At eXtreme Cabarete we strive to be at one with the environment. We are striving to become the first eco hotel in Cabarete, and the Dominican Republic.  It is not an easy thing to do.

Anyone who has attempted to manage power consumption knows what a challenge it can be.  It’s even harder to manage other people’s power consumption when they are on vacation.

The Dominican Republic also presents it’s own set of challenges:

• The power supply from the power company is of poor quality, when we are lucky enough have any.   The so called ‘24 hour’ power line is more like 20 hours, and power outages are frequent.  When we are fortunate enough to have power, the surges come and are devastating to everything connected.  Let’s not forget that it’s the most expensive power in the western hemisphere.  In their defence, many people steal the power and the environment here is harsh.
• We also have to deal with a very humid and salty environment that eats away at your inverter and all electronics, constant wind -good for a windmill, but terrible for everything else, sand, earthquakes, hurricanes, power surges, random accidents .. the list goes on.

Once we evaluated all the variables, or at least the ones we could identify, we came up with a solution to please the guests of the hotel and satisfy our living at one with the environment philosophy.

A model of the hotel was put into a wind simulator, to identify optimum venting and take advantage of the constant winds  in  Cabarete.   Vents were installed in key locations, ensuring proper circulation and the results was an amazing 5 degrees  reduction.  It worked so well then in the winter months guests are requesting extra blankets.

The roof was sealed with a special material containing reflective particles, reducing heat by a further 3 degrees.

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All the hot water heaters were removed and 600 liter solar hot water heaters were installed.  There is enough hot water for 3 showers per room.

solar panels on the roof of eXtreme Cabarete

The key components (things you can never be without)were identified and an independents solar panel and battery system was installed.  The key components were identifies as the Internet connections (both) and wireless routers, the security cameras and the hallway and bedroom lights.  These systems are always on, so you can get to your room, and surf the web.

A windmill was installed on the leading edge of the hotel to power the pool pumps – (currently not working, back to the drawing board).

The wind turbine on the roof of eXtreme Cabarete

We hang dry the laundry and use environmentally conscious cleaning products.

Low wattage bulbs and low consumption fans were installed in the rooms.  Low flow water taps were installed in the bathrooms

It’s been an effort, but we are striving to use as little as possible while dealing with minimal discomfort.

Big thanks to Freddy of Freddy’s multi service in Sosua for his ongoing help in achieving our goals