|
Corporate Golf Site
Visits |
Corporate
Golf - The Pro Shop to America's Leading CorporationsSM Site Visits |
|
Corporate Golf - Golf Site Visits What's New
Corporate Golf: |
November, 2006
Meeting sites in the Dominican Republic: Paradisus Punta Cana, Bavaro Beach, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic We love the Dominican Republic and its people -- perhaps the world's friendliest -- and we were eager to visit the Punta Cana area. Completely undeveloped just a few short years ago, Punta Cana and nearby Bavaro Beach now boast over twenty resorts. (And yet more resorts and golf courses are under construction!) Though largely all-inclusive, the resorts of Punta Cana have a far more "luxe" reputation than those on the north coast. On paper, the Paradisus Punta Cana, a Sol Melia property, had it all -- a luxurious, all-suite resort on a beautiful beach, with multiple restaurants, meeting and banquet facilities, and a 27-hole golf course. Extremely reasonable all-inclusive rates (for groups as well as leisure travelers) even cover daily golf greens fees. Assuming that nothing could possibly be that good for that little, we arrived prepared for disappointment. Greeted by an expansive, marble-floored lobby bursting with tropical plants, we were efficiently checked in, given "all inclusive" wristbands, and whisked by golf cart to our suite. Our bellman cheerfully lugged not only our suitcases, but two full sets of golf clubs - in travel covers, yet - to our second-floor room. This "minimum" accommodation featured a roomy sleeping area, and a sitting area a few steps down. The decor was tasteful tropical rather than brocaded elegance, but the marble floors and a large and well-equipped bath and dressing room contributed to a feeling of luxury. (It had ample closet space, and drawers to stow cosmetics and tools. I detest hotel baths that force you to leave your stuff out on the vanity.) Our balcony, furnished with a table and chairs, and a large chaise longue, overlooked a beautifully landscaped garden. A mini-fridge was stocked with complimentary water and soft drinks, and the bed was decorated with flower petals and towels twisted into a swan sculpture. We loved it.
Above, our suite's sleeping and sitting areas, click to see full-size After unpacking, we enjoyed a pleasant stroll to the dining pavilion (although golf-cart-like "trams" run regularly). Our restaurant choices included a buffet, steakhouse, open-air seafood, Brazilian "churrascaria" and Italian restaurants. We thought we chose Italian, and were told there would be a short wait for a table, so we left our name. We headed to the bar, where we pleasantly whiled away about forty minutes over piña coladas and wine. (Multiple ones, all served with hustle and a smile by some of the most charming bartenders we've ever encountered. And all included.) When we returned to the restaurant, we realized that we'd put ourselves on the list for the churrascaria, and we continued to the Italian, where we were seated immediately. My gnocchi entree was not as good as the Caprese salad starter (which would have been hard to beat), but Bill pronounced the pizza excellent, and the Chilean wines we chose were lovely. Too too stuffed to think about dessert, we stopped back at the bar for a nightcap -- and when we left, were given not only "to go" cups, but also several extra bottles of water for our room. If you're getting the message
that there was absolutely nothing disappointing about our stay, you're
correct. There was one surprise -- the golf course is adjacent to
Sol Melia's other two Punta Cana resorts, the Paradisus Palma Real and
Melia Caribe Tropicale, but actually about five miles south of the
Paradisus Punta Cana. Although there are shuttle buses that run
between the properties, they're small, and planners holding group golf
events would need to rent buses (easily available and arranged). The rundown on the rest: The Golf. The
three nines are different enough to enjoy four or five rounds in a week
without ever getting bored. The most unusual feature: palm trees
smack dab in the middle on the fairway on a couple of holes. (I used
them as aiming points, and only got close enough once in two days that the
tree was actually between me and the green for my second shot.) None
of the three nines are spectacular, but they're all scenic, with layouts a cut above the typical resort
course. The
clubhouse is beautiful, with a particularly well-stocked pro shop for the
islands, practice facilities, and all the usual amenities (plus absolutely spotless
bathrooms).
Above: Cocotal Country Club, click to see full-size
Overall statistics, Hibiscus/Bouganvillea: Par 72.
Red tees: 5712 yards (72.8/128, women's ratings); White: 6448 yards
(71.2/125, men's ratings); Blue: 6855 yards (75.3/126) The Facilities. The entire resort features gorgeous tropical plants and flowers, lots of marble, and tasteful furnishings. The meeting and banquet pavilion is nicely equipped for up to 250, with multiple breakout spaces. The weather is so consistently nice that we would advise planners to take advantage of the outdoor spaces for at least one event. The meeting pavilion boast a large and extremely attractive patio area - perfect for pre-banquet cocktails - but the standout area is the phenomenal white-sand beach. By day, the "palapa" thatched shade huts, plenty of lounges, tons of room and warm water make it heaven for beach-lovers. By night, the staff regularly sets up banquet tables and chairs for candlelight dinners that are bound to impress your meeting participants or incentive winners.
