Why Casa de Campo is a favorite escape for Miami celebrities and other VIPs
An oasis in the Caribbean that has drawn Miami A-listers for years is celebrating half a century.
PitBull and Marc Anthony are regulars at Casa de Campo Resort & Villas and were expected to attend the festivities, through Sunday, Oct. 27. Both have homes in La Romana, site of the 7,000-acre resort.
Fort Lauderdale resident Taylor Dayne and Miami’s Jon Secada were to perform Saturday night, Oct. 26, at the 16th century stone village Altos de Chavón amphitheater, inside the Dominican Republic complex.
“It’s an iconic, iconic venue,” the three-time Grammy winner told the Miami Herald. Secada has stayed there a handful of times.
Lili Estefan, host of Univision’s El Gordo y la Flaca, arrived on Thursday and broadcast her show from the resort. She told the Miami Herald she’s been staying at Casa de Campo for 25 years.
“It’s like coming to paradise,” she said.
Casa de Campo’s rise also marks stronger ties between South Florida and the Dominican Republic. The Caribbean nation is seeing record tourism this year, and that’s even before a new daily flight from Miami International Airport starts.
Resort officials say the weekend events marking 50 years is merely the beginning of year-long string of festivities. There will be commemorative packages for guests, deals, special events, and a concert series at the 5,000-seat amphitheater.
An escape for South Florida celebs and elite
As South Florida experienced a surge in newcomers from other parts of the U.S. in recent years — especially tech and finance professionals from the Northeast and West Coast — many moneyed locals decided they need an escape, even a brief one, from traffic, crowds and long waits at restaurants. They found refuge in the gated community of Casa de Campo, where they can leave their house and car doors unlocked.
“In the last four years, I’ve met a lot of new homeowners from Miami,” said Jason Kycek, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Casa de Campo Resort & Villas.
The resort has 247 guest rooms. It also has dozens of villas for purchase, as large as eight bedrooms. The surrounding area also has land to build on.
Before the pandemic, real estate in the Dominican Republic and La Romana was growing modestly
“But after the pandemic, we’ve seen a massive migration and relocation of people,” Kycek said. “More and more people from South Florida not only vacation with us but buy homes.”
In 2023, the Dominican Republic received over 10 million tourists by land and sea, a record, according to the local newspaper Dominican Today. That number will likely reach 12 million by the end of 2024.
That growth may soon get turbocharged. American Airlines will start daily flights between Miami International Airport and La Romana on Dec. 5, flying a 128-passenger Airbus A319.
Casa de Campo’s decades in the making
Casa de Campo goes back to the 1970s when Charles Bluhdorn, then chairman of conglomerate Gulf & Western, started things rolling. That company held varied businesses including Paramount Pictures and the South Puerto Rico Sugar Co., the New York-based firm that owned 70,000 beachfront acres in the Dominican Republic.
Bluhdorn brought in Pete Dye, a friend and architect, to develop a golf course. Oscar de la Renta and Miami’s William Cox had strong early influences on design. The Altos de Chavón amphitheater debuted with a performance by Frank Sinatra.
After Bluhdorn died, the Fanjul sugar family bought Casa de Campo. By then they had settled in Florida after fleeing Cuba. The Fanjuls gradually made the resort even more high-end, but the wealthy coming from South Florida or elsewhere in the U.S. found it affordable.
As the Fanjul family grew their vast corporate interests in the U.S. and Dominican Republic, particularly in sugar, they faced criticism over their business practices and reliance on government subsidies. The Fanjul brothers were parodied in the 1993 novel Strip Tease by author and former Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen
Through it all, Casa de Campo’s popularity grew, especially among Miami Cuban-Americans.
Amenities at Casa de Campo
Casa de Campo now has several world-class golf courses, polo and equestrian centers, a 245-acre shooting center, a racquet center and the Altos de Chavon artists village. There’s the 370-slip Marina & Yacht Club, spa and pool. The entire place is a private, gated community.
The amphitheater regularly hosts world-famous performers. On Dec. 7, two-time Grammy winner Carlos Vives will perform.
And Lili Estefan said she will be back. Over the past three years, the TV host has averaged seven stays a year at Casa de Campo.
The resort’s staff “make you feel like you’re the most important person in their lives at that moment,” she said. “That’s why I come here so much.”
Jon Secada is excited to be back, too.
“The property itself is beautiful and then there’s the tradition it has established over the years,” said the singer and songwriter. “It’s a model for so many properties.”
