Ensconce yourself among aristocrats (and their ghosts) in one of the most historic buildings in Santo Domingo, now a five-star hotel that attracts a cosmopolitan crowd of international guests.
This former home of the once Spanish colony’s earliest governor is situated on the first street in what was then the New World. Back in the early 1500s, it was the address to have in the city; neighbors included Diego Columbus (son of Christopher; and later Ovando’s successor as governor) and Diego’s high-status wife, María Toledo, who frequented the cobble-covered lane on her walks to the nearby Cathedral.
A well-preserved piece of 16th-century Moorish architecture, the hotel handsomely combines timeless elegance with contemporary style. Guest areas are characterized by carved wooden ceilings and coralline arches and columns that accent a contemporary Colonial décor. The courtyard, de rigueur in Spanish homes of the time, is marked by the ever-present soothing sound of water flowing from the house’s original fountain.
A nearby alcove bar with billiard table makes a cozy place for an afternoon rendezvous, or you can relax with a refreshing caipirinha while lounging around the pool that overlooks the riverside boulevard.
Nighttime fraternizing and cigar smoking is best found at the hotel’s other bar, El Cibao, or the restaurant, La Residence, which features a French-Latin menu. (Try the grouper filet in a zesty passion fruit sauce with fried green bananas.)
Ample-sized rooms are tastefully decorated in either creamy contemporary or modern colonial style. Luxurious bathrooms are fitted out top-to-bottom in marble.
Chances are Ovando himself (a notable fashionista) would approve.
Room facilities: AC. Cable TV. WIFI Internet access. Room service (24-hour).
Hotel facilites: Restaurant. 2 bars. Pool. Fitness Room. Sauna. Billiards. Library. WIFI Internet access. Business Center. Conference rooms. Dry cleaning.
