Getting close...

So back to work after letting the cat out of the bag with the property becoming Island Life Backpackers’ Hostel. Its been a couple of weeks of getting lots of little jobs out of the way. Well lets start with something fun. 

I have been looking for a pool table to go in the bar for a while now and I finally found one. It also made me get my ass in gear and connect all the lights up in the pool room.

Pool room

Its pretty tough finding certain things here, prices are very high even for used items so sometimes it takes a while to find what you are looking for. One thing I didnt really think about was actually getting the pool table back to the hostel. Well of 
course the one I bought was on the second floor of someones house. It was a struggle but manage to get it back safely.

You can get everything on the back of a pick up here

The next on the list was the main stairs which I had not anything to since I started the place. It took me a while to decide what to go for but finally decided on granite composite steps and will add some decorative tiles to the front of the steps. 

Finally started on the stairs

Its the only place in the house now that isn’t painted. I also installed it on the front steps as well. Looks pretty good and is strong.

Front steps

Next up was the outdoor kitchen... I had been meaning to tile it for a long time and finally got around to it. I am really starting to dislike tile work and grouting - I am typing this with two fingers due to all the cuts on my finger tips! But hey another job ticked off the list.

Outdoor kitchen tile work

A couple posts ago I had been putting an overflow pipe and drains in the garden. Well the drains are in and its all covered with gravel now so you cannot see them. It works a charm - rainy season has just started and in the last few days we have had ALOT of rain - I cannot remember the last time it rained so it is just as well really. So even after an hour downpour there was no build up of water at the bottom of the garden - task complete!

Garden drainage

I have been tripping over doors that I have been meaning to hang for a while now so while in the mood of finishing of jobs I have started to hang them. I have 15 sitting in a pile but I am about halfway through now...

Starting the doors upstairs

Obviously I still need to paint them but the hard part is out of the way at least. Its not as easy as you would think - in the Colonial house I dont think I have a square wall or door way so theres a bit of adjustment here and there needed.

Sun deck door

It was Katherines birthday last week and I when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday it was to get the outdoor hot tub working - well cold tub, Jacuzzi whatever you want to call it. 

Jacuzzi time

The only problem was that the pump and filter was still in the box, I hadn’t filled the hot tub, bought the blower or even connected power to the pool house yet... 

Pump and filter ready to be installed

So it was a bit of a rush but finally got it all connected and up and running. I have to say I am impressed - all works and looks great. Only problem is that now I have a soak at lunchtime and do not want to get out and get back to work!

Katherines birthday was awesome, we had around 30 people in the hostel and all went well - all good comments even when the place isn’t finished. It gives me that extra bit of motivation to get over the finish line.

Well thats about all for this post, I have set a soft opening date for 1st July 2014 so it is going to be a tough 6 weeks ahead. But I think I can do it. One of my priorities is installing an electric security fence around the perimeter of the property - I have been meaning to do it for a while now so that is next on my list. Until next time...

Island Life Backpackers Hostel

A lot of people have been asking me why I am restoring this Colonial property and what I am going to do with it. Well now is the time to reveal all. It was a dream of mine from a young age to travel, I just wanted to get out and see the world but time was ticking away when I was living in the UK and at the age of 26 I left on what was meant to be a two year around the world trip. Well it has been 5 years, 25 countries and I still have not been back so mission accomplished I guess. Before I left I had travelled in Europe and stayed at backpackers hostels in a few countries and always enjoyed them, by the time I made it through Central and South America I was hooked! 

At that point I realized what I wanted to do... welcome to Island Life Backpackers’ Hostel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I plan on opening within the next couple of months when I have finished restorations. It has almost been a year of building work - longer than expected but good things come to those who wait!
I am really pleased with the progress. I have been called crazy quite a few times when I started the project and I can understand why - all you need is to look back at the photos at the start of this blog. I still find it hard to believe how far the project has come.

