Luxury with a Caribbean Accent - Sanctuary Cap Cana, Dominican Republic

For those of you who have waited patiently for its grand entrance into the market, the elegant golf resort, the Sanctuary Cap Cana, will debut on the east coast of the Dominican Republic on December 22, 2007...just in time for the holidays. More in a moment.


My first experience with the Domincan Republic was with Charlie Bludhorn, the founder and CEO of Gulf + Western back in the 1980's, when I was the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for his hotel division, reporting directly to him.

Mr. Bludhorn's vast corporate empire--especially Paramount Pictures--was enormously successful. But his true love was the sensual beauty of the Dominican Republic and the irrepressibly eager to please, hard-working Dominicans. No one else seemed to share his vision at the company affectionately known on Wall Street as "Engulf & Devour." No matter. Charlie and I had a mission. The challenge at that time was putting an unknown, Oscar de la Renta-designed golf resort, Casa de Campo, on the map.


Most corporate and incentive people are well beyond the geographical limitations of the average American, but in the 1980's, even they struggled with the concept of where, exactly, was the Dominican Republic. That was before "Pete Dye" became a household word with the Teeth of the Dog course, which now any serious golfer knows and can curse by name.


Well, years later with the success of marketing my beloved Dominican Republic, I am thrilled to be responsible for the U.S. group market for Cap Cana, and present at the birth of a new resort in the Dominican Republic that will eclipse Casa de Campo on all fronts. To begin with, Juanillo Beach around which the Sanctuary Cap Cana is surrounded, is one of the most stunning white sand/teal ocean combinations that any imagination can conjure up. Jack Nicklaus has created a Signature seaside golf course, Punta Espada. Golfers who have played the spectacular ocean-hugging holes gush about the course, yet still cannot find enough superlatives to describe its beauty. Caution: Play now before it becomes private, which it will do as soon as the second Jack Nicklaus course, Punta Iguana, comes on line. Fortunate will be the villa and condo owners who will then have Punta Espada all to themselves!


The Sanctuary Cap Cana has been lovingly designed and built by AltaBella Hotels, a Madrid-based company which has taken excruciating care to bring this five star property to its current state of luxury. All will soon be revealed when the all-suite resort(minimum of 650 square feet hotel rooms) is open next month. Not all of the hotel will be available on December 22, 2007, however. You must wait until March 2008 to experience the exquisite Mandara spa, though spa facilities will be available at the hotel before then. Half of the eight restaurants, and the conference center will be open also in March 2008. We are taking group reservations now, with several prestigious corporate groups already booked.



A final note by the way for those of you who don't know, Charlie Bluhdorn is in the Great Resort in the sky, having passed away in the Dominican Republic in 1985. He really would have loved SanctuaryCap Cana, though I suspect he would have wanted to make it part of his Gulf + Western empire, if it still existed. And that is, of course, the beauty of Sanctuary Cap Cana. It is small (176 suites) and independent, not part of a corporate chain of cookie-cut hotels you might find on this or another Caribbean island. So, I know I speak for Charlie Bluhdorn, if