El Encuentro Surf Lodge

Beautiful stay at the Surf Lodge. Loved the room decor and restaurant ambiance. It was clean and spacious. The food and drinks were delicious and fresh. It was a short walk to Playa Encuentro with an amazing local surf town atmosphere. You could rent boards and have delicious meal. Wish we could have stayed longer but they had a wedding party coming in (lucky them)!!

What can I say….beautiful people, tranquil and beautiful place. Free room service, free breakfast=free breakfast in bed. Food is fresh and fabulous with lots of options. Grounds are well kept. Amazing views and gorgeous beach. White sand, easy learn—to-surf beaches. Lessons if you want them. Very family friendly. I stayed in the treehouse and loved the cool vibe and AMAZING view. Semi private pool with lots of hammocks. I am a single traveler in my 50s and felt very safe. Lovely staff. If I ever need another easy beach vacation this will be at the top of my list. EXTREMELY reasonable price for what you get.

We stayed at encuentro surf lodge for 1 night when our airbnb didn’t work out for us unexpectedly. From the moment we arrived to encuentro- JC and the staff were so amazing! We checked in around 7pm and he made us feel welcomed and made the kids laugh and have fun. When we went to our room- he even went and jumped on the trampoline with our kids for a few min. We literally can’t say enough about JC. Even after we checked out the next day to go to another airbnb (we would have just stayed but there wasn’t availability) we still came for dinner a few nights in a row. One night our 2 younger kids fell asleep in our laps- and JC comes up to us and say he had his car ready for us- we looked at him confused and he says “the kids are asleep! I’m not going to let you walk to where ever your place is!” The fact that he was thinking of us even tho we weren’t staying there was such an act of kindness. We assured him we had a rental car and were good. The whole vibe there is just amazing. The staff are all so friendly and helpful and are so fun and playful with the kids too! The food is SOO good. It’s all fresh and still an amazing quality The pictures online are good, but they honestly don’t do it justice. It’s like this haven you’ve arrived too.

Overall we had a very nice time. Some of the positives, the rooms are clean and as advertised. The restaurant is convenient and good food. The staff was all warm and accommodating. The surf school was great. And the location is nice, though I wish it was closer to the beach with views. The one big negative is that you are the mercy of the other guests as the resort is very compact. When we were there the was a big group that included many loud and inconsiderate guests. There were screaming children at late hours, and a group of poorly behaved kids around the pool being very disruptive. And one night a drunken crew was very loud during the night. While the hotel did enforce an 11 pm curfew, when you are getting up early to surf, that's a late night. We'll probably go back, but I'll be sure to ask about other guests that have booked.

Staying at El Encuentro surf lodge was exceptional. The location and access to surfing at the beach was terrific. The grounds were beautiful and the pool was nice. I took a yoga class which was great. The room was standard. Bed was comfortable. A/C and refrigerator were very useful. The breakfast every morning was lovely. Every dish I experienced at the restaurant on site was delicious. The only suggestion I would have is to offer more local cuisine. If you like food as much as I do, visit Wilson's in La Boca it is well worth the trip. I particularly wanted to emphasize how pleasant it was interacting with the staff. Every employee on the property was a delight. The people here were truly the highlight for me.

Friendly staff! I stayed here for four nights and Noel, Marlin, Bianca, and, Alan all made me feel at home and taken care of, incredible hospitality. Clean rooms, well-maintained facilities, and a homey vibe. Would happily go back here!

We had an excellent experience at the Ocean Villa at Encuentro Surf Lodge. Our company provides service-based retreat programs in the central mountains of the DR, and we end our trips with a couple nights on the coast to work with another service organization, decompress, and process the experience. We've been working in the area for more than 20 years and know it well. We've had our groups stay in a wide range of places: retreat centers, basic lodges, private AirBnBs, etc. For a while now, we'd been looking for the right balance of privacy and proximity to amenities. Sometimes one comes at the expense of the other. Not so at Encuentro. We found that the Ocean Villa provided us with plenty of space, great facilities that were in excellent condition, and easy access to amenities in the area. The on-site restaurant was excellent, and was an easy 2-minute drive (or ten minute walk) from the Villa. (The Villa is separate from the main hotel property). The included breakfasts were excellent. The staff was very helpful but not overbearing. We had only a few very minor recommendations – again, very minor things: 1) the private pool at the Villa was a few degrees too warm – the water was probably 100 or so, and therefore not very refreshing. Maybe just a matter of the filtering system or building in some shade structure over part of the pool? 2) it would be good to put some new, larger-sized safes in the rooms (the size that could contain a laptop). 3) the outdoor shower by the pool didn't work (maybe it was just shut off) 4) the kitchen was very well appointed but only a couple of the burners on the stove worked, and you need some more pots and pans, as well as a strainer for cooking pasta One important note: If you're looking for a quiet beach where your kids can swim and play in the gentle waves, Encuentro's beach is not for you. It's a high-surf beach (hence this is a surf lodge ;) Let me wrap this up by saying that the Villa experience at Encuentro was excellent and the price was fair for the provided space, amenities, and services. We have already requested to return with two future groups in 2024. Thank you to the staff for welcoming us and providing an excellent experience. Paul Principal, Camino Institute Buffalo, New York

We had an amazing week's stay at El Encuentro and couldn't have been happier with it. The room was very clean, food was delicious and the staff went above and beyond. It was the perfect vacation for my family and our toddler also loved every bit of it. Highly recommend!

My 20 year-old daughter and I spent a week in the treehouse at El Encuentro Surf Lodge and had an absolute blast. The staff at the hotel are super friendly and helpful without being overbearing. We really enjoyed the yoga classes. Meals, smoothies, and cocktails at El Encuentro were fresh, beautiful, and delicious. Staying in the treehouse was very cool--a little like camping but with running water, electricity, wifi, a comfortable bed, and no bugs (so, more like glamping). Clean and comfortable.