Our top 9 hotels in the Dominican Republic

A luxury boutique hotel in the heart of Santo Domingo's colonial quarter.

Nestling in the heart of Santo Domingo's colonial quarter, the Casas del XVI is a luxurious boutique hotel full of charm. It features an exclusive collection of colonial houses dating back to the Conquistadors! Beautifully renovated, they house 21 rooms in six houses adorned with period brick arcades and palm tree lawns. Four of them have a swimming pool. A butler is also available. A jewel bearing the Small Luxury Hotels of the World label, ideally located for exploring the first city of the New World!

It's hard to imagine a better location! The Casas del XVI is located in the colonial quarter of Santo Domingo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, at Calle Padre Billini 252. The first cathedral of the New World is a 5-minute walk away. Las Americas airport is 29 km away, with transfers taking 30 minutes.

21 superb, spacious rooms and suites feature historic and cultural decor that will delight guests, immersed in the original architecture inspired by Dominican culture. Each room is unique, decorated according to a theme linked to Spanish colonial history. Antiques, local works of art and handcrafted or modern furniture all combine to create a charming colonial atmosphere. Casa del Arbol, with its traditional Spanish patio, is decorated in a pineapple theme. Vintage exploration maps adorn the interior walls of Casa de los Mapas. The colonial architecture of Casa Macoris, which was part of the Dominican convent in the days of the Spanish colonists, will charm you with its four-poster beds. You also have access to each house's fully equipped kitchen, patio, terrace and swimming pool.

All the houses have a charming flower-filled patio where birds sing among the vegetation. It's the only sound, and a rather pleasant one at that, in a place where silence reigns everywhere: you're completely protected from the noise of the city! When you arrive, you'll be served a delicious mango juice squeezed from the mango tree on the patio, with a hint of passion fruit - a real treat! No need for a restaurant... The à la carte breakfast, included in the room rate, is prepared each morning by a Dominican chef in the house's fully equipped kitchen, and served by your butler from 7am to midday. This is your chance to savour local specialities. As for dinner and lunch, just ask your butler, who will take care of everything!

Slip into the shoes of the first governor of the Americas, in the palace where he lived!

The legendary address in the Dominican capital, a real gem in the heart of Santo Domingo's colonial zone, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Hostal Nicolas de Ovando is a 16th-century palace, the former residence of the first Governor of the Americas. For lovers of old stones, it offers a grandiose stopover with character. You can't fail to fall under the spell of this monument, which also boasts a beautiful swimming pool and a highly refined restaurant. A plunge into the heart of the colonial zone of the first city of the Americas, on the banks of the river.

Nicolas De Ovando is located in the heart of Santo Domingo's colonial quarter, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and just a few minutes' walk from the main historic monuments. We are right opposite the National Pantheon on the famous Calle de Las Damas, the first street of the New World! Las Américas airport, only 25 km away, can be reached in 30 minutes.

This splendid 92-room palace, adorned with a Gothic-style portal (unique in America), is made up of three four-storey houses dating from the early 16th century. The former residence of Governor Nicolas de Ovando from 1502 to 1509 is one of the finest jewels in the colonial zone, with its interior fountains, flower-filled patios, old stonework and period furniture.

In the centre of the houses, near the rectangular swimming pool, the Las Damas patio exudes charm, with its red bricks in the Spanish hacienda style and a pretty fountain surrounded by plants. The pool is surrounded by a sun terrace with wrought-iron deckchairs topped with red mattresses.

The flower-lined paths of the lush garden lead past an old church to the large esplanade overlooking Port Ozama. The view of the cruise ships moored in the port of Santo Domingo is breathtaking.

The red and orange walls of the à la carte restaurant "1502" combine with the arcades and colonnades and the glass chandeliers to create an atypical contrast. Wrought iron palm trees, symbols of the establishment, hang from the walls. You can sit out on the terrace, facing the patio Hernan Cortès. A stone's throw away, the Cibao Bar, an air-conditioned smokehouse, offers a selection of the best Dominican cigars and excellent rums.

One of the most complete resorts in the Caribbean, next to the village of Altos de Chavon and facing Catalina Island.

Casa de Campo Resort & Villas is a gigantic complex with a very American feel. This resort, the first in the country, is home to four golf courses, the famous Altos de Chavon, a replica of an Italian medieval village, thousands of hectares, a 90,000 m² marina, a cinema, a ranch, a spa, seven restaurants, a polo field... it's a real city! But the hotel itself occupies only a tiny part of this superlative resort. The very select beach with its bar and designer fish restaurant is 'the place to be' for admiring the most beautiful sunsets. Ideally located opposite the sumptuous island of Catalina, this popular spot for the jet set, with its spacious, luxurious rooms, is also perfect for families, with mini-clubs for children aged 0 to 17! A top-of-the-range, ultra-complete resort offering a 24-hour all-inclusive package.

