Adults-Only Section Opens at Club Med Punta Cana
Club Med Punta Cana inaugurated a new adults-only wing Monday in a ceremony attended by Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina.
“For the Dominican Republic this is an extremely special moment,” said Francisco Garcia, the country’s ministry of tourism, moments before joining Medina and Club Med CEO Henri Giscard d’Estaing in the ribbon cutting for the resort’s Zen Oasis wing.
Containing 78 rooms spread over 26 villas, Zen Oasis features a 312-foot-long pool, the poolside Hibiscus Bar and a spacious hot tub. The area was designed as a retreat where adults can get away from more active portions of the sprawling 75-acre property.
A garden lined with royal palms separates the pool from the Zen Oasis villas. Each room has its own terrace, complete with day bed, as well as a rainfall shower. In-water lounge chairs dot the pool. Hibiscus Bar has the usual selection of rum drinks and other alcoholic beverages, but also has a wellness menu, featuring smoothies and teas.
Club Med plans to debut three other Zen Oasis wings over the next two years at resorts in Algarve, Portugal; the Antalaya region of Turkey; and La Palmyre in France.
Monday’s official opening of the new wing came after nine months of construction and was only part of a $15 million expansion and upgrade at Club Med Punta Cana. This past weekend also saw the opening the Indigo Beach Lounge Restaurant, which replaced the property’s Celeste Bar.
Indigo offers the first table service on the property, setting it apart from the all-inclusive’s typical buffet fare. Guests can order items that come with their all-inclusive rate, or upgrade their meals for a cost.
In the early summer, Club Med Punta Cana also opened a new fitness center, designed with CrossFit training in mind. And June saw the opening of the Creactive by Cirque du Soleil Playscape, a 37,400-square-foot-park featuring 30 artistic and acrobatic activities, including a tightrope, acrobatic bungee and a Club Med staple, the trapeze.
Speaking at the ribbon cutting Monday, Garcia touted the role Club Med has played in the history of Dominican Republic tourism. At the time of its opening in 1981, the company’s Punta Cana property was the first major resort in the eastern Dominican Republic town. That year, Garcia said, tourism brought just $173 million to the country’s economy. This year the sector will contribute more than $6 billion.
“The Dominican Republic is not heaven,” Garcia said. “But it is the place on Earth that looks the most like heaven.”
Source: Travel Weekly
