The St. Regis Cap Cana Is A Luxe Dominican Gem

The St. Regis Cap Cana Resort is the luxury hotel brand’s first-ever property in the Dominican Republic. It’s also an a la carte stunner that’s marooned on a Caribbean island dotted with lesser all-inclusives, like so many seashells in the sand.

St. Regis superfans may recall that the New York flagship’s King Cole Bar is credited with inventing the Bloody Mary in 1934, when bartender Fernand Petiot is said to have refined the classic vodka-and-tomato juice cocktail, dubbing it the “Red Snapper” because “Bloody Mary” was deemed too vulgar for his posh clientele. 

So naturally this stunning, 200-room beachfront temple tucked away in secluded Cap Cana serves a Dominican-style bloody of its very own, the “Quisqueya Mary.” The property’s signature crimson sipper swaps vodka for the property’s own light rum and gets a zesty boost from a house-made spice mix and fried plantain infusion for extra layers of local flavor. It may serve as a metaphor for how the sultry locale heats up the luxe vibe of the St. Regis brand. 

Chapi Design, which has overseen the aesthetics of assorted Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis properties, blends the St. Regis Cap Cana’s refined marble and leather flourishes with voluminous tropical plants, island-inspired wickerwork and show-stopping visuals like giant lobby doors and a foliage-filled, indoor/outdoor passageway that channels the quiet beauty of a public sculpture garden. 

This Dominican gem features 36 stylish suites—some of the most coveted of which boast private swim-out pools. It’s a nice option if you happen to tire of luxuriating at the property’s four full-sized pools, which feature cabana service by attentive white-shirted staffers. The hotel, which launched last April, levels up its culinary offerings with Nina, a fine dining destination helmed by acclaimed Peruvian chef Diego Muñoz, who ran the kitchen at Lima’s revered Astrid & Gaston when it hit No. 1 on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants List and No. 14 on The World’s 50 Best list. 

This winning St. Regis concept is the undisputed champ of the hotel’s nine eateries, tantalizing appetites with a live-fire cooking station where patrons can gaze upon dishes being created through a glass pane across from the gray marble bar. Diners feast on Wagyu rib eyes, Kurobuta pork chops, and oyster tartare artfully offered on a bed of pebbles, and apps like insanely scarfable crab beignets that are better than anything you might find in the French Quarter. Wash it all down with a glass or two from the restaurant’s organic wine list, composed of more than 100 sommelier-curated bottles. 

Cigar aficionados should definitely stop by The Amber Room before or after dinner. It’s a cozy cocktail lounge with a walk-in humidor offering all manner of Arturo Fuente stogies to rest in the cigarmaker’s colorful, oversized ashtrays on a breezy patio overlooking the ocean. Sample caviar, jamón and crispy empanadas from the small plates-focused menu, along with curated Dominican rum flights from an expansive spirits collection. 

While languidly sunning by the pool or flopping under an umbrella on a pristine patch of white sand is the preferred pastime here, the 18-hole Punta Espada Golf Course, a Jack Nicklaus-certified green with dazzling ocean views, surrounds the property should you want to hit the links. Less-motivated guests can book restorative massages at the spa, which features 14 treatment rooms and recently introduced a collection of HydraFacial treatments, including The Gilded Hour & Twenty, an 80-minute, $425 escape that blends Budapest-based luxury skincare line Omorovicza’s signature HydraFacial Platinum moisturizer with colloidal gold. 

The hotel’s fortified gates are secured by gun-toting guards, and even if you’re getting picked up here, you need to provide your driver’s name and information. Most guests, however, stay blissfully secluded in the laid-back St. Regis bubble. There are a multitude of worthy breakfast, lunch and dinner options—fresh grilled seafood at the poolside Marola Mediterranean Grill and hearty Dominican fare at Cassava should both be in your rotation. But, somehow, I still think about the array of tempting treats at Kawa Coffee Shop, a grab-and-go spot near the spacious lobby specializing in local beans and sweet and savory pastries. 

Amid the requisite Dominican bread pudding and cacao confections is an epic ham and cheese croissant imbued with a decadent hunk of Danes Queso de Bolaand drizzled with honey. Order this perfect morning bite warm and pair it with a bracingly strong iced coffee before hitting the beach or pool, and you’ll have absolutely no regrets. Book here.