villas | Dominican Republic Tours

Casa de Campo (Spanish for “Country House”) is a Ponderosa-style tropical seaside resort in La Romana on the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic. It was developed in 1975 by Gulf+Western on 7,000 acres (28 km2) of its Central Romana sugar mill’s land.

It was originally a retreat for Charles Bluhdorn, who built his estate in 1975 on Gulf+Western’s sugar mill property, Central Romana. When he died in 1983, it became the first resort in the country. One of Bluhdorn’s friends, the famous Dominican designer Oscar de la Renta, was hired to do the interior design for Casa De Campo. After Bluhdorn’s death, the Cuban-American Fanjul family (the world’s top sugar barons), bought Casa and opened it to paying guests.

There are two types of villas that can be owned: “punto de villas” own only the land, with parking lots and landscaped spaces as common areas. “Villas con solar proprio” have ownership of an entire area, which includes parking lots and the landscape. About 10% of the residences at the resort are low-rise condos in buildings no higher than four levels. About 70% of the properties are large estates.

Marina

Casa de Campo has a modern, 400-berth marina, complete with a shipyard with a 120-ton TraveLift designed by Italian architect, Gian Franco Fini to resemble Portofino. Surrounding this harbor are over 70 restaurants, shops, bars, and homes.

Golf

Golf architects Pete and Alice Dye have had a home at Casa de Campo since the early 1970s, when they guided 300 local laborers with machetes to blaze the Diente del Perro, (Teeth of the Dog, opened in 1971) through the jungle and along a rocky coast. The course served as a backdrop for the 1971 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Casa de Campo has a beatiful beach called Playa Minitas, is home to the newly designed Minitas Beach Club, boasting a 23-meter infinity pool, an on-site restaurant specializing in Latin and Mediterranean cuisine, an ocean view bar, and a spacious, chic outdoor lounge deck with live music and DJ entertainment. Whether you relax on the beach, or in the lounge, the panoramic Caribbean views will stun. Water sports are offered on site, including snorkeling, kayaking, windsurfing, paddleboats and excursions to the Catalina and Saona Islands.