A 7,000-acre resort on the Dominican Republic's southeastern coast in La Romana, Casa de Campo has picked up a nod from Caribbean Journal as the country's best hotel — and the reasoning comes down to one thing: choice. Hotel, villas, three Pete Dye golf courses, a marina, a beach club and a recreated hilltop village all sit within one property, and guests get around it all by golf cart, included with rooms and villas.
That cart is the quiet genius of the place. You drive to breakfast, swing back for the beach bag, cruise down to Minitas Beach for the afternoon, then head to the marina or up to Altos de Chavón for dinner. Over a few days, the resort starts to feel like a small town you know your way around — which is exactly why longer stays work so well here.
The beach day centres on Minitas, with swimming, water sports, a family pool complex and the Minitas Beach Club & Restaurant, which adds an infinity pool and ocean-facing bar. Golfers get the headline act: Teeth of the Dog, Pete Dye's coastal course, freshly reopened after a full restoration of its greens, fairways and bunkers. Seven holes run right along the Caribbean, and with Dye Fore and The Links on site, a mixed group can combine a serious golf trip with a beach holiday on one booking.
Accommodation flexes to the group. Couples can take a hotel room or opt for the Premier Club with its larger suites and private lounge. Families and friends can book a villa directly through the resort — private pools, breakfast cooked in the villa daily, housekeeping and concierge, with butler service on higher categories. The appeal is practical: everyone gets space, and nobody has to do everything together.
Dinners rotate between settings, too — La Casita by the yachts at the marina, La Piazzetta in Altos de Chavón, Minitas by the sea, or La Caña near the main hotel. Altos de Chavón itself, a rebuilt Mediterranean-style village perched above the Chavón River with stone streets, shops and a 5,000-seat amphitheatre, is worth an hour of daylight before any meal.
Beyond golf and sand, there's a racquet centre, horseback riding, polo facilities and a spa with a hot-and-cold hydrotherapy circuit — book extra time to use the sauna and steam rather than arriving at your appointment cold. Or do nothing at all. The resort's case for best-in-country is that both approaches work equally well, and a week here ends with favourite spots and a list of reasons to come back.
