A Visit to Coral Canoa Beach Resort

The Coral Canoa is one of those luxury all-inclusive beach resorts that the Dominican Republic is so famous for. One package price pays for all of the vacation essentials: room, meals, drinks, entertainment and beach activities. What makes this resort stand head and shoulders above the many hundreds of other DR resorts is that the Coral Canoa offers convenient scuba diving & snorkeling. It is only a short boat ride away from the fabulous Saona Island coral reefs.

Location: Coral Canoa is located on the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic in an area known as Bayahibe, a region famous for its wide sweeping sand beaches. The hotel property borders the DR's most famous wildlife park, Parque Nacional del Este (Eastern National Park), making it the beach resort closest to some of the finest diving areas on the south coast.

Accommodations: Coral Canoa is a major vacation resort, the size of a small village. It boasts a total of 532 guest rooms, which are a mix of superior and deluxe garden view rooms plus ocean view rooms, all with private balconies. In addition to rooms, there are penthouse suites and one-bedroom villas with a living room and terrace. All rooms include cable TV, air conditioning and direct dial telephone.

Transportation: The hotel is conveniently situated less than 30 minutes from the International Airport of La Romana. It is also within driving distance of two other international airports at Punta Cana to the East and Santo Domingo to the West.

Pool: The centerpiece of this resort is a giant freshwater pool with curving borders and a center island, where live bands often set up their instruments for music and singing performances. The rooms are set in a circle around the pool so that everyone has easy access.

Dining: The resort has a total of four restaurants right on the property, plus 5 bars. A traditional American breakfast and a range of international lunch and dinner specialties are served buffet style at La Piragua Restaurant. El Charro is an a-la-carte Mexican Restaurant that serves dinner with both indoor and outdoor seating, including musical serenades and wine with every meal. El Rigoletto serves international cuisine a-la-carte and features elegant décor. El Pelicano is an ideal choice for lobster and other seafood specialties. There is also a beach barbecue and pizza for more casual diners.

Outdoor activities: Coral Canoa offers a wide variety of outdoor activities starting with their oversize swimming pool where guests can engage in a game of water polo. There are three clay tennis courts available during daytime hours. Aerobics and Latin dance classes are conducted daily. Guests can enroll in sunfish or wind surfing classes, or just have fun with bogie boards. Canoes and ocean kayaks are also available. Also available is basketball, beach volleyball, badminton and ping-pong. There is even a 9-hole mini golf course. Recreational activities are non-stop every day and guests have a wide selection to chose from.

Golf: Just a short drive from the resort is the famous La Romana golf course including the 18-hole ''Teeth of the Dog'' and ''The Links'' courses designed by Pete Dye.

Spa: One of the major attractions at Coral Canoa is the Armonia Spa that offers a wide range of anti stress routines that assure total relaxation. Combining mental and physical well being, the spa offers more than 40 different massages, heliotherapy, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, reflexology, yoga and meditation. Skin treatments include fango, facials and toning massages. Sauna and jacuzzi are also part of the spa facility.

Night Life: You certainly won't be bored at Coral Canoa. Their nighttime activities include many fine restaurants, a 24-hour sports bar, a discotheque, plus live show performances at the Areito Theater. The program includes a weekly Caribbean or folklore show, nightly variety shows and musical reviews. Once each week there is a mega production of a well known Broadway show.

Save The Iguanas: Coral Hotels and Resorts management is dedicated to a project for the conservation of the Rhinoceros Iguana (Cyclura Cornuta). Regarded as an endangered species, the Rhinoceros Iguana is the largest terrestrial vertebrate on the Dominican Republic. It gets its name from the shape of the conical scales attached to its snout. It is dull brown in color and inhabits desert-like areas, including nearby Saona Island. The adults diet consists of leaves and fruits and Iguanas help scatter the seeds of many plants which only germinate after passing through the Iguana's digestive system.