By Paul Rubio

 

“Casa de Campo” is a common term in Spanish, translating literally to “country house” or “cottage,” often referring to a second or third home for the Latin American bourgeoisie. However, in the Dominican Republic this term takes on a much grander meaning. Here, “Casa de Campo” is a resort, a community, a status symbol and the epitome of Caribbean luxury.

 

Originally a golf resort and recreation zone for the executive elite during the disco decade, Casa de Campo’s 7000 acres have steadily developed to include over 2500 villas, homes, and hotel suites as well as a 400-berth marina to complement the award-winning Pete Dye golf courses and the ever-growing spectacle of haute dude ranch amenities.  The resort grounds are so large they’re divided into different neighborhoods, and a designated golf cart is essential for traversing the property in its entirety.

 

The resort is unique in that it coalesces elements of sophisticated, modern oceanfront living with estancia elegance and endless opportunity for the outdoor enthusiast. It’s not uncommon to split your days at Casa de Campo between horseback riding, sunbathing on the beach, and sipping tropical cocktails; or sport shooting, kayaking, playing golf on the Caribbean’s top-rated course, “Teeth of The Dog,” and then indulging in a sumptuous spa treatment. With such ample acreage, Casa de Campo has perfected the multi-faceted vacation destination in a superbly fortunate geographic point where temperatures rarely fall below 70 or above 82. The resort’s twenty restaurants, fifteen bars, shopping center, movie theater, equestrian center, five professional golf courses, expansive beaches, thirteen fast dry Har-Tru tennis courts, colossal marina and clay shooting center are so well dispersed that Casa de Campo feels like its very own vacation metropolis, no doubt a self-contained world of leisure and pleasure.

 

As the resort name implies, the “casa de campo” experience is one of the myriad accommodation types available for guests. The “Classic Villas” as well as several of the “Exclusive Villas” stand as bona fide country homes, with wooden and rustic furnishings that elicit that distinctive home-style coziness.  However, it’s the seaside stunners and the new “Elite Suites” that merit the most attention. Contemporary “Oceanfront Villas” line the rocky coastline with open, airy floor plans, a heavy emphasis on neutral hues and Earth tones, drawing attention to the floor to ceiling windows that reveal the juxtaposition of blues between the contemporary infinity pool and the dazzling, aquamarine Atlantic. These villas offer pure private decadence – your own slice of the Caribbean – with the greater Casa de Campo amenities at your disposal.  During last year’s refurbishment of the charming, double story clusters that comprise the hotel portion of the resort, several second floor units were converted into oversized suites, adding full modern living and dining areas to the “Elite rooms.”  Beyond the more comprehensive hotel experience, these hotel suites offer close proximity of the resort’s peaceful and gregarious pool areas (a quite one dedicated for lounging and reading, the other for a little more standing and posing, respectively), the sensational Cygalle Healing Spa, and the bustling main lobby, with Casa’s centerpiece – Minitas Beach – just a short ride away. The perfect combination of swaying palm trees, downy sands, and crystal clear waters, Minitas Beach teems with unadulterated beach bliss. Sunbathers revel in the optimal rays, drink in hand from the adjacent beach bar. Watersports enthusiasts chose from the full range of snorkeling gear, Hobie cats, kayaks, and paddleboats, eager to take on the Atlantic. Spa fiends opt for the open-air massage treatments to the sounds of the crashing waves.  Foodies rejoice in a barefoot lunch of fresh salads and seafood at the Beach Club by Le Cirque.

 

For the modern family, Casa de Campo is an ideal tropical retreat that the bridges the likes of the most diametrically opposed personalities, satisfying extreme cravings of pampering and/or activity, for each and every demographic. And for the more subdued luxury jetsetter, Casa de Campo offers the greatest breath of villas in the Caribbean, suiting all architectural and interior design tastes of the sophisticated vacation palate.

 

www.casadecampo.com; 1 800 877 3643