Property Spotlight: Casa de Campo Resort & Villas, Dominican Republic

Casa De Campo Resort & Villas is located on 7000 acres about five minutes from La Romana. In addition to the hotel property with rooms and villas for guests to stay in, villas where local people live, there are also restaurants, Minitas Beach Club, a Marina, spa, shops, movie theater, fire station, hospital, golf courses, Equestrian center, tennis courts and three private beaches. It is a completely private, gated community - you cannot enter Casa de Campo unless you are a guest of the hotel or live there.

Guests can fly into La Romana, but there are fewer flights and they are more expensive. Most hotel guests fly into Punta Cana airport or Santo Domingo airport. The hotel works with many car services that can support you in booking airport transfers for your clients to Casa de Campo. It’s about an hour from Punta Cana ($70 each person each way,) and an hour and half from Santo Domingo ($85 each person each way.) Casa de Campo also has a heliport so clients can fly into Punta Cana or Santo Domingo and take a helicopter to the property.

Depending on where in the hotel you are staying, they are different check in experiences. If guests booked the brand new modern premiere club/suites, premiere presidential suites or an oceanfront or exclusive villa, they will check in the brand new exclusive premiere check-in facility. It is stunning, has tons of snacks and refreshments out all day and is overlooking the Teeth of the Dog golf course, known as the #1 golf course in the Caribbean. These premiere suites are stunning! The premiere suites feature modern amenities including touch screen lighting, bath tub, walk in closet and balcony overlooking the golf course. For clients staying in the superior casitas or elite rooms, they check into the main lobby.

Hotel guests also have the opportunity to stay in villas throughout the property. Guests can choose from classic villas, garden villas, superior villas or oceanfront villas. Casa de Campo owns some of these villas and rents them out for guests, and there are other villas that are privately owned and the resort rents them out on behalf of the owner. The privately owned villas are all designed really differently so each one has a different aesthetic that guests can choose from including: modern design, colonial design and beachfront villas with nautical beach designs. These villas range from 3-10 rooms and you can stay year around for any length of time except during Christmas and New Year’s, it is a minimum stay of 4-7 nights depending on the villa. Villas also come with a full staff to support guests during their stay - butlers, cooks and cleaning service. They often have pools, jacuzzi, BBQ and playgrounds. These villas are so great for multi-generational family stays or big groups.

Attached to the main lobby is the La Cana restaurant and two large pools. There is another restaurant near the lobby, El Lago, where guests can eat the daily buffet breakfast overlooking the golf course. Guests can also drive their golf cart to Minitas Beach Club - there is an area for families and another private adults only beach club and pool. If guests are lounging on the beach, waiters can take your order from some of the food trucks on the beach. There is also a nice beachfront restaurant where guests can eat lunch or dinner. Minitas is also the place where guests can do a variety of water activities such as paddle boarding, snorkeling or take a catamaran to nearby Isla Catalina, an uninhabited island with stunning white sand beach and turquoise water. Another nice area guests can drive their golf carts to is La Marina - there are many spots for lunch and dinner, as well as a movie theater, some high end shopping and a grocery store. One of my favorite areas was Altos de Chavón, a replica of a 16th century Mediterranean village. There are shops, clubs, bars, restaurants and gardens. It is a magical spot to take photos and wander around.

Since the villas, hotels, restaurants and other activities are spread out across 7000 acres, the hotel provides golf carts for each room for guests to get around the property. It is quite hot year-round and you definitely do not want to walk more than five minutes in the heat, so these golf carts come in handy.

All in all, Casa de Campo is a wonderful location for a family stay. Families can spend their days apart at the brand new spa, playing golf at one of the three golf courses on the property, beaches and they even have kids clubs for children of all ages. Families can also hire a nanny if they need a little extra support or a babysitter for the evening. It's a romantic spot for a honeymoon! And a wonderful spot for a group trip - whether to celebrate a big event like a wedding or bachelorette party or just to rent a villa with your family for the holiday or a friend's reunion. Reach out and let me plan your next vacation to Casa de Campo!

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to the Dominican Republic. In need of further inspiration? Check out Morgan Pesce’s guide, A Local’s Guide to the Dominican Republic.