Club Med Puts Miches in the Crosshair

Club Med is betting big on Miches, an ecotourism destination in the Dominican Republic, with plans for what it said will be the first resort in the area when it opens this year.

Set to welcome guests Nov. 30, the all-inclusive Club Med Miches Playa Esmeralda will take up 93 acres near popular day-trip sites such as the Laguna Limon nature reserve, the Samana Bay whale-watching hot spot and Montana Redonda, a mountaintop known for its unobstructed panoramas and Instagram-ready photo ops.

The $100 million project will offer 335 guestrooms split across four "villages." They include the 111-room Caribbean Paradise, which will be open to any traveler type, and the 158-room Explorer Cove, which is designed for multigenerational families.

The property's two adult-only villages -- the 48-room, wellness-themed Emerald Jungle and the 18-suite Archipelago -- offer a quieter, more intimate atmosphere.

Mufraggi said the resort's smaller villages format helps plant Miches Playa Esmeralda firmly at the high end. The property will be the first Club Med resort in the Americas to join the brand's Exclusive Collection of high-end offerings. It will also be its first new resort in the Caribbean in 25 years.

Meanwhile, with the vast majority of rooms at Club Med Miches Playa Esmeralda set to be family-friendly, the property is positioned to capture a growing demographic of millennial parents looking for a more all-inclusive experience.

While Club Med is touting Miches as a destination largely untouched by development, the region is likely to lose some of that off-the-beaten-path cachet very soon. Miami-based developer Cisneros Real Estate has unveiled plans for Tropicalia, a sustainable luxury resort and residential complex in Miches that will be anchored by a 169-room Four Seasons. That project is expected to be operational by 2021.

Mufraggi said Miches Playa Esmeralda is in talks to partner with Four Seasons on an initiative to source local food.

He added that while future development in Miches is inevitable, he hopes that fast growth doesn't come at the expense of exclusivity and natural charm.

Source: Travel Weekly