My first visit to the Dominican Republic was in 1997 as part of an Atlanta Sister Cities Commission mission to Salcedo, an agricultural city of about 100,000 located in the country’s mountainous center. Our group, led by Atlanta – Salcedo Committee Chair Victor Ramirez, also spent two days in Santo Domingo meeting with government officials and program supporters.
This trip, Feb. 22 – 28, 2018, was a vacation to Punta Cana, perhaps the next Cancun.
In 1997, I’d heard of Punta Cana as an upcoming vacation destination, rented a car for a day trip, and drove seventy miles to the country’s northeastern corner. I discovered a small struggling town surrounded by a few lovely resorts. Twenty-one years later I returned and discovered a vastly richer city and Cap Cana, a thirty-thousand-acre reserve full of beautiful resorts and an array of fabulous attractions.
We stayed at #15, Sanctuary Cap Cana, located in the bottom middle of the above diagram.
For beach vacations, my traveling partner and I favor all adult, all inclusive resorts. We have been to Cancun, Mexico, three times and stayed at two Secrets resorts and Blue Agua. My favorite was Secrets Maroma where I celebrated my seventieth birthday.
I described why in two web pages on my web site www.arnoldheller.org. Navigate to the far left drop down, Vita, and you will find two consecutive travel web pages.
Arnie Heller Turns 70 at Secret’s Maroma, Mexico, Part 1
Arnie Heller’s 70th Birthday Celebration at Secret’s Maroma in Cancun, Mexico, Party II.
I previously believed that no architects vision and staff service quality could top Maroma. Until now – Sanctuary Cap Cana provides a superior physical plant, equally good service, and is going to get even better after a 2018 summer time renovation that will easily earn it Five Star rating.
In this diagram of the Cap Cana reserve, Sanctuary Hotel’s location is number four.
After being admitted onto the property, our first sight was the meticulously maintained landscaping – much of developed Can Cana shares gorgeous tropical vegetation.
The long pretty driveway will bring the visitor to Sanctuary Hotel Square and the Great House for admission, mingling, dining, drinking, or entertainment. On the other side of this village square is Sanctuary Town which I view as a fantastic all-inclusive bonus; nine restaurants supplement the six or seven in the hotel and main property.
Already very impressed by our selection of a resort, Sanctuary placed us in the Tower with a 3,875 sq. ft. suite that included a living room, two bedrooms, two baths with a hot tub and gazebo on the patio.
Dominican Republic Dream Vacation 2 web page will showcase this sprawling patio and fabulous views from it.