!:confused:

And unlike Jayman (who takes a moto from the 4 Roses to Dominos) I like to walk........that said, you would definately need a car living there. It's in the hills past the Sosua Car Wash.

[weyland]

I have a dual interest. A couple of middle-aged Russian lady friends from Toronto are looking into somewhere to stay (2 bed/2 bath) in February for a couple of weeks. I would need a room for myself in the same block if I am to be their bodyguard and local guide. No comments please on my suitability for those two tasks but sankies may start emailing me their CVs.

And if I like the place during that short stay I might consider it for 6, 12, or more months rent if and when I do move to the DR.

I don't mind it being stuck out and quiet. If "eerie, time-warp and quiet" just mean a bit deserted I have no problem with that, but if it implies lack of security then neither the ladies nor myself would be happy. The other problem is transport. I am scared of driving in the DR, not so much the fear of an accident (hell, I ride in publicos all the time and they are motorised coffins) but of all the legal hassles and scams that could follow involvement. But if the shuttle works, even imperfectly, that would probably do me fine and be a lot cheaper than running a car.

[Beads]

actually I did a bit of research on this hotel this trip myself. we visited it last time as one of my buddies chicas has a friend who works at the bar in the middle of the pool. we visited it in July on 2 ocassions. This last trip a friend of mine told me about this hotel with the nicest pool he had seen in the area in it. We ended up at this same hotel. We walked around for about an hour talking to some of the guests/residents. Took a bunch of photos I will share later.

Anyhow it seems the rates everyone is paying there are considerably different. They have daily rates I was quoted by the hotel manager of $70 for a single. Monthly it was $535. This doesnt quite add up but she said these were the prices. Long term rentals (6 months or more with a contract) could be slightly lower but she said electricity wouldnt be included. She said as of right now the meters werent working but they should be fixed soon and would be requiring long term residents to pay for electricity. They also said maid services would be not included also. You couldnt use their staff either you would be required to hire outside maid service. She quoted prices of $83k to buy a small single unit. We visited their sample single and double units which I would assume are in the best shape if they were showing them off and they looked like they needed some updating on the appliances and cabinets as well as the kitchen plumbing didnt seem to look in that good of shape. The units I was told are 15 years old. We spoke to several residents who were retired US/Canadian guys who liked the place but said the rooms were quite small which I also noticed and not very modern. I will post some pics later as I just got home.

[THEGAME]

Now I remember this place Beads, this place was a Ghost Town, I do remember the Pool, it was huge.

"THE GAME"

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c157/rayman2333/100_0162.jpg