Island
dreams
Frank Ranieri and the vision of Punta Cana
by Andrea DaRif
It’s easy to admire the views from the La Cana course
at Punta Cana Resort and Club. Situated on 15,000 pristine acres
at the eastern end of the Dominican Republic, the P.B. Dye layout
plays along sparkling ocean waters and lush tropical jungle,
a setting that has earned it accolades as one of the most scenic
courses in the Caribbean.
That the original untamed natural beauty blossomed into one
of the premier golf venues in the region is due the vision of
its founder, Frank Ranieri. In the late 1960s, a mutual friend
introduced Ranieri—a young man with a crop dusting business
and a small airplane—to an investment group, headed by
the legendary New York labor negotiator Ted Kheel, that was
looking for someone from the area to show them land for possible
development in the Dominican Republic. A stretch of spectacular
oceanfront property caught their eye—the trouble was,
it was inaccessible. There were no roads, no airstrip, no electricity,
no infrastructure . . .
No
problem, said Ranieri. Inspired by the success of Puerto Vallarta
on the west coast of Mexico, which had been transformed from
a sleepy fishing village into a tourist mecca, he convinced
the Americans to buy into the idea of a creating a luxury resort
at Punta Cana. Driving his own bulldozer, he cut a rough road
through the wild jungle, then cleared a modest airstrip. Construction
began, and by 1983, his single dirt runway had turned into an
international airport—the first fully private international
airport in the world. Today, it is the third busiest hub in
the Caribbean. Direct flights to Punta Cana arrive daily from
major hubs like New York, Miami and Paris, bringing in over
1.2 million guests from around the globe to bask in the glow
of of Ranieri’s dream.
The luxury accommodations at Punta Cana Resort include 420 elegant
guest rooms, clustered in oceanfront and tree-shaded villas
surrounded by over a hundred acres of lush gardens. There are
also private golf villas and beachfront residences designed
by Oscar de la Renta—who, along with such other celebrities
as Julio Iglesias and Mikhail Baryshnikov, calls Punta Cana
home. The resort boasts a full service deep water marina, five
international restaurants, an ecological preserve, three miles
of white sand beach and a variety of homesites along the golf
course. Ranieri, whose charming wife and children are also involved
in running the business, sees even greater things to come. With
new real estate developments under way and a second 18-hole
golf course on the drawing boards, Punta Cana is destined to
remain one of the hotspots in the Caribbean for years to come.
puntacana.com
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