We threw a pin on a map in the Caribbean and ended up in Las Terrenas nearly by accident for what we believed was a once in a lifetime trip to Dominican Republic in late February 2020. We’d heard Las Terrenas was a charming, affordable place to travel with a family. On the 13th day of a two week trip, we discovered the beautiful beach of Playa Bonita. Just weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down. We barely made it home to the United States.

Much to our surprise, Playa Bonita pulled us back again in 2022 and 2023, and in 2024, we purchased one of the last plots of land available on Playa Bonita and began the construction of Villa Solmara.

We’re hustling self-employed professionals, and the relaxation we find on “island time” in Las Terrenas is unmatched. Our children have taking surfing lessons on the eastern side of Playa Bonita and floated in the calm waters of the western side of the very same beach on the very same day.

We live in Buffalo, New York on a woodland homestead with our four children, ranging in age from one to thirteen, two cats, an Aussie doodle, and twenty five chickens (give or take).

We can’t wait to share our slice of paradise with you!

-Maura & Charles