So what is my vision? The decision to open up Island Life Backpackers’ Hostel would have seemed strange to me when I first started my travels - my response would have been “who goes backpacking in the Caribbean?”. 

I had been living here for around three years when I realized that this was the place I wanted to open a hostel. There are so many successful hostels in the world and I have to say the area that is best set up for them is Central and South America. I wanted to replicate this in an area not yet fully set up for backpackers and budget conscious travelers. 

Coming from the United Kingdom a lot of people think that the Caribbean is for the rich and that if you step out of your all inclusive hotel you are going to be in trouble - stereotypes that are there to be proven wrong. Another problem that many people; including myself found when first coming into Santo Domingo was the lack of good quality budget accommodation - my aim is to fulfill those needs.

The Dominican Republic has so much to offer yet people just think of beaches. Don’t get me wrong I am a beach person and love them but the center of this country is amazing too - ATV riding through the hills in Jarabacoa - jumping, swimming and sliding down the 27 waterfalls of Rio Damajagua or trekking to the summit of Pico Duarte the highest peak in the Caribbean. That is just to name a few! This country is ready to explore and we have made our base in the Capital, Santo Domingo.

I have stayed at over a 1000 hostels world wide and each and everyone has their own feel. Some amazing and some not so good but I have learnt something from every single one. So what makes a good hostel? It all depends on the person really. I have had the funnest times at absolute dives, its not always the hostel you stay at its about the people. Ok sometimes you get unlucky in the way that there is no one staying at the hostel that you actually connect with - the hostel might have amazing facilities and perfect in every way but it goes like that at times.

Some hostels have made an impression on my around the world and I thought I would share my two favorites with you...

Cranky Croc Hostel, Bogota - Colombia

Now I have to say I didn’t even plan on staying in Bogota but I had to stop there for a night to wait for a bus. I am so glad I did - Capital cities usually get written off but I absolutely love the hostel and the city. Great nightlife, interesting sites and just generally a good vibe. The hostel had all the facilities you could ask for and the staff were great.

Hanoi Backpackers Hostel, Hanoi - Vietnam

Hanoi was the last stop on my 6 week bike tour of Vietnam and I had heard good reports on this hostel. Usually I tend to stay away from big so called party hostels but these guys had it almost perfect. Amazing place - they had two in the city and they are actually run by the owners which is good to see. They are from New Zealand if I recall correctly - great guys with an awesome place.

Thanks for everyone that has been keeping up with this blog and I will keep you posted over the next couple of months coming up to our opening.

So near yet so far...

Ok, it has been a while since my last post. I realized the other day that it is getting close to a year that I started work on this project - time really does fly. When I started I targeted a very optimistic 6 - 8 months completion time - obviously that was not even close but hey. It did get my ass in gear though, I have set a date of two more months to finish.

Finishing off front rooms

The finishing details take a lot of time to complete - just because a room has walls, plumbing and power does not mean its finished. My mum who has been helping over the last 5 months is leaving tomorrow and she was determined to finish all the painting - which see did!

painted and almost tilied

She has done an awesome job, the walls are one thing but the ceilings were very time consuming!

Downstairs ceilings

It has turned out great, I am so pleased with the final results. I have just one and a half rooms to finish tiling down stairs and that means the downstairs floors will be finished. I realized when looking through my blog the other day that all the photos were of the back part of the property, well finally we have a few here of the main rooms.

A lot of mess - but all painted

There were two rooms in the house that I have been leaving till the end - two upstairs bathrooms. I didnt have any intention of touching these until I had finished everywhere else as I hadn't even finished the plumbing. However I finally got around to finishing them - the plumbing and floors at least. All ready for tiling!

Two of the upstairs bathrooms - plumbing installed

Now, against my preference UNESCO made me install a wooden floor in the main house which has been on my list to finish for a while now. I was having a bit of a dilemma about how to fill the gaps between the boards - ended up going for slivers of wood which you hammer and glue in.

