DE S T INAT IONS
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: A scarlet accent and Haitian art are features of the design of Billini Hotel; the building was once a convent; rooms feature modern photography and the latest tech; historic-looking “villa” lanterns have been installed on the streets
galleries. It has transformed the experience of a visit to the oldest city in the New World.
DESIGN DIRECTIONS Te Billini Hotel is set in a former convent dating from the 1500s. Alongside modern photography and technology – Ipad docking stations and Bang and Olufsen sound systems – stand exposed sections of the old rubble-stone walls. Distinctive features, such as coral-stone pillars dating from 1550, were discovered during the renovation and have been restored to their former glory. Rosadela Serulle, a Dominican
designer who trained abroad, styled the hotel to its current look: “Tere is a mix of restoration and modern design. We have exposed the walls to show the history, but I felt the Dominicans needed something new and different, and we wanted to stand out, rather than be just another colonial-style hotel.” A striking accent colour of scarlet
runs through the hotel, as does equally eye-catching art from bordering Haiti – the owners are half Haitian. Te Billini has a lively air, with a roof
very early 1500s, interesting in itself because they are medieval, unlike those in other cities in Latin America, which are baroque.
BRIGHT FUTURE Te city is just coming to the end of a four-year restoration programme. Around US$31.5 million has been spent to improve pavements, lay utilities underground and introduce greenery and street furniture, including historic-looking “villa” lanterns. Around 80 facades have been restored, but by far the most impressive alteration is the disappearance of overhead electrical and telephone wires, a Caribbean-wide affliction best described as looking like aerial spaghetti. In parallel, the private sector has
injected some US$100m, repurposing buildings into cafés, hotels and
busin e s s t r a ve lle r . c o m
GETTING THERE British Airways flies direct from London Gatwick to Punta Cana, which is a two-hour-30-minute taxi ride to Santo Domingo. Transfers can be arranged through Olympus Tours.
olympus-tours.com/ transfers/punta-cana-airport- transportation/
ACCOMMODATION
billinihotel.com
casasdelxvi.com
terrace and pool, while a bar spills out onto the piazza of a 16th-century church that is still in use. New hotels, bars and restaurants are
appearing all the time, but it wasn’t ever thus. Te population within the city walls (30,000 in 1965) has steadily reduced to 8,000. For many years, new development went elsewhere: initially along the coastline, in villas and apartment blocks and chain hotels, and then more recently inland. Te city's business centre is a cluster of glass high-rises around Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln Avenues. CONTINUED ON PAGE 79
51
ABOVE LEFT AND RIGHT: Casas del XVI offers the opportunity to stay in the former homes of the city’s inhabitants LEFT: Each Casa has an inner courtyard
JUNE 2 0 18
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