The gigantic Casa de Campo resort faces the island of Catalina, right next to the village of Altos de Chavon, part of its estate, on the Caribbean coast in the south-east of the Dominican Republic, close to La Romana and 160 km east of the capital Santo Domingo and its airport. Allow around 1 hour 15 minutes for transfers, and the same for Punta Cana. La Romana airport, which has few services on the French market, is 9 km to the north-east: allow 8 minutes for transfers.

Playa Minitas is quite a distance from the hotel's main rooms and facilities, but that's its only drawback. This beautiful beach is spacious and well equipped. Protected from the waves by a seawall, it is a veritable lagoon with deliciously warm clear water, fringed by coconut palms. At lunchtime, you can enjoy excellent fish at The Beach Club restaurant, by the infinity pool, and have a drink in a chill-out lounge atmosphere, relaxing on double leather mattresses 10 metres from the water. The perfect place to admire the sumptuous sunsets!

A luxury boutique hotel with The Leading Hotel of The World label.

Tortuga Bay: the name of this luxurious, charming address immediately conjures up ideas of escape, evoking the Caribbean and its pirates. Designated The Leading Hotel of The World, this boutique hotel is a small enclave of serenity set on the most beautiful beach on the country's east coast, boasting seven restaurants, two of which are gourmet, a spa by the prestigious Six Senses brand, unique in the Caribbean, and three 18-hole golf courses, all set in an ecological park with freshwater springs and rhinoceros iguanas. Punta Cana international airport is just 10 km from the hotel (8 minutes).

Decorated by the famous Dominican designer Oscar de la Renta, the spacious rooms (from 105 to 537 m²) are inspired by the Taïna culture (that of the island's pre-Columbian inhabitants). We love the four-poster bed, 24-hour room service and butler service. The butler can also prepare a personalised meal in your fully-equipped kitchen: in other words, a home chef!

Tortuga Bay is an island of tranquillity within the Punta Cana Resort and Club, which also includes the Westin Punta Cana and the Four Points by Sheraton Punta Cana. The ecological park covers 600 hectares, the beach 6 km, and the resort boasts a Six Senses spa, seven restaurants and three golf courses!

Tortuga Bay is located in the immense Punta Cana Resort and Club, the first hotel in the area, built in 1978, and which gave its name to the entire 40 km coastline. First in line, served like a king, guests enjoy the most beautiful beach in Punta Cana, isolated, with no other hotel on the horizon other than Club Med. Punta Cana airport, just 10 km away, belongs to the resort.

An adults-only luxury hotel in the Cap Cana marina.

Located in the heart of the luxurious Cap Cana marina, the TRS Cap Cana Waterfront & Marina Hotel is the most upmarket part of the resort. In short, as you can see, this is luxury! It's a real city, with yachts, a church, streets, squares, houses, bars, restaurants, swimming pools and huge villas with kitchens. The icing on the cake? Access to the Zentropia Palladium Spa & Wellness centre, where you can recharge your batteries with divine treatments and massages!

Each room on the ground floor overlooks a large river pool divided into four sections. So you could say there are six pools!

Away from the hustle and bustle of Bavaro, Cap Cana is a luxurious estate to the south of the Punta Cana area, close to the airport and home to golf courses and a number of luxury establishments. The TRS Cap Cana Waterfront & Marina is located directly on the Cap Cana marina, opposite Fondadores beach and close to the Punta Espada golf course, designed by Jack Nicklaus. Punta Cana international airport is just 10 minutes from the hotel. On the menu? à la carte restaurants that take you to Italy, Ibiza or Argentina, before ending the evening with a dinner and show at the Cabaret & Restaurant Chic!

A chic adults-only 24-hour all-inclusive resort on the Samana peninsula.

The Viva Wyndham V Samana is an all-inclusive 24-hour establishment reserved for adults and lovers of the Bay of Samana, who will enjoy an ideal location to begin their discovery of the region, just 8 km from the typical village of Las Terrenas. A club on a human scale, where you can enjoy a relaxed, chic atmosphere, quality entertainment, free Wi-Fi everywhere and a choice of four restaurants, three of which are à la carte. An address ideally located opposite the sublime, unspoilt beach of Playa Coson.

Since January 2019, the resort has also offered 34 bungalows with palm leaf roofs and private pools. Located away from the beach and forming an arc, they offer greater privacy.

V Samana stands amid lush vegetation. It is organised around a vast designer pool surrounded by six elegant Balinese beds, with the sea as a backdrop. Here you can relax in a trendy, laid-back chill-out lounge atmosphere. There are also built-in whirlpool baths and hydromassage jets. The lawn area, planted with coconut palms, has hammocks here and there.

The Coconut Whispers Spa is set back from the bungalows and is also open to guests of the neighbouring Sublime Samana, a Small Luxury Hotel of the World owned by the same proprietor. It includes four double massage huts for couples, a circular swimming pool in the middle of a garden, a Vichy shower and a Temazcal, a kind of sweat lodge typical of Mexico.