Upstairs front room

Due to not being able to find a floor sander in this country I have completed about half of it just using power tools - a pain and very time consuming but needs to be done. Stain plus oil and they are starting to look good.

oiled floor

I have been completing lots of little jobs in between doing the floors such as the drainage in the garden. When it rained really hard my two inch pipe I installed for the overflow of my infiltration system was just not enough and would start to create a little pond in the garden. It has been one of those little jobs that I kept on saying I would get around to... So I finally started it, new bigger pipe getting installed - I really do not like changing work that has already been completed but this needed to be done. Even Katherine was helping...

A helping hand

I even got around to finishing the laundry - almost. Roof is on and the washing machine and sink are installed.

Laundry

Storage has been a bit of an issue as we have been finishing rooms so as the laundry roof was so high I built in an attic room to store all my building tools and materials.

laundry attic

We have started a sign post tree in the garden for guests and people that have visited so far. Not many up at the moment but it will soon grow.

Sign posts

I havent actually explained on here what I will be doing with the property yet so my next post will explain all! Until next time...

The end is near...

I thought I would sit down and update my blog tonight thinking I would have loads to update on - I am absolutely shattered after the last couple of weeks working on the project but I am sitting here thinking it doesn't look like we have done much! I know thats not the case but it feels like it sometimes.

View of the back

So my task was to get some smaller roofs finished over the balcony, outdoor seating area and laundry - I have finished two out of the three so cant complain that much. The roof over the outdoor seating area didn't seem that big when I started but actually took quite a bit of time.

Clay Roof

I like the finished product - now when it rains all the water goes into the garden rather than in the seating area. The other roof was a bit more of a task, I already had the frame up but decided against the clay roof tiles which I have on my other roofs - they look really good but I was a little worried about the weight of them plus the time factor of actually installing them let alone carrying them up to the roof.

Balcony floor

The deciding factor was the fact that no one will actually see this roof as its over the second floor balcony so I went with the roof sheeting - doesn't look to bad though. We had some floor bricks left over from the walkway downstairs so decided to put them down on the balcony floor and sun deck upstairs. almost finished!

Sun Deck

Whilst the flooring and roofing has been in the process of being completed my mum has been painting the upstairs rooms - it is a time consuming job as the walls are huge and the ceilings are high. I forgot to take a photo so I will add it on the next post - however she has started doing the ceiling downstairs and it looks pretty awesome.

Main house downstairs ceiling 

I decided to go green for the hot water for the house and decided to buy a solar hot water heater - it has been sitting downstairs for a while so I had a proactive day and decided to get it up on the roof... it was not easy! But we got it up there - so we should have hot water soon, when I get the time to hook it up that is.

Getting the solar water heater on the roof

We had some helpers this weekend as Katherines cousins decided to volunteer for some painting - our garden walls now have fresh paint along with our laundry. Awesome job girls.

Happy helpers

Ok, just before I go its time for another trip pic! This week it was Samana to meet some friends from Pennsylvania that were on a cruise and stopped at Samana for the day. We couldn’t miss seeing them so we headed up to Cayo Levantado for the day. It was awesome catching up drinking beer, rum and cocktails while eating fresh fish. A great day.

Samana with friends

A garden view...

A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks... It has mostly been finishing touches which is the best part.

Hot tub tiles

The hot tub is now complete! Well when I say complete I have not filled it with water yet or connected the pump but I have to say it looks pretty good. This was a part of the project I wasn't sure that would happen due to budget constraints but I thought if we didn't do it now then it would never happen.

Almost complete

Most of the work has been focused in the back of the house at present as I wanted to get all the dirty jobs out of the way first. First thing was to get the grass bedded in - It totally transforms the garden, I never thought I would see it at this this stage.

Adding the grass

With most of the plants in it is starting to look like a proper garden now.

