Alsol Luxury Village ★★★★★

The Alsol Luxury Village ***** is made up of a village-concept development with nearly 300 villas of varying shapes and sizes clustered around palm-fringed pools, set in one of the Caribbean’s larges inland marinas. There are restaurants and bars everywhere, accessible by paths meandering through palm trees and over little bridges, surrounded by the blue of the Caribbean Sea. Cap Cana has some of the Dominican Republic’s most stunning sugar-sand beaches, world-class sport fishing and some lovely nature trails for those who prefer to take their leisure on dry land. The attraction for my husband was the famous golf course which has eight holes that play directly alongside the ocean. For me it was the warmth and blue water, the spa and restaurants, local beaches, walking and exploring, and – most of all – our own villa and pool at the heart of it all.

We were whisked away in a mere ten minutes from the airport at Punta Cana and shown to our villa. We had chosen a one-bedroom suite on the ground floor. It was surprisingly spacious, with a large living room, large bedroom, fully equipped kitchen and lovely bathroom. The living room was all in pastel shades, cool tiled floors and translucent curtains, with an L-shaped sofa and armchairs for convivial gatherings. The bedroom was big too, and had its own sitting spaces and plenty of storage. The kitchen meant we could eat in if we chose to, or at least make our own coffee in the morning whilst sitting out on our private balcony, admiring the blue of the pool appearing to merge with the sparkling deeper blue of the sea beyond. Our own shallow pool was right on our doorstep and it was lovely to take a refreshing dip in the morning or evening, right from our villa.

Even though we were glad to have our kitchen and home comforts, it turned out that we didn’t do much catering for ourselves – there was such a good choice of restaurants to entertain us at the end of a day spent golfing or relaxing in the sauna or on the beach. We sampled them all. The Mariners Gill has a top-quality international menu in a gorgeous dining room full of rich colours: deep burnt orange walls, delicate Dominican floor tiling and signature oval-backed chairs in a colourful cosy environment with excellent service. We loved the Italian restaurant as well, not forgetting the poolside Sol Bar and Grill where we had some delicious local grilled fish. Lots of different bars and locations gave us the sort of choice you would get in a village rather than a resort. Even so, it was so relaxing to be able to return ‘home’ and relax on the covered balcony – large, with comfortable furnishing like an outdoor living room – and admire the view.

While my husband played golf on that famous course, I discovered the beautiful local beaches. The hotel does not have its own private beach, but it was a short simple taxi ride to Juanillo Beach and there I found the glorious reality of my imagined Caribbean paradise. There were no crowds and plenty of chairs and coconut palms for shade. Clean water, clean beach and one little beach bar with a great menu for refreshment – perfect! Having found it, I persuaded my husband to take a break from his golfing and join me. So we hired a kayak and played like teenagers! We were in agreement again: the Alsol Luxury Village had given us a reality to match our imagined Caribbean paradise!