Haute Retreats, the luxury villa rental and concierge company, describes Casa de Campo in one line: “the 7,000-acre gated resort estate at La Romana”. That is the size of a small town, and it behaves like one. Behind the gate are golf courses, a beach, a marina, restaurants and private villas, and the usual way to get around is a golf buggy. Among the more than 160 Haute Retreats Dominican Republic villas, the Casa de Campo houses include some of the largest, with up to 12 bedrooms.
What is inside the gate?
The golf comes first for many visitors. Teeth of the Dog, designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1971, runs seven of its holes along the Caribbean shore. Dye liked to say he built eleven holes and God built the other seven. It is ranked the best course in the Dominican Republic and has long been the Caribbean’s regular entry in the world’s top 100.
For everyone else there is Minitas Beach and its beach club, a marina that takes yachts of up to 250 feet, and the simple pleasure of a holiday where nobody needs a car. Children ride in the buggies, grandparents are never far from a shaded terrace, and the golfers can be on the first tee ten minutes after breakfast.
Which houses suit a big party?
Casa de Campo’s houses run large, and the four below show the range.
Casa Caleton. Twelve en-suite bedrooms on the quiet southern shoreline, facing open water with no road or neighbouring roof in view. Nine rooms have two queen beds, which suits families with older children. Housekeepers, a chef and a chef’s assistant, a butler and waiters come with the house, along with two six-seat buggies, an infinity pool, a heated jacuzzi and a bonfire lounge. The shore here is a coral ledge rather than sand, so swimming happens in the pool, in the neighbourhood’s small sheltered cove or at Minitas, about two and a half miles away by buggy.
Casa Minitas. Twelve bedrooms for up to 24 guests, the largest of the four.
Casa Cana. Eight bedrooms for up to 20.
Bali Seven. Seven bedrooms for 14, with a housekeeper, a chef and a waiter, plus a four-seat buggy and a welcome basket on arrival.
At Casa Caleton, as at many staffed villas in the country, the staff come with the house but groceries and drinks are billed at cost, so it is worth agreeing a food budget with the chef before arrival.
How do you get there from Britain?
British Airways has flown from Gatwick to Punta Cana since 2009, and this winter the route steps up to four flights a week. From Punta Cana’s airport, Casa de Campo is about 50 minutes by road along the Autovía del Coral. The estate also has its own airport at La Romana, about ten minutes from the gate, used by scheduled and charter flights and by private jets, and Santo Domingo is around 50 minutes away by road.
When should you go?
The dry season runs from December to March, and the Dominican Republic’s busiest weeks are Christmas, New Year and the American Presidents’ Day holiday. In 2027 that falls on Monday 15 February, the day most English schools break for half-term, so British families will share the week with American ones. Easter, on 28 March, is another of the most requested weeks; the weeks after it have more choice.
For the holiday weeks (Christmas, New Year and Easter) Haute Retreats recommends giving nine to twelve months’ notice; for the rest of the season, half a year or more is comfortable. Minimum stays are set villa by villa and rise sharply over the holidays, to between seven and twelve nights at Christmas and New Year, and the company confirms them in writing for the dates requested.
What should you ask before booking?
Five questions save most of the surprises. How many bedrooms have two beds rather than one, so the cousins and the couples each land in the right room? How many buggies come with the house? Casa Caleton has two six-seat carts, but a party of 20 will want more.
Is there sand in front of the villa, or a sea view over rocks, as on the Caleton shoreline? What will the groceries and drinks budget be for the week? And can the concierge hold tee times on Teeth of the Dog and a table at the beach club before you land, rather than on the first morning?
“Casa de Campo is the answer when the group is too big for a resort and too varied for one kind of holiday,” said Sabrina Piccinin, Founder and CEO of Haute Retreats. “The golfers, the swimmers and the grandparents all have their own day, and everyone comes back to the same table at night. Choose the house for the bedrooms first and the view second.”
About Haute Retreats
Founded in 2016, Haute Retreats is a luxury villa rental and concierge company representing more than 2,400 villas, mansions and private estates across 83-plus destinations worldwide. Its fully staffed collection includes a private chef, villa manager and daily housekeeping in residence; across the wider portfolio, private chefs and additional staff can be arranged at additional cost, alongside drivers, yacht charter, private jet arrangements and bespoke experiences, with a 24/7 concierge desk on every stay.
The company is ASTA-accredited, a three-time Luxury Lifestyle Awards winner (2024–2026) and a 2026 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice nominee. Haute Retreats holds a TrustScore of 4.8 on Trustpilot, with every review rated five stars, and 80 per cent of its guest families return.