There was one big job upstairs that I had been putting off for a while which was the roof over the upstairs balcony - not that it was difficult or time consuming but just one I wasn't looking forward to.

Setting the pillars

First of all I had to set the Mahogany beams that I had left over from the old roof which wasn't the easiest of jobs. Then it was to put up the frame.

Balcony roof frame

You have to have a little fun when doing jobs like this.

Health and safety in DR

Like the garden this really changes the look of the back of the house and obviously has the practical benefits of not getting wet when you walk out of a room in the rain.

Upstairs balcony and railings

The main part of the house is also coming along. I have had massive trouble trying to find a floor sander for rent to start the 160sqm wooden floor. So I have started doing it using hand tools - this may take a while...

Upstairs floor

I have been sorting a lot of other bits and pieces such as we now have a solar hot water heater - not on the roof yet but it will be by the end of the week and I also have picked up a diesel generator for when the power goes out. We are actually pretty lucky as the power only goes off about twice a month here in the Colonial Zone; however with all the work happening in the Zone at the moment it has started to get more frequent as the government are putting the power lines underground. So it should come in very useful.

Rear view

As always I like to end on a happy note. Yesterday we got ourselves a new puppy! A pure breed German Shepherd who is so cute. He is only 5 weeks old and is a bit of a handful - I slept about two hours last night as he cannot stand to be alone. We have called him Jenson - after Jenson Button the Formula 1 driver. I thought that would go well with Enzo our Rottie. He hasn't taken to him completely yet as he isnt sure what to make of him - its funny watching this little five pound puppy chasing a huge Enzo around the garden.

Our future guard dog

Until next time...

Time does fly...

I know I know... It has been a while but we have been getting lots completed. We had started the hot tub in the last post and now all the building work is complete and is just waiting to be tiled.

Hot Tub under construction

It was a bit interesting building the hot tub as I have never done it before but I think I have it all connected right :-)

Starting to take shape

A while ago I was walking out my house and this girl came up to me and said how ugly my house was. At first I was offended but then I actually stepped back and looked at it and thought she was right. So I decided that would be my next job. I had the doors all made so I started to fit them - which was not an easy job at all! All the doors were made out of my old mahogany roof beams which look good but were not easy to get straight and fit. There was ALOT of cursing fitting those ******* doors but I finally got them hanging.

Just waiting to be tiled

The next job was to make the steps and take off the all the board from the front. It was a great feeling after 8 months of work to finally see the front getting finished off.

Opening the front 

Then it was the painting - I decided on white - I know it will get very dirty fast but for the time being I just wanted to get it painted.

Doors and steps finished

I am so happy with the front - I still have the lights to get up and the door frames to finish painting (along with the upstairs doors and railings). But at least I am getting good compliments now.

Front of house starting to take shape

I had friends coming to stay for a week so I wanted to get an ensuite room finished for them to stay. 

Ensuite Room Sink

The only problem was that I had not finished the plumbing upstairs let alone the room! A week before they arrived we set to work in between everything else going on. I have to say the bathroom looks great and it gets a big job out of the way.

Bathroom

The upstairs is finally starting to take shape. I wasnt planning to finish upstairs until the downstairs was finished but my mum has started to paint all the ceiling beams and walls upstairs. Not bad for someone that is afraid of heights!

Upstairs ceiling

My Swedish friend had also finished all the beds at the months which is a massive job out of the way - and they look great - just need to paint them.

Bunk Beds

Well I always like to end a post on a fun activity - so this month being as my newly wed friends from the states were visiting we decided to go to Jarabacoa. It is about 1 hour 45 minutes from Santo Domingo and we decided to go ATV riding. It was an awesome day - we spent an hour riding through the hills and had amazing weather being as in the mountains can sometimes be a bit cloudy and rainy. 

ATV Jarabacoa

After an awesome morning we went to Jamaca de dios which is a revolving restaurant at the top of a mountain overlooking the city. A nice break before the final push to finish off the place before we open.