Top of the most beautiful hotels in the Santo Domingo region

Nestled in the heart of Santo Domingo's colonial quarter, ideally located for exploring the first city of the New World, the Casas del XVI is a luxurious boutique hotel full of charm. It comprises an exclusive collection of six colonial houses dating back to the Conquistadors, complete with period brick arcades and palm tree lawns. Four of them have a swimming pool.

Beautifully renovated, they house 21 superb, spacious rooms and suites, decorated in a historic and cultural style that will delight guests, immersed in the original architecture inspired by Dominican culture and international influences.

No need for a restaurant... The à la carte breakfast, included in the room rate, is prepared every morning by a Dominican chef in the house's fully equipped kitchen, and served by your butler from 7am to midday. This is your chance to savour local specialities! As for dinner and lunch, just ask your butler, who will take care of everything!

El Embajador is an institution in Santo Domingo. The oldest hotel in the city, this prestigious establishment has welcomed many celebrities since it was inaugurated in 1956 by the dictator Trujillo. It is located in the Bella Vista residential district, 3 km from Santo Domingo's colonial district and close to Mirador Sur Park.

The hotel boasts a large swimming pool surrounded by a vast garden with abundant tropical vegetation, comfortable and spacious rooms and colourful cuisine in the El Jardin del Embajador restaurant. In the middle of the vast, luxuriant garden stands a large swimming pool, the end of which forms an E shape. A charming address for a cultural break in the capital of the Dominican Republic.

All rooms have balconies overlooking the garden and swimming pool, or the city. If you can afford it, why not opt for the presidential suite, which occupies the whole of the 9th floor, and gives you the chance to stay in the former flats of the dictator Trujillo...

TheHodelpa Nicolás de Ovando is a 16th-century palace, the former home of the first Governor of the Americas, Nicolás de Ovando: a legendary address in the Dominican capital, a real gem in the heart of Santo Domingo's colonial zone, just a few minutes' walk from the main historic monuments.

For lovers of old stone, it offers a magnificent stopover full of character. Luxury, tranquillity and beauty... You can't help but fall for the charms of this monument, which also boasts a beautiful swimming pool and an exquisite restaurant.

This splendid palace, adorned with a Gothic-style portal (the only one of its kind in America), consists of three four-storey houses housing 92 rooms and four suites. It is one of the finest jewels of the colonial zone, with its indoor fountains, flower-filled patios and period furniture, as well as views of the River Ozama from the terrace.

The Be Live Experience Hamaca is the only real resort in Boca Chica, the sultry seaside resort 34 km east of Santo Domingo, built in 1948 by the dictator Trujillo. It's a full-service resort with 25 entertainers, offering a 24-hour all-inclusive package for all the family.

This huge complex of almost 700 rooms boasts a host of facilities, including a casino, discotheque, spa, fitness room, five swimming pools, numerous bars and restaurants and a mini club. In short, it's almost like being in Punta Cana!

The beach at Be Live Expérience Hamaca is private, exclusively for resort guests. It's small, but overlooks a heavenly lagoon with clear, shallow waters protected by the coral reef - a real natural swimming pool! On certain evenings, beach parties are organised on the beach: atmosphere guaranteed!

The Emotions by Hodelpa hotel is located in the seaside resort of Juan Dolio, on the south coast of the Dominican Republic, just 50 km east of Santo Domingo. Guests enjoy top-quality entertainment, free Wi-Fi throughout the resort and a 24-hour all-inclusive package.

There is also a wellness centre, a range of sports facilities including a climbing wall, several restaurants and a number of concept bars: beer bar, wine bar and coffee shop. To get to the beach, you have to cross a road (not very busy).

The establishment has three swimming pools, one of which faces the sea and is reserved for Essentia Vip guests, while the other is for adults only. Emotions by Hodelpa is also very natural, with its many pools, fish ponds, water lilies and even pink flamingos!

Somewhat isolated on the south-east coast of the Dominican Republic, the Luxury Gran Bahia Principe Bouganville is the top-of-the-range adults-only part of the Gran Bahia Principe La Romana. This 24-hour all-inclusive resort borders a superb, immense beach lined with coconut palms, facing a small private island reached by boat.

Gastronomy is on the menu, with a varied and gargantuan buffet and speciality restaurants. In the evening, the pueblo is the place to be for all kinds of entertainment: shops, billiards, bar, snack bars open all night, shows and disco! And the beautiful Cave of Wonders is just 5 minutes away.

The Victorian-style dwellings are scattered around a tropical garden with flower-lined paths, planted with traveller's trees and coconut palms, and adorned with statues and fountains. The estate covers 950,000 m²! The large lagoon pool is beautifully laid out, with its coconut island, fountain, bubble baths and aquatic bar.

Casa de Campo Resort & Villas is a gigantic complex with a very American spirit. The country's first resort is home to four golf courses, the famous Altos de Chavon, a replica of an Italian medieval village, thousands of hectares, a 90,000 m² marina, a cinema, a ranch, a spa, seven restaurants, a polo field, several swimming pools... it's a real city!

The very select beach, with its bar and designer fish restaurant, is ideal for admiring the most beautiful sunsets. Ideally situated opposite the sumptuous island of Catalina, this popular spot for the jet set (Beyoncé, Jay-Z, the Kardashian sisters, Michael Jordan and the Clinton couple!) with its spacious, luxurious rooms is also perfect for families, with mini-clubs for 0-17 year olds!

Another fun aspect of this extraordinary hotel is that for each room you are given the keys to a golf buggy (don't forget to bring your driving licence, you'll be asked for it!). An ultra-complete top-of-the-range resort with a 24-hour all-inclusive package.

The Hilton La Romana is a superb, huge resort with a section reserved for adults. Don't be fooled by its name: the hotel is not in La Romana, but on the edge of a huge, splendid beach just a stone's throw from the village of Bayahibe, with the Catalina and Saona islands and Cotubanamá National Park in the distance. The hotel offers a 24-hour all-inclusive package.

It's a very natural establishment, with lots of greenery, traveller's trees, palm trees, coconut palms, plantains, flowering avenues, pink flamingos and even a bird aviary! A charming spa with its own garden, four huge swimming pools, eight restaurants, a discotheque, a casino, a superior fitness room, mini-golf and countless sports facilities, top-quality entertainment... it's impossible to get bored in this top-of-the-range establishment.

Then it's time for the beach party, with its wild atmosphere and fireworks, once a week. One of the highlights is the 10-minute walk from the beach to the village of Bayahibe, where you can enjoy an ice-cold pina colada with the Dominicans.

Located on the edge of the superb Playa Dominicus, one of the most beautiful beaches on the south Dominican coast, the Viva Dominicus Beach by Wyndham is part of a large all-inclusive complex.

This resort is cleverly laid out lengthways facing the beach, so you are never far from the sea. It stands out from other hotels in the Dominican Republic thanks to its coral stone bungalows topped with palm leaf roofs, unique in the country.

A disco, a large theatre with a show every night, top-quality entertainment, a choice of six restaurants, 24-hour all-inclusive dining, a mini-club, a spa, a large gym, four swimming pools, numerous sports facilities (two tennis courts, a climbing wall and even a flying trapeze) and the Caribbean Sea: it's impossible to get bored at this huge resort. Party-goers will be in heaven, those seeking tranquillity a little less so...