It
is a red flag often waved too dramatically by eco-sensitive activists,
but the travel and tourism industry rarely pays much heed to
environmental preservation and conservation. The ethos isn’t to damage
the environment, but compromises are inevitably made in the large-scale
construction of resorts, and the simple truth is that green space must
fall victim to leisure.
In
a small hamlet at the east end of the Dominican Republic, an island
replete with luxury resorts, the Punta Cana Resort and Club has
distinguished itself by thinking green. Located just five minutes from
the town’s international airport, and accessible either by plane or
full-service marina, the underlying philosophy of conservation for the
area’s natural surroundings has won it praise from low-density
advocates: guests and industry types alike. The decision to focus on
eco-sensitivity was an easy one for the resort designers—the site they
desired, with its lush vegetation, bleach white sand beaches, and
crystal clear waters, is ringed by an eight-kilometre long stretch of
vital coral reef home to thousands of marine species. Building, it was
decided from the beginning, must play second fiddle to the natural
arena, and a number of environmentally protective policies are in place
to ensure that the Punta Cana coastline stays pristine for generations
of tourists to come. Waste management programs reduce pollutants to
protect the offshore barrier reefs. A system of ponds purifies
wastewater on the property, reused to irrigate the golf course grounds
and the organic vegetable and spice gardens that supply daily produce to
the kitchen. Dishes and linens are washed with biodegradable detergents.
Glass bottles are recycled, and organic wastes are composted—the
attention paid to ecosensitivity is all-encompassing, and led in 1994 to
the establishment of the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation, a non-profit
environmental organization endowed with 1,000 acres of land around the
resort for enjoyment and research. Nature and leisure have wed on these
shores, and the marriage is a fruitful and progressive one.
Each
of the 420 rooms at the Punta Cana Resort and Club looks out on some
angle of these gardens, offering an elegant blend of natural beauty and
privacy to guests, whose rooms overlook either the oceanfront or the
shade from a grove of trees. All the expected touches can be found in
each room, including traditional Caribbean-style décor and mahogany
furnishings in-room, as well as seating accommodations on each private
balcony. Deluxe golf rooms and beach villas offer an oceanfront setting
and more living space, while a series of refurbished nature villas
called Nature Villas, to be opened early in 2004, are nestled in the
serene confines of tropical jungle. For the ultimate in extravagance,
guests can upgrade to the Tortuga beach villas, luxurious two-level
suites that include private outdoor Jacuzzis and the stylistic vision of
famous Dominican couturier Oscar de la Renta. Whatever accommodation
chosen offers privacy and a unique, authentically Dominican view.
Guests
with garden views, for instance, get a first-hand opportunity to observe
exactly what makes dining at Punta Cana Resort and Club a healthy and
unique experience. Truckloads of imported food are wheeled up to the
restaurant entrance. Fresh seafood doesn’t arrive encased in chests of
ice. The menus at La Yola, La Choza, and El Cocoloba,
the resort’s three notable dining rooms, all feature locally grown
ingredients and locally caught seafood, and the freshness of these
dishes comes out in the flavour. Specializing in pasta and seafood,
guests at La Yola would be wise to try the mixed seafood grill,
for which shrimp and lobster are the centerpieces. Gaze out off the bow
of the harbour or look down through the restaurant’s glass-bottom
floors to find the origins of the dish—this nautically themed
restaurant offers one of the most exotic and dramatic settings of any
restaurant in the Caribbean. Alongside the newly opened gourmet El
Cocoloba, featuring fusion Caribbean cuisine like goat loin framed
with porcini mushrooms and gratin potatoes, Punta Cana Resort boasts a
luxurious tandem of restaurants in an unexpected place. Anani,
with its open-air elegance, piano music and exotic seafood dishes,
offers a third unforgettable dining option.
A
variety of more casual restaurants offer a nice counterpoint to the
dining options at Punta Cana. La Choza is the best choice for a
late lunch or mid-afternoon snack, where guests poolside can grab a
grilled entrée, sandwich or salad without missing out on those precious
last hours of sunshine. At the golf course, The Grill features
similarly traditional fare with some local seafood on the menu, and La
Cana is the ultimate casual restaurant, open for all three meals
daily. Along with Franco’s Pizzeria and Mamma Venezia,
seldom does a guest at Punta Cana Resort and Club find a craving go
unfulfilled.
With
all the amenities one would expect at a luxury golf resort, it is the
unexpected that makes Punta Cana stand out. The 1,000 acres granted to
the ecological foundation has been transformed into an extraordinary
green complex, including a biodiversity laboratory, the Indian Eyes
Ecological Park, a petting zoo, and a series of nature trails allowing
hikers and joggers the opportunity to explore this diligently preserved
environment. Free guided tours are available through the hotel, which
lead guests around and past 11 natural water springs that feed the
teeming and unusual flora and fauna that flourish in the Caribbean. Kids
and parents alike will also be drawn to the domesticated component of
the green area, a petting zoo where goats, rabbits, donkeys, and
chickens are kept. Exhibits of sugar cane, coffee, and cocoa plantations
can also be explored on-site, and guest lecturers are often available
for tours to those on vacation with academic leanings. A week at the
Punta Cana Resort and Club truly is a unique and rewarding vacation
experience of environmentally minded luxury in a tropical paradise.
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