Bars &
Restaurants. There are ten restaurants on site, all included, of
which two require reservations (El Romantico, billed as gourmet French,
and Zakura, Japanese, neither of which we chose to dine in). Not all
are open every night. All we ate at were very good, though none
exquisite -- but if anyone should not enjoy his or her meal, they are
absolutely welcome to have a second one at the same or a different
restaurant, or from room service (which is at no extra charge). The
breakfast buffet is excellent -- fresh, varied, and kept close to ideal
temperature. I'd score the food alone about 7.5 on a ten point
scale, but with the total all-inclusiveness, and the free-flowing and very
nice wines, I'd kick dining up to near 9. The multiple bars all rate a 10 in
my book for both the top-shelf liquor and the amazingly efficient and
friendly service. The Other Resort Activities. The beach is the highlight, though pool-lovers will not be disappointed. A full schedule of activities is planned daily, from lessons in Spanish and Latin dancing, to aqua-aerobics, Tai-Chi, horseback riding, beach volleyball, nature walks, bocce, etc. There are 4 lighted tennis courts and a casino, though I never even looked for either, and a spa & fitness center. The gym is small for the size of the resort, but well-equipped, and nearly empty when I was there (about 5 PM). I was totally alone in the steam room, which flabbergasted me - don't miss it. There's a full menu of spa services -- massages, facials, manicures, etc. -- and though I found the prices high by Dominican standards, they're well below US resort rates. Your meeting participants may not be able to take full advantage, but your incentive qualifiers, and any family members that come along, will have a blast. The Service. Overall, the resort service is nearly seamless, and far exceeded our expectations. It might not be considered impeccable (except in the bars) by impatient North Americans totally unaccustomed to meeting in or even visiting Latin America, but even they will be impressed by the friendliness and willingness of the staff. The group desk does go the extra service mile, even checking in guests on the bus ride from the airport. Anyone experienced at holding events in Latin America will be delighted. The Downside. The
golf course isn't adjacent. Our ratings for the
Paradisus Punta Cana
(see Ratings Key):
Casa de Campo, La Romana, Dominican Republic. Not even the La Romana airport had been built the last time I was at Casa de Campo. A visit was long overdue -- and would give us the chance to see how the new Dye Fore course, opened in 2004, stacks up to its famous older brother, Dientes de Perro or Teeth of the Dog. The Golf. Wow! Absolutely top-drawer, and the highlight of any golfer's visit. Our first round was at Dientes del Perro. We arrived around noon from Punta Cana, and had a 1:20 tee time. We took a caddie - which we highly recommend, despite the mandatory carts - and on the relatively empty course, breezed through in about three hours. Interesting, challenging, and just beautiful to look at, Teeth of the Dog lives up to its reputation as one of the finest courses in North America. The ocean holes are the most famous, and for good reason. The crosswinds make even a short par 3 a challenge, and the holes are gorgeous. The only unpleasant surprise was the drinks bill at the turn -- $33 for one beer, one bottle of water, and two Gatorades. Our caddie was excellent, and we cheerfully paid his fee and a generous tip - and booked him for our next rounds.
Above, left to right: me on two of the ocean par 3 holes, the "signature" hole, #5 and #12 - where I shanked this shot into the Atlantic - and Bill on one of tricky, undulating (and very firm) greens. Bill and I were divided on Dye Fore's playing values -- I think it's an even better course than Teeth of the Dog, he gave Teeth the edge. (Dye Fore is longer from the red tees, and the greens are softer. It suits my game, with mostly fairway wood and hybrid approach shots, better than Teeth of the Dog.) We did agree that Dye Fore's setting on the cliffs of the Chavon River is absolutely spectacular. The views from every hole are so breathtaking that it would be impossible not to enjoy even a round of bad golf. We teed off hole # 10 at 8:30 AM, and moved briskly, with no one in front of us until after the turn. Thanks to our caddie (who ran ahead to confer with the caddie in front), we were invited to play through the one group we encountered. To everyone's relief, both Bill and I spanked our drives, hit nice approach shots, and two-putted for par. We finished this round in three hours, 15 minutes and broke for lunch. Dye Fore is a bus ride away from the main golf clubhouse, and has its own snack shop and bar but no practice area. For multi-day group golf events, it's best to schedule this course first, while everyone still remembers from the announcements that they need to arrive early to warm up and catch the bus to the course.
Above: The course is well-named - the views are to die for on the entire layout, and the golf is just as good. Click any picture to see it full-size. Although that afternoon's round on the Links course yielded my only birdie of the trip (Bill had plenty), we agreed that it's a fairly run-of-the-mill resort course. The shortest of the three by far, the purpose of the Links seems to be to offer a break to those feeling beat up by the more challenging courses. It was fine -- well maintained and pretty -- but not nearly as interesting as any two nines at Cocotal. That said, with two world-class courses on site, a third course of any stripe, excellent practice facilities, and a terrific caddie staff, the golf at Casa de Campo is as good as it gets. Overall statistics, Teeth of
the Dog: Par 72. Five sets of tees: Red, 4906 yards (68.7/124, women's ratings); White:
6015 yards (75.2/131 women's ratings, 69.5/130, men's ratings); Blue: 6485 yards
(73.2/137). No one at a corporate event needs to play from the Gold
(7077 yards, 74.1/140) or Black (7471 yards, 75.9/145) The Facilities. Casa de Campo has been well maintained, and looks as fresh and elegant as on my first visit in 1977. The central hotel area offers a nice selection of shops, a beauty parlor, the main pool, Tropicana restaurant, Sports Bar, and a business center. The El Lago grill restaurant (which has the breakfast buffet), and the golf clubhouse with its 19th Hole snack shop are close by. The Conference Center, which boasts multiple function rooms, the largest with a banquet capacity of 320, is also in the main area, and there are plenty of other spaces around the resort available for group events. These include the tennis and equestrian centers, the beach, and terraces, plazas and restaurants at Altos de Chavon (Chavon Heights), a unique cobblestoned medieval village on the property. Groups can also choose the open air Pescador seafood restaurant on Minitas Beach, or the beach itself. There are also restaurants in the Marina area, as well as the new "Palapa Showroom", with a banquet capacity of 500. The Casa de Campo complex is huge, with the beach, marina, and Chavon Heights way beyond walking distance away. Thank goodness an electric cart to get around the resort is part of the room package. The Other Resort
Activities. You name it, they've got it -- the beach, swimming
pools, tennis courts, horseback riding, skeet shooting, fitness center
and spa, lots of scheduled activities, and even a separate activity
program for the kiddies. We sampled none of them
on this visit, but from prior experience, there will be more than enough
activities to please any incentive group or the families of meeting
attendees. We did stroll on the beach (very nice, though not quite
up to the level of the one in Punta Cana), and around Altos de Chavon and the
Marina (also very pleasant experiences). We
particularly enjoyed gawking at the yachts in the Marina -- and noting how many are
registered in Delaware, a sure sign of corporate ownership. Corporate
pork is alive and well.
The Rooms. Extremely nice. Spacious and elegantly furnished in mahogany (down to the louvred shutters), our room had a comfortable sitting area, generous bath, marble-topped wet bar/mini-bar, and a balcony with a nice view of the golf course. Best feature: the walk-in closet with tons of storage space.
The Food. The breakfast buffet was fresh and varied, but the hot food was cooler than at the Paradisus. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Cafe del Sol at Altos de Chavon -- the food and wine were outstanding for a "casual" restaurant. Bill was out of clean long pants, so we had to skip dining at the more gourmet restaurants. The Service. Polite and friendly everywhere. Though we are accustomed to small service glitches in Latin America, considering the relative prices, we expected any to be rectified at least as quickly at Casa de Campo as at the Paradisus Punta Cana. That didn't happen. Though the one "problem" was tiny (our mini-bar key didn't fit the lock), the promise to replace it was never fulfilled. That said, we were happy to let it go. The prices listed were so high, we just jumped in the car, and picked up drinks and snacks at the Jumbo in downtown La Romana for a fraction of the cost. We offset the forgotten key with bonus points for the quality of the caddies, and the efficiency of the golf staff. The Value. Speaking of the relative prices, the all-inclusive meeting package proposed by Casa de Campo for the dates we had under consideration on this visit was about 40% higher than the Paradisus's -- before the extra cost for golf. Casa de Campo's "all-inclusive" rates include plenty of activities for non-golfers, and the F&B inclusions are similar, but Casa de Campo's group rates do not include golf. The additional golf package would bring the total cost here to about double. The Downside. While
very budget-friendly compared to US golf resorts of similar quality, the
golf rates are high for the Dominican Republic, and the markups on some
non-included incidentals (like drinks at the turn) are downright silly. Our ratings for Casa de
Campo (see Ratings Key):
Our
ratings key:
Archived reports:
Copyright © 2007
Corporate Golf. All rights reserved.
|
Corporate Golf Site Visit Report
Corporate Golf reports on golf resorts and other sites for corporate meetings, golf outings, incentives, and other events. This report covers:
Casa de Campo, La Romana, Dominican Republic, and its golf courses Dientes del Perro (Teeth of the Dog), Dye Fore, Links
Paradisus Punta Cana (a Sol Melia property), Bavaro Beach, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and its golf course, the Cocotal Country Club, Bouganvillea, Hibiscus, Benjamina