A long stretch of unspoilt sand surrounded by lush vegetation and fringed by coconut palms, Playa Coson is splendid! Here, the sand is a beautiful cane sugar colour and the water is turquoise. The beach is 150 metres away. The plastic deckchairs and Balinese beds are set back on the grass, as the sandy area is rather narrow.

A lively all-inclusive club open 24 hours a day overlooking the Costa Dorada beach.

At the heart of the Costa Dorada resort, bordering a clean blue-flag beach, the Iberostar Costa Dorada is an all-inclusive, 24-hour resort. It offers a wide range of facilities, including a spa, a well-equipped mini-club, a large lagoon pool, a disco, a state-of-the-art gym and a wide choice of restaurants, not to mention the 18-hole golf course just across the road. A lively hotel equally suited to party-goers, sports enthusiasts, wellness lovers and families.

The Iberostar Costa Dorada is located along the Amber Coast, on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, in the seaside resort of Playa Dorada (Golden Beach), renowned for its blue flag golden sand beach, 5 km east of Puerto Plata.

A beautiful 18-hole golf course designed by the famous American architect Robert Trent Jones is just across the road from the hotel. The Ocean World water park (where you can swim with dolphins) is just 40 minutes west, in Cofresi.

This huge colonial-style complex is nestled in a very natural environment. The estate includes an orchid flower park with ponds and fountains, including an area where aloe vera grows. The lobby sets the tone with its pink flamingo pond. There is only one pool, but what a pool it is!

A huge, superbly landscaped lagoon, with an island and palm tree, waterfalls, wooden bridges, water jets, eight colonnades, whirlpool baths and an underwater bar. The setting is splendid, with the vegetation-covered mountains as a backdrop.

The beautiful Costa Dorada beach is at the foot of the hotel. The sand is fine, soft and golden (hence the name of the beach). There are no coconut palms here, but almond trees. A water sports centre offers free kayaking, windsurfing and hobie-cat sailing. This part of the beach has been awarded the blue label, a guarantee of water quality.

An island hotel, just like in the Maldives!

Reserved for adults, the Luxury Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado is a top-of-the-range hotel with 24-hour all-inclusive service and free Wi-Fi. It is nestled on an exceptional site, the paradise island of Cayo Levantado, a must-see excursion on the Samana peninsula, reached after a 5-minute crossing by small motorboat. You'll find two huge, superbly appointed swimming pools, a spa, a choice of five restaurants, four of which are à la carte, very comfortable rooms and a picture-postcard beach reserved for resort guests. What's more, it's a prime whale-watching spot from January to March.

The landing stage is to the south-west of the island of Cayo Levantado, which you reach after passing the magnificent public beach to the north-west of the island. Outside, the gardens are well kept, with traveller's trees, palm trees, coconut palms... You can hear the birds singing. The two pools are truly gigantic, crossed by a bridge and with an island in the middle. The first pool, a lazy river in the shape of a river, is located in the centre of the island.

A superb panoramic lift, reminiscent of the one in Salvador de Bahia or Lisbon, takes you to the beachside pool, reminiscent of a large lagoon.

Scan the horizon and, if you're lucky, you'll catch a glimpse of the whales that cruise these waters from January to March.

On the unspoilt Barahona peninsula: a luxury lodge overlooking the Caribbean with a zip line and spa in the rainforest. Please note: it is currently being renovated and is therefore closed to the public.

Perched on a wooded hill overlooking the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean Sea, Casa Bonita Tropical Lodge is a haven of peace in the heart of nature. Designated a Small Luxury Hotels of the World, this boutique hotel will appeal to lovers of nature and luxury, with its refined gastronomy, comfortable suites and, for the more adventurous, a treetop adventure course in the forest, which also houses a spa. A real favourite!

Casa Bonita Tropical Lounge nestles on a hillside, surrounded by the Barohuco mountains, between the Caribbean Sea and the tropical forest, overlooking Qameito beach, 17 km from Barahona, in the south-west of the Dominican Republic, the country's most unspoilt region. Allow 3 hours by car for transfers to Santo Domingo airport, but much less by helicopter for those who can afford it!

An infinity pool that merges with the sea offers superb panoramic views. Like the hotel itself, the rooms are luxurious and natural. You fall asleep in a king-size bed protected by a mosquito net, lulled to sleep by the sounds of nature. The wooden terrace offers superb views of the sea, river, mountains and rainforest.

Isolated from the hotel and accessible by quad bike, the Tanama Eco SPA at Casa Bonita Tropical Lodge is located right in the middle of the rainforest! You'll be lulled by the gentle sound of the river (and the sounds of nature: lizards, insects, birds...) during your massages, in two pavilions right on the water's edge. The spa uses indigenous elements such as coffee, cocoa and pineapple for treatments and steam baths, facials and therapeutic massages on tables or directly in the river.