One of the things that makes Casa de Campo appealing is that it has everything from nicely-designed rooms that start at $ 187, villas that start at around $ 850 and go up from there, and truly extravagant owned properties. This makes it not just a hotel or resort, but a community granted, a pretty wealthy community. But no matter where you find yourself in that rich and fabulous scale you still get to experience everything the resorts got going on.
The sugar-baron owners of Casa de Campo started out with sugar cane fields, then added a rum distillery (which produces a very nice sipping rum, Atlantico, which is a crime to hide in a sweet sissy cocktail so make sure to try some straight), then purchased and expanded the hotel in order to house their visiting business colleagues. From there, the Fanjul family started adding things as they saw a need or which friends and guests started asking for.
What that means is that today the resort has a horse ranch, a shooting center, a marina and even a small town. This is, of course, in addition to the family-owned La Romana Airport and a cruise ship port that was recently built. Holy mega wealth.
Although this contributing editor would have been pretty happy simply putt-putting around in her golf cart (one comes with each room and villa) looking at all the lush and lovely scenery, I recognize that this might not be everyone’s idea of a trip to the tropics. So in the spirit of sharing, check out what else you can do below.
Polo and Equestrian Center
If you like to look at or ride pretty horsies you can do that at Casa de Campo. The ranch has about 300 of them, including those of big-deal baseball player, Sammy Sosa, but make sure Sammys holding his horses (yeah, kinda lame) we were told by a ranch hand that one of them has an attitude and likes to bite. Besides ogling them you can also ride the horses along the trails, take some jumping lessons or take part in weekly polo matches that take place between November to May on three tournament fields.
Shooting Center
The Shooting Center is set on 245 acres of land and consists of 300+ stations for trap, skeet, sport clays and whatever other non-animal or bird things that you can point a rifle at. Theres also an open-air Safari Club Bar and a store on-site to fulfill all of your shooting needs. If youre a newbie, you can ask for an orientation and I can vouch for the patience and expertise of the instructors.
La Marina
Along with the docking facilities and working shipyard, La Marina has a shopping plaza with a movie theater playing first-run movies, restaurants and cafés, and a Yacht Club. You can even buy a brand-spanking-new Italian yacht if thats your desire and you arent one to choke on the price-point.
Ki-Ra Spa
The Ki-Ra Spa (Ki-Ra means place of the earth spirit in the native Dominican language) is not just a spa-spa, but a holistic wellness center. Run by a well-trained naturopathic doctor, you can still get your mani and pedi, but you can also get a number of treatments and consultations that focus on Ayurvedic teachings.
The spa uses oils and other products that are organic with as many as possible coming from the DR. I thought the spa suites were pretty terrific: you have you own private change area, bathroom and shower, and even a private little sanctuary space. Youll also find a circular stone labyrinth on the spa grounds for walking meditation and yoga, and the spa offers about six retreats a year outside of the resort.
Golf Galore
The resort has not one, not two, not three, but fore (yuk, yuk) golf courses on the premises designed by Pete Dye (although one is a members-only club). The most famous one and if youre a big golfer you most likely already know this is Teeth of the Dog, an 18-hole seaside course. Its considered to be the #1 course in Latin America and #42 worldwide and golf fans make the trek to Casa de Campo just to play it.
Altos de Chavon
And what’s up with that small town, you may ask? Well Altos de Chavon is a replica of a 16th-century Mediterranean village and, while it sounds cheesy, its actually quite a success story. It was started in 1976 and completed in 1982, created by craftsmen who used old-school methods that were nearly forgotten to make it as authentic as possible. Considered a cultural center, its home to artists, studios, craft workshops and art galleries. It’s also the appropriate home of the Altos de Chavon School of Design, which is affiliated with the well-known Parsons School of Design in NYC. While meandering along the cobblestone streets you can catch one of the international artists in residence teaching their craft, stop by a shop to buy one of their pieces and finish it off the night at one of the restaurants in the village.
One quirky thing to note about Altos de Chavon (which rests above the Chavon River) is the 5,000-seat Grecian-style amphitheater that sits at the village entrance. It was once owned by Paramount Pictures who thought that they would use it for period pieces. None other than Frank Sinatra christened it in 1982 by holding a concert there.
The resort also has a 13-court tennis center and plenty of other amenities that should have you go “book it!”
Main pool with swim-up bar
Quiet pool with Bali beds and covered lounge areas
Main outdoor bar with one of the MANY areas to chill
See what I mean about those lounge areas?
Shop for cigars at one of the boutiques
La Cana Restaurant
All of the food and bev is being upgraded with plans underway for a late fall roll out
View from the Lago Grill, the place for breaky
Stylin’ lobby
Where even the biz center looks good
Rates in August start at a reasonable $ 187 and, for an Elite Deluxe Balcony Room, we found a $ 387 rate. You can also find all-inclusive rates. Villas come in $ 863 and include daily breakfast prepared in your villa and some other goodies. Depending on the villa, a minimum stay is either two or three nights.
Disclosure: Janice stayed as a guest of the hotel.
[Photos: Janice Tober/HotelChatter]