Eco Del Mar - Pedernales

Awesome location, as good as bahia de las aguilas itself, a wonderful spot, the tropical paradise of your dreams. Hammocks, sun loungers, lovely waiting staff, very good food. Tent quality however was poor and after 5 nights, holes were starting to appear, needs repair. Electricity didn't work, manager said it was shown on my reservation, which it wasn't. Response could have been better. No room service of the tents makes it feels poor value if you stay for a little while. Lovely shower at the back, privately fenced with palms. Sunset over the sea each night can't be beaten. Also had the pleasure of meeting the italian owner who had a party for his wife's birthday there, joined in, had drinks on the house and an unexpected experience. Drove to Hoyo de Pelempito in the mountains as day trip, highly recommended and took boat tour to Isla Beata in choppy seas but for an unforgettable memory.

The location is beautiful. And the concept is great. But that’s where it ends. Unfortunately, the service was absolutely horrendous. The front desk manager, a grumpy old Italian man, put a dark cloud over our entire experience. He should not be allowed to work in the hospitality industry. We had pre-paid for a “VIP excursion” to Bahia de las Aguilas. At check-in, we asked what we needed to do to reserve our boat time. He told us we could not do it that evening, we had to come back the next morning. So the next morning, we arrived at the desk when there were no other guests. He told us he was doing paperwork and asked us to sit down and wait for him to finish. In the meantime, three separate guests came up to the desk and he booked their boat times ahead of us. He did not acknowledge us even when we stood up. By the time he attended to us, all of the early times were taken, and we had to wait for an afternoon boat. He was extremely rude during the entire interaction. Because of our late departure time, there were no umbrellas or chairs left for us, a main feature of the VIP excursion. Bahia de las aguilas has no shade, so an hours long visit without an umbrella is not advised. At check out, we asked for a discount because we did not receive the services we paid for. He told us that was not his problem, that umbrellas are first-come, first-serve !! Then don’t sell packages you can’t accommodate!! When I refuted admittedly, I was angry by this point, and my tone was not kind he yelled at me! The main point of a visit to this hotel is to do an excursion to Bahia de las aguilas. Most people make it a day long event. However, the hotel provides no pack-and-go lunch options who wants to eat chicken cordon bleu or fish and rice after it’s been sitting in styrofoam containers in the sun for hours? When I inquired in the restaurant why this was, the restaurant manager replied that “it’s not our problem, we serve what we serve because it’s easy for us”. This hotel is remote with no nearby competition, and guests have no other purchasing options. They take advantage of this. Once they have your money, they don’t care about providing a nice experience. It’s literally the worst customer service I’ve experienced in my life; the above examples are the tip of the iceberg. I, for one, am very sad about all the new development happening and hotels breaking ground in Pedernales. But Eco Del Mar is in for a rude awakening once they have some competition. Side note: Anyone complaining about the accommodations in their reviews doesn’t understand what this place is about. It’s Glamping. The accommodations are rustic, and that’s the point. But rustic doesn’t have to equal bad service.

Place staff, prices all in good balance of quality and freshness. Got to go back!! My new opinion on food....has to improve flavor, ingredients and presentations. Specially main courses. Entrées were very good all over. Hope this review helps them improve this, because the place and the staff are really Great !!

Our party of six stayed in the Orion Suite, which is one of their three largest suites. Note that this is glamping, so don't expect luxury. That means it was very comfortable. The suite was very spacious for our party of six. We had two queen beds and a sofa that fits two people. The bathroom was outdoor and it was very nice and easy to manage. The restaurant was average and it had tourist prices – records were about $20. However, the beach was amazing right in front of the hotel. It was almost as good as Bahía de las Aguilas. The hotel was well decorated and had many places to lay and cool with magnificent views. I would recommend Eco Del Mar to everyone. It is a great place to stay if you want to go to Bahía de las Aguilas and look to stay somewhere because it is just a 10-minute boat ride from him. For an additional fee, the hotel offers the boat trip that takes us directly to the beach of the hotel.

November 2022: Nature is fantastic and worth at least 5 stars. But the stay at the Eco del Mar Lodge was less pleasant. At the reception the Italian staff has distanced or influenced us; for example, they were not welcomed when they were kindly told to Hola. We felt a gap between the Italian staff and the Dominicans, who basically looked at all seemingly lustless and sadly their work. The loud commands and tasks of the Dominicans show us the good mood. Our cottage was simply furnished, but clean. The bed was very comfortable and large. There was no warm water. There was no mosquito net around the bed, but many mosquitoes in the cottage. Breakfast was very, very economical and little with a piece of high quality toast and some jam as well as an egg. There was little coffee. Water had to be paid extra. Fruits had to be paid extra. On the first evening, the menu in Pesos and the following evening in US dollars. In the final calculation were again completely different, higher prices, which led to discussions in enthusiastic Italian-Spanish. Payment in Pesos without exchange rate was not possible. Finally, we were able to correct the invoice thanks to the photo documentation of the menu. We were sad at the end to leave the beautiful beach, but glad, no longer in this lodge.