The New $25 Million Spa in the Dominican Republic

Pete Dye golfing destination Casa de Campo unveils wellness and recovery facilities.

by Jennifer Ashton Ryan

A modern house with a balcony, perched on a cliff overlooking the vast ocean. The ocean is a deep blue color and there are whitecaps on the waves. Lush green vegetation surrounds the house.

If you grew up coming here, you call it “Casa,” and if it’s an annual pilgrimage, you know to expect something new each year. On this trip, it’s The Spa.

When Casa de Campo (casadecampo.com) opened, it was the chicken before the egg, meaning the golf course before the neighborhood (the best golf communities are built in this order). A sugar mill, the largest producer of its kind in the world, put the area on the map in the 1960s. With that momentum behind him, an executive for the mill, Cuban Alvaro Carta, called in golf course designer Pete Dye to take a look. Dye saw the Caribbean Sea from the clifftop and the rest is Teeth of the Dog history. (The name for the now storied golf course refers to jagged coral rock along the coast here.) After its inception in 1971, amenity by amenity, the rest of the 7,000 acres became what it is today.

Residential community La Romana was added, as were additional Dye-designed golf courses (the current count is 63 holes) and a private airport. Then came tennis and polo facilities, a Grecian-style amphitheater, a resort (currently 305 rooms), and the first iteration of the spa in 2008. Fifteen years later, the spa facilities are all new again. Opened in 2023, the $25 million, 18,000-square-foot spa and wellness center boasts fresh facilities and a results-driven menu.

A group of people walking along the ocean's edge on a secluded white sandy beach in their swimsuits, a few carrying scuba fins, in the background is a large cliff wall of multi-colored rock layers.

Also benefiting golfers (as well as polo players, skeet shooters, yachtsmen, swimmers, and tennis players) is the MLX i3Dome, in which you lie down while far-infrared rays gradually increase body temperature to aid in cellular waste removal as well as boost metabolism, reduce inflammation, and alleviate pain. While your body is in the dome, your face receives a no-touch plasma treatment for stress relief followed by light therapy to aid in skin rejuvenation and activate cellular mitochondria. Fully refreshed athletes can cross train or recover further in the resort’s gym, by taking sport yoga and stretching classes and scheduling physical therapy. The expert team works on soft tissue mobilization, kinesthetic re-education, and everything in between—ultimately improving your handicap, whether it’s Dye Fore or Teeth of the Dog next on your wish list.

For anyone who’s been reluctant to pick up a racket for fear of ridicule, there’s the chance to re-engage muscle memory. A tennis pro is one of the 20 staff always on site, and if you spend an hour a day with him, both your backhand and your overall confidence will markedly improve. The floodlit, private court sits close to the property entrance, far from prying eyes. By the end of a week, you’ll remember why you once loved the game after you find yourself rallying at length with the pro. There’s also guided cycling tours of the island, SUP, and a fully equipped gym with a Peloton.