It’s when you first touch down at Punta Cana’s classy new airport, on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, that you begin to suspect that your destination might have something more to offer than the usual all-inclusive tourism of its reputation. No shabby terminal building awaits. Instead you are greeted with an exotic,palm-thatched structure that looks like a giant bohio, the traditional houses of the island, smiling locals in national dress and merengue music.
Although it’s often been cited as the prime example of Caribbean budget tourism, you’ll find that the island is full of surprises if you venture beyond the boundaries of the all-inclusives. Lying in the heart of the Greater Antilles, between Cuba and Puerto Rico, it’s the Caribbean’s second largest country, shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and was once home to the Taíno Indians, whose extraordinary rock art decorates the caves throughout the land. Its capital, Santo Domingo, was founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1496 and its historical Zona Colonial is a Unesco World Heritage site. You can hike in the island’s rests and climb the highest peak in the Caribbean, watch humpback whales off the coast, or sip rum with the locals in one of the island’s many bars to the infectiously cheerful rhythms of bachata and merengue.
Or you can just kick back in one of the swish new resorts opening up in the unspoilt east of the country, around Punta Cana, where the beaches stretch virtually unbroken for 40 miles. Here you’ll find the archetypal Caribbean of your imagination: a coastline of white, glittering beaches and sheltered lagoons of clear turquoise waters. And it’s here that you’ll also find what you least expect from the Dominican Republic: luxury five-star hotels, world-class spas and swanky new marinas, where you’ll spy the yachts of international celebrities, here to enjoy a spot of gambling in one of the glitzy casinos or a round of golf on one of the new championship courses.
Rest up in style
Luxury is a byword for the east of the island nowadays, with a clutch of new hotels and spas transforming the country’s accommodation choices, along with its image. The region’s first boutique hotel, Tortuga Bay, opened in 2006, its rooms and villas designed by internationally renowned couturier Oscar de la Renta, a native of the Dominican Republic. It’s a good place to celebrity-spot, with stars such as Uma Thurman and Penélope Cruz sampling the L’Occitane toiletries and sumptuous Egyptian cotton sheets.
A different luxury experience can be had at the Excellence Punta Cana, a secluded adults-only hotel designed in the classic colonial style that offers classes in yoga or martial arts, and courses in Spanish or cooking. Food is big in the Dominican Republic right now. Most of the hotels have a variety of restaurants serving cuisine in all styles, from Mediterranean to Asian and Japanese to Mexican, with top chefs flown in from around the world to design the menus.
The Paradisus Palma Real is a case in point, with its seven world-class restaurants offering a more intimate dining experience. As you’d expect, the Dominican Republic is abundant in juicy tropical fruits, vegetables and rice, and chefs demand the freshest and highest quality produce. Many hotels also offer a Dominican night, where you can sample native cuisine and plenty of seafood such as camarones (shrimps), dorado and lobster, and a mix of Spanish and native Taíno flavours.
The new Zoetry Aqua Punta Cana opening in November has an emphasis on healthy fare, including a wide range of vegetarian and organic dishes, although decadent desserts will also be available (after all, your will power is your business).
No luxury hotel nowadays is complete without a top class spa, so it’s little wonder that some of the most renowned names are emerging here. The lavish Six Senses brand is the star turn in the newly refurbished, colonial-style Puntacana Hotel, offering holistic Signature treatments either indoors or in one of their open-air suites, surrounded by herb gardens and tropical plants, while the Excellence Punta Cana pampers you in its sequestered Miilé spa overlooking the Dominican mountains.
