Comeback of a Caribbean Classic
In the beginning was Clara Livingstone, who built the Italianate mansion she named Su Casa on the beachfront near the North Coast town of Dorado, Puerto Rico, a half hour’s drive west of San Juan. She was a pistol-packin’ mama who flew airplanes (she was the first commander of Puerto Rico’s air patrol) and hosted the glitterati of her day including, during her 1937 around-the-world flight, Amelia Earhart.
Clara sold the property in the late 1950’s to Laurence Rockefeller, who built the first Dorado Beach Resort and made it part of his famous RockResorts chain of upscale Caribbean edens. The paparazzi-bait of his day flocked to the place: Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, and some queens of Hollywood, including Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner. Ms. Gardner stayed for a month. Ms. Crawford “asked” that her room be repainted all in pink. Mr. Rockefeller concurred, because the customer is always right.
Rockefeller laid down some solid bones for the place. In addition to maintaining the original Su Casa villa, he placed the breakwaters out from the beach (to help protect swimmers from the pounding Atlantic surf), built a magnificent restaurant with glass walls overlooking the beach and added some golf courses.
Related: Enter to Win a Trip to Puerto Rico from TravelSmith
The breakwaters are still there, along with the nonstop ocean waves. The restaurant, now under the direction of famed Spanish chef Jose Andres, is called Mi Casa, and the window walls are still magnificent at night. Robert Trent Jones’s brawny golf courses still give golfers of every ability plenty to handle. Oh, and Su Casa still stands. And can be yours for just $30,000 a night.
But this ain’t your father’s Dorado Beach. Not after a year’s work and some $342 million turned it into a Ritz Carlton Reserve, one of just five in the world. From the moment they whisk your car away until you are shown into your finely appointed beachfront room or suite, lightly scented with ginger and lemongrass, you realize that this is going to be a once in a lifetime experience.
Laurence Rockefeller was also an ardent conservationist ahead of his time. His plan for the resort called for no buildings taller than the towering coconut palms that sway in the constant trade winds. The Ritz Carlton Reserve has maintained that low density, low-rise philosophy with its new development, and upgraded the 11-mile Rockefeller Trail that winds through the 1,400-acre property. It also added an eco-adventure site with the Jean-Michel Cousteau-designed Ambassadors of the Environment programs for kids of all ages.
One of the keys to the Ritz Carlton Reserve’s appeal is its service. Many fine hotels have concierges ready, willing and able to satisfy a guest’s every whim. This one assigns one to every guest. They’re called embajadores (Spanish for “ambassador”) and their job is to make you happy. Want a bicycle to explore the Rockefeller nature trail? Done. Want to go snorkeling? Once you’ve expressed that wish, an appointment with a snorkel guide is booked and your ride to the watersports area is waiting. Tee time? Done. Spa appointment? What time do you wish to go? Dinner reservation? No problem. These ambassadors of fun are there to make certain your every wish is fulfilled and all arrangements made so you can, simply, relax and enjoy.
The guest rooms and suites themselves are so luxurious that one is tempted to never get out of bed, except for the lure of the sun and the beach and all the fun things to do outside. Each room fronts the sea, but also has a private terrace, its own swimming pool (the rooms on the second floor have pools on the roof) and outside showers. Finely appointed furnishings and fabrics just ooze with luxury.
One of the highlights of the newly renovated resort is the Spa Botanico, an amazing facility that includes its own herbal garden and drying room (through which every visitor passes, inhaling the aromatic scents of lavendar, calendula, lemongrass and eucalyptus), cold plunge pools next to steaming hot tubs, and treatment rooms in elevated treehouse rooms that catch the ocean breezes.
Even more exotic: the spa offers consultations with a local healer, the manos santos, who will listen to you describe your various ailments (physical or mental) and whip together a customized concoction of herbs, salts, oils and botanicals designed to elevate the spirit and cast away your physical aches and pains. Does it work? Oh, yes, it does.
Those looking for relaxation of a more normal kind will find it on one of the resort’s three golf courses. Robert Trent Jones was an architect from the heroic school of design, and his work, updated by his son Bobby in recent years, still demands attention from tee to green. The golf courses (East, Pineapple, Sugarcane) feature long holes, sweeping white sand bunkers, thick stands of palm trees, plenty of lurking dark lagoons and the occasional glimpse of beach and ocean. The trade winds are always a factor, which is good to remember when facing a forced carry over some kind of golfing trouble.
Other recreational fun at the Reserve includes an active beachfront program. Learn how to kitesurf, windsurf or paddleboard in the protected areas inside the breakwater or just loll on a chaise and watch the world go by. Swim in the ocean or one of the many freshwater pools, set up a game of tennis or just go for a walk on the 11-mile nature trail that winds through the property.
By all means, bring the kids along. In addition to all the recreation, the resort offers Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment program, which introduces kids of all ages to the natural wonders of sea, land and air.
The dining options at the Reserve are superb. World famous chef Jose Andres has created an intelligent menu at the signature Mi Casa room, offering a delicious mix of traditional Puerto Rican ingredients with Andres imaginative, European influenced skill. Dinners often include (and are sometimes made up with) delicious little tapas bites. These range from the traditional chicken and beuchamel croquettes to a crispy tuna spring roll to the traditional Puerto Rican sausage and roasted apple sandwich with apple alioli. Entrees might include seared yellowtail snapper with romesco sauce and asparagus salad, ‘Guavate style’ roasted pork with corn and vanilla purée and sweet plantains ‘escabeche,’ or the Squid ink pasta with shrimp, cuttlefish and alioli.
And be sure and leave room for the traditional Puerto Rican flan for dessert, a creamy custard perfectly caramelized and served with Catalan cream and passion fruit.
Elsewhere on the property, the Encanto Beach Club Bar and Grill offers an open-air restaurant overlooking the beach with a slightly less formal feel. The menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner are comprehensive and dinners offer an excellent balance between freshly caught seafood dishes and fine local meat and poultry.
The La Cocina Gourmet Center includes a lovely little store offering tasty snacks and take-outs, along with an excellent selection of wines, and is the site of the active gourmet cooking classes offered for guests on a regular basis. Foodies will love it!
All in all, the Ritz Reserve has done the world a service by updating what was once the site of one of the world’s great resorts and turning it into a pleasure palace perfectly attuned to the way we live today. Methinks Clara Livingstone would approve.
Ritz Carlton Reserve at Dorado Beach
100 beachfront guestrooms
14 one-bedroom suites
Su Casa, five bedroom mansion
Rates begin at around $1,000 per night.
Reservations: (844) 387-3532
Ready to Go?
Shop our site for travel clothing and travel gear ready made for Tropical Resort climates. And consult our packing guides for a free packing checklist of everything you need to pack for the trip.
Book Your Trip with Distincte
Distincte is an aspirational lifestyle travel platform created in collaboration with experienced travel industry insiders, hosted by a collection of the finest resorts and hotels around the world and implemented by the finest travel advisors to provide a one-of-a-kind service. Click here to begin planning your journey.
Read Next: Tropical Resort Guide
This article was written by James Y. Bartlett, staff writer for Distincte
The post Fit for a Rockefeller: Ritz Carlton Reserve at Dorado Beach appeared first on TravelSmith: TravelCenter.