In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Brian King, Director of Sales and Marketing of the hotel under construction, St. Regis Cap Cana Resort.
What are the main features of the hotel?
The St. Regis Cap Cana Resort is 10 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. It is a property that will be opening by the end of this year. The idea is to enter the Punta Cana market, which has always been very well known and valued for All Inclusive, but with a new high-luxury proposal, with the help of one of the most important international hospitality brands, Marriott.
The St. Regis hotel will have 200 rooms and 70 residences. These will see single, double, and there will be a wide variety of suites of different sizes and with different amenities, many of them connected room to suite and room to room, which makes it an excellent property for families.
We are going to have the new St. Regis Kids Club concept, which is an excellent product and a very good size. All properties that are ground floor will not only have their terrace, but also their pool. The building is designed facing the ocean. All rooms have a large terrace or balcony. There are also four floors, there is a rooftop and we have two more floors. One of the brand's interesting proposals is luxury-level experiences. The hotel is not All Inclusive, but is a European plan. Some of the rates will include breakfast and the idea is again that the high-level and luxury client who is used to traveling in these properties and who travels around the world looking for different opportunities, thinks of Punta Cana as a luxury destination.
What experiences will stand out at the hotel?
A large part of the experiences come from the hand of gastronomy. We are going to have nine gastronomic points, from a signature restaurant with a flagship chef, a celebrity chef who is Diego Muñoz, a daily restaurant, the garden, and St. Regis Bar, which is not only a place where we mix art with drinks, but where we often embrace rituals.
For us at the brand, rituals are very important, one of the best known worldwide is when we invite our guests daily to join us to see what activities we are going to have that day. This is done taking advantage of the moment to open a bottle of champagne with the savoring system, which is opening it with a sword and inviting our guests. There is also the tea ritual.
Apart from that we are going to have a fairly important restaurant and bar part around the pools, a restaurant on the beach on the sand, an activation, and a rooftop so they can smoke and have a smoke lounge.
The hotel will also have a very important spa, a St. Regis Spa, which will have 13 treatment cabins. Some of them are single, others double, for couples, and many will be indoors, some with natural light depending on the treatment, and there will also be outdoors. Of these exteriors, some are in a small cabin overlooking the ocean. And there will also be a spa suite, which can be used for a special occasion, for a spa day, or simply for some getting ready before a wedding.
Does the hotel have meeting rooms?
Yes, it has an area of rooms, mainly two, one of them with a capacity of 140 people for banquets, which is divisible into two parts. And the other, the largest, with a capacity of 170 people seated at a banquet, divisible into three. Apart from that, the hotel has a boardroom for 10 people for an executive meeting, a very spacious lobby that allows for many set-ups, a large open-air patio with a wall with marble art and a waterfall. It also has a bar so you can have a breakout within an event or the event directly, depending on the number of people. In addition, around the property we will have different places where activities will be possible; gardens, beach, etc.
What is the location like? What attractions or activities does the destination have?
The hotel will be located in a small bay within what is Cap Cana. Cap Cana is a gated community that is only 10 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. Within the destination there are many activities. There are the stables, which is an equestrian center where there are polo fields, there is ornamental jumping, there is also a marina where there are yachts, so there is the possibility of yacht tourism, and also high-level marlin fishing.
Golf is also very important. There is a Punta Espada golf course, which has been selected with several awards for many consecutive years. It is a Jack Nicklaus course with 18 holes, and the hotel will be in front of this golf course.
Is the hotel part of the entire field distribution system?
In reality the hotel is independent of the golf course. However, we are going to have management of many of the things on the field. And we are literally across the street. In fact, from the Signature Restaurant or from one of the suites you have a direct view of the golf course.
Something very interesting about the hotel is that there is a golf course all around. And the beach, although it is not private by name, is a small bay where there are no people circulating, there are no vendors, nor people from other hotels. It is a very private place. The reality is that there are several hotels that have excellent beaches and are very beautiful, but we are targeting a new proposal, an ultra-luxury market. And he is a client who highly values privacy and exclusivity.
When will the project be ready to premiere?
The idea is to open it by early December if everything goes well, and if the weather is good.
Are you thinking about incentive groups due to the capacity of the hotel?
Yes. It is not going to be a hotel primarily for large groups, however, I think we have the capabilities and spaces to be able to host high-level groups. Maybe presentations of some products, exclusive meetings or incentives, also some corporate board meetings.