Set on an eastern coastal plain in the Dominican Republic and flanked by lush forests, green fields of cane and palm-fringed beaches, La Romana originally sprang up around the sugar factory established there a century ago. The azúcar industry continues to thrive, but La Romana is best known these days as a tourist hub, famous for its sandy sweeps, stunning topography and multitude of lavish golf resorts. Béisbol fans may also know the D.R.’s third-largest city as the hometown of scores of major league players. The sport is an obsession here, and from October to January, the local team, La Romana Azucareros (Sugar Bowls), slugs it out in front of passionate crowds at the Michelin stadium.
MI CASA ES NEW CASA
The swanky 7,000-acre spread that encompasses the Casa de Campo resort is the area’s biggest draw. (From $295 in low season ($645 high); 800-877-3643; casadecampo.com.do) The Spanish-colonial enclave, with its red-tile roofs and wood columns, offers visitors a dazzling array of activities. It boasts an equestrian center, a tennis club, polo grounds, a skeet-shooting range and the legendary Pete Dye-designed golf course, Teeth of the Dog.
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Overlooking the driving range, 78 new suites feature garage parking for golf carts and plush bathrooms with soaking tubs and expansive dressing areas. Other enhancements include a double-tier pool deck and the new Cygalle Healing Spa. A hushed, library-like ambience prevails in the refreshed lobby lounge, where a bamboo garden and natural wood and stone elements beautifully integrate the interior design with the outdoors.
MARINA MILE
Where the Chavón River meets the Caribbean, Marina Casa de Campo welcomes fleets of European megayachts to a multimillion-dollar complex inspired by the architecture of a Mediterranean seaside village. (La Casita Marina; entrées from $15; 809-523-2509; marinacasadecampo.com.do) The region’s largest shipyard also features residences, shops, bars, a cinema and restaurants such as La Casita Marina, where diners can feast on scrumptious paella from tables overlooking the moorage.
ISLAND OUTPOST
Just off La Romana’s coast, six-square-mile Isla Catalina draws day-trippers to sugary beaches backed by stands of swaying palms. The uninhabited island has a handful of shops, restaurants and water-sports operators, but its hottest ticket is a wreck – just 70 feet off the coast – purported to be that of 17th-century pirate Capt. Kidd’s ship, the Quedagh Merchant. Snorkelers can check out the vessel’s two dozen or so cannons submerged only 10 feet beneath the surface.
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UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT
Forty-five minutes from Casa de Campo, Cuevas de las Maravillas is a fascinating network of caves embellished with well-preserved petroglyphs etched in the stone centuries ago by members of the Taino tribe. (Cuevas de las Maravillas; open Tuesday to Sunday; Tropical Tours offers excursions for $8 per person; 809-523-2028) Hour-long guided tours navigate the gigantic caverns, whose dramatically lit curtains of stalagmites and stalactites will impress even the most jaded visitor. Cameras aren’t allowed, so take a good, long look.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Perched on the bluffs above the Chavón River, picturesque Altos de Chavón is a painstaking re-creation of a medieval Mediterranean village that was built in the 1970s by American industrialist (and Casa de Campo creator) Charles Bluhdorn. With stone and stucco buildings, bougainvillea cascading from wrought-iron balconies and vine-draped walkways, this hamlet has become a lively artists’ colony, with galleries and museums and a respected design school. Cobblestone streets are lined with boutiques, bars and restaurants, and there’s a year-round schedule of gallery openings, art exhibitions and other cultural events. Be sure to catch Kandala, an Afro-Caribbean music and dance extravaganza, at the stunning 5,000-seat amphitheater, where Frank Sinatra sang on opening night.
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WHERE THERE’S SMOKE...
When Fidel Castro seized control of Cuba in 1959, many of the country’s cigar makers fled to the D.R., including the family behind the H. Upmann, Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta brands of cigars. Tabacalera de Garcia, in La Romana, manufactures these and more than 40 other cigar brands and offers free tours that reveal the complicated processes by which tobacco is aged, blended and wrapped by torcedores at the world’s largest hand-rolled-cigar factory. (Tabacalera de Garcia; complimentary 30-minute and hour-long tours run Monday to Friday by appointment only; 809-556-2127, ext. 2341)
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