Beyond the gates

When you're ready to leave the house, the north coast opens up. Playa Grande, ten minutes away, is one of the great beaches of the Caribbean. Order a coco loco: the top cut off a coconut, rum and grenadine poured in. Next to it sits a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. golf course, ten of its holes laid along sixty-foot bluffs over the water.

The local tour winds to a waterfall and through the town park to an oceanfront bar for a taste of Mama Juana. Then on to Laguna Du Du and Lago Azul, spring-fed lagoons hung with stalactites, clear enough to jump into from the cliffs. It ends at La Entrada, a long open stretch of Dominican beach with cold beer and rum at the kiosks.

On the water, there's scuba and snorkeling through limestone caverns, deep-sea fishing, and, in season, whales passing offshore.

On land, horseback riding along the coast. And at the house, a spa list: massages, facials, a manicure, all without leaving home.