I was there last week and only have wonderful thing to say about Hotel Colibri. It's a beautiful spot in Las Terrenas. The beach is great and clean. While there a large manta ray beached itself and we saw lots of fish, sea rays and baby octopus. You can snorkle right from the beach.The hotel is comfortable and the staff friendly and helpful. The food is good too. Lots of fresh seafood. The apartments have kitchens which worked great since I have small children. For those travelling in the summer months, the rooms have fans, no AC, but there's a good breeze during the day and night. Keep in mind that Las Terrenas is a bit out of the way and not a resort-type destination. That's why we chose to go and loved it!

During our vacations in November 2004 we passed in our rental car Las Terrenas and stayed in the hotel two nights.
GROUNDS: Beautiful. The buildings are arranged u-shaped around a big place with the swimming pool and tropical gardens. The restaurant is on edge to the street, uncomfortably near. Unfortunately you have to cross the "dirt track main avenue" to the beach, where everybody seems to find it hip to cruise rattling with moped, ATV and other noisy and stinky motorized vehicles. You also have to use this potholed track to reach the hotel. Disappointing. The beach for itself has fine yellow sand - not my impression a caribbean dream - and when we were there, the see was too rough for a swim. The beach chairs are close to the dirt track and the car park. Not perfect at all.
ROOMS: We stayed in an appartment for two persons with a big kitchen/living room, sleeping room and a huge loggia upstairs. The rooms are airy with wooden Venetian blinds without glass and therfore not soundprooved (I guess that this could be a problem in high occupancy times). Every spot has a ceiling fan, but no air condition. All is spotless clean and perfectly maintained - as if all is brand new. Fantastic.
The kitchen is good equipped. You should think about preparing your own meals. The bathroom has a shower (no tub) behind a wall without a curtain, sink, bidet and toilet. Not huge but really sufficient. All sprayers on faucet and shower head are functioning correct (not evident in the DR...) And clean!
STAFF: Very friendly, very helpful. No doubts. Every day appears a cleaning woman for also letting disappear the dirty dishes from the day before.
MEALS: We haven't used the restaurant, so no comments for the cuisine. We prepared our own meals and bought all items in the local supermarket: Affordable prices for national products (shrimps around 10,00 USD per kg, rumpsteak 5,00 USD per kg). Imported goods are rather expensive. Also check out the fruit shops and bakery on the paved main street.
THE VILLAGE: Maybe a community of stranded beings? Just the the highway, that passes the location, is paved. All other "streets" not. Potholes, noise and niff. Crowds of mopeds, trucks, taxis etc. are mostly blocking the streets. A honkytonk without any aspects of a "true paradise". Prices for meals, internet, souvenirs above average. Maybe there is touristic nightlife. We preferred to spend the evenings on our loggia on "Paradise Island" with a nice self prepared "Cuba Libre" with fresh lemons and Brugal Extra Viejo (or Barceló Añejo). If you prefer tranquility you must go somewhere else, like the remote Las Galeras (just 1 hr. ago) with even more beautiful beaches. In Las Terrenas, a group of Europeans seem to live their dream of a Carribean Life in a very specific way, supported by Dominicans. I do not want to criticize that, just express that our imaginations are completely different.
RESUME: For us Playa Colibri is a highly recommendable place with very nice staff and beautifully kept grounds and rooms. If you have the talent to fade out Las Terrenas: go there. We weren't that impressed to imagine to stay in the village longer than a few days.

I would like Las Terrenas and especially Hotel Playa Colibri to remain in its natural idyllic form for the next 20 years, your excellent comments are commercializing my heaven.

When I booked the Colibri I was already aware of its reputation for spacious accommodations, terrific service and beach front location. However, its restaurant was much maligned and nearly without exception professional reviewers said eat elsewhere. It was therefore with much trepidation that I began my two week stay with dinner at the Colibar, the hotel restaurant. Much to my surprise, delight, even shock, the food was superb. Not just good, truly magnificent. I who tend to rate cities based on the quality of the restaurants found the Colibar to be the equal of anything anywhere. Not of course in abience although the beach front setting is idyllic but rather in the quality of the cooking. Fresh fish, caught by their own boats, and Italian specialities made this the rival of anywhere I've dined in Italy. When I asked Imke, the hotel director, about this disconnect between the guidebooks and my personal experiene she informed my that a new team had been brought in from Italy and the guidebooks had perhaps not yet been updated.
Other reviews describe Playa Colibri as Paradise, Eden, Heaven on Earth. Most say a week, two weeks, a month was not long enough. Let me second their opinions. Playa Colibri is a place where one could spend a lifetime. Perhaps I shall.