Las Ballenas Escondidas, or "hidden whales" is a bit of a misnomer. The hotel and villas are more hidden than the whales. The location is just outside of Samana, located on a beautiful hillside allowing for some wonderful views from the restaurant, pool and rooms. I was pleasantly surprised by the villa I stayed in. The room had a nice balcony. I had my morning coffee and breakfast almost every morning I was there sitting on the balcony and enjoying the view. The restaurant was new from what I was told. Great food, I had my first langusta (lobster without the claws), and some good crab and pasta. The hotel has a nice little jacuzzi just of off the beach, good sized pool and they also have four wheeler's for rent. They offer tours but I decided to just wing it. That's one of the nice things about this area. You can just go out and really feel part of the community. After spending some time on other trips in the Las Terrenas area, I now know where I'm staying next time I'm down to the D.R. Oh yeah, and the whales are not hidden at all. Go down at the right time of the year and the hotel will take you out right from the beach for a great whale watching trip.Highly recommended!!