Isaias Perez

I am an American IT professional who moved to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. After 20+ years in tech, building systems, managing infrastructure, and solving complex problems, I started this site because I kept getting asked the same questions by friends and colleagues planning DR trips.

“Which resort should I book?” “Is it safe?” “How much should I budget?” “Should I rent a car?” The same questions, over and over, and the answers online were almost always written by people who spent a week at one resort and called themselves experts.

Why This Site Exists

Most travel content about the Dominican Republic is written by people who visited once on a press trip. They stayed at one resort, took curated excursions, and wrote reviews based on a carefully managed experience. That is not what you get here.

I live in Santo Domingo. I drive the highways to Punta Cana. I eat at the comedores and the fine dining restaurants. I deal with the power outages, the traffic, the bureaucracy, and the stunning beauty of this island every single day. When I review a resort, I know exactly how it compares to every other option on the island, because I have been to most of them and I can go back whenever I want.

When I write about the cost of living, those are my actual expenses. When I recommend an excursion, I have done it, probably more than once. When I say a beach is worth the drive, I made that drive from my house in Santo Domingo, not from a resort shuttle.

What You Can Expect from This Site

Every piece of content on Dominican Resort Reviews follows a few principles that I take seriously:

Honest opinions. If a resort is overpriced, I will say so. If a beach is overhyped, you will know. I am not beholden to any resort chain or tourism board. My reviews are based on personal experience and I update them when things change.

Real numbers. Prices, costs, distances, and timelines in my content are based on actual current data. I do not recycle outdated numbers from other websites. If a price has changed since I last checked, I will update the article.

Local knowledge. There are things you only learn by living somewhere, subtle cultural context, seasonal patterns, which restaurants the locals eat at versus the ones that cater to tourists, which neighborhoods are up-and-coming versus which ones are past their prime. That local texture shows up in everything I write.

Regular updates. Travel information goes stale fast. Resort management changes, new restaurants open, visa rules shift. I commit to reviewing and updating every piece of content on this site at least twice per year. If you see a “dateModified” in the metadata, that is the last time I verified the information.

About Affiliate Links

This site earns revenue through affiliate partnerships with Booking.com, Viator, and other travel services. When you click a link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This is how I keep the site running without paywalls or sponsored content. I only partner with services I personally use or have thoroughly vetted. An affiliate relationship will never influence my honest opinion of a resort or service.

Get in Touch

If you have questions about the Dominican Republic, want to suggest a resort for me to review, or need help planning your trip or relocation, reach out. I read every message and respond personally.