Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
If you’re looking for an enchanting vacation destination and love the warm, sunny weather of the Caribbean, I encourage you to visit Puerto Rico’s Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Dorado Beach recently completed an extensive renovation following the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria in September, 2017. The resort is now more spectacular than ever, featuring expanded offerings, amenities and facilities. My family spent Presidents Day weekend at Dorado Beach and had a most delightful time. I wish I had gone, but I had to stay home to prepare for a busy week of shoots in Los Angeles.
While at Dorado Beach, our dear friend and EVP Design Director at Sequential Brands Group, Kevin Sharkey, took this series of lovely photographs - enjoy. You can also visit Kevin’s Instagram page @seenbysharkey for more images from the trip. And please go to my Instagram page @marthastewart48 for a precious video “thank you” from my grandchildren, Jude and Truman.
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- Here is the Arrival Pavilion at Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Guests are instantly greeted by the island’s breathtaking flora. A large native mamey fruit tree stands tall on the right. I also visited the new Dorado Beach in November, when it first reopened – such a beautiful resort. http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/puerto-rico/dorado-beach
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- Here is another view of the Arrival Pavilion. Blue agaves in the foreground are surrounded by monkey and Mondo grasses and overhung with coconut palms. There is also a native ochre, or black olive tree, Bucida buceras, which has a high resistance to insects and fungi, and is sometimes used for house posts or bridge timbers.
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- Heart of traveller’s palm, Ravenala madagascariensis, is native to the moist forests in Madagascar, where it can grow up to 50-feet tall. Each leaf blade is five to 10-feet long by two to to three-feet wide and appears at the end of a thick, grooved leaf stalk.
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- This is a variegated Pandana – a very striking beauty with long, golden and green strap-like leaves spiraling from a branching trunk. Best of all, its beautiful foliage is without spines along the margins Gold-striped Screw Pine, Variegated Screw Pine, Compact Golden Screw Pine.
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- This is the entrance to the Encanto Beach Club Bar & Grill – a family-friendly poolside restaurant that offers a variety of delicious salads, sandwiches and seafood tacos at lunch, and a new, Mediterranean-inspired menu for dinner. My family enjoyed all the meals.
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- Here’s a view through the trees to the resort’s East Beach. My grandchildren love the beach and the water. Almendro, or almond, trees are planted in the foreground and offer some shade for visitors.
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- This is Dorado Beach’s Watermill – an aquatic playground fashioned after a traditional Puerto Rican sugar mill. It was one of the highlights of the children’s stay.
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- The Watermill has multiple pools and two thrilling 30-foot water slides.
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- Here is where the water slides meet the pool.
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- The Watermill also has a lazy river channel complete with a wave machine at one end.
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- Here is another section of the lazy river.
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- The Watermill’s multiple pool areas cater to adults, older children and toddlers.
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- In front of the Dorado Beach Spa Botanico Apothecary is this 90-year old ficus tree, Ficus microcarpa “Nitida”. This single-trunk variety loves to grow where there’s plenty of full sun exposure. It has a wide spreading canopy, which features lush green foliage.
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- The design and orientation of the entire Spa Botanico Apothecary entrance was created around this existing old growth ficus.
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- Here is a closeup of the tree’s trunk structure. It has smooth light-gray bark and many invasive prop roots.
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- On the Encanto Lawn, Kevin took this photo of a potted Zamia pumila, or coontie palm – a small, tough, woody cycad of the West Indies and Florida.
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- Art installations can be seen throughout Dorado Beach.
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- The Apothecary Portal in the entryway to the spa, is decorated with local lemongrass, lavender and marigold.
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- Here is another corner of the Apothecary with more buckets of fragrant herbs.
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- This is Spa Botanico’s Reflection Pool, and Pineapple Garden in the distance.
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- This is the spa’s relaxing courtyard.
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- This is one of the locker rooms at Spa Botanico – so pristine.
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- Outside, there is a row of showers – everything is meticulously maintained.
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- This is the Herb Garden at Spa Botanico.
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- And here is the Pieapple Garden at Spa Botanico with its fruit bearing Ananas comosus or pineapple, in the foreground surrounded by ornamentals from same genus.
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- This is a red pineapple growing in the Pineapple Garden. This is Ananas bracteus, or ornamental variegated pineapple. It is popularly grown as an ornamental plant for its decorative red fruit. The leaves are long with sharp spines, so it can also be used as a protective hedge.
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- These are the pathways through the Pineapple Garden. More ornamental pineapples are framed by Psidium guajava, the common guava.
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- Over these pineapples, Bursera simaruba, more comically known as ‘tourist trees’ because the bark is red and peeling, like the skin of sunburned tourists.
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- This is Frangipani, Plumeria alba – a species of the genus Plumeria. The evergreen shrub has narrow elongated leaves, large and strongly perfumed white flowers with yellow centers.
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- Kevin captured this avian friend sneaking a bit of my family’s breakfast. Thanks for sharing these great photos, Kevin. Please see more on our Instagram pages @marthastewart48 and @seenbysharkey. And thank you to Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve – my family had such a great time. I can’t wait to return there with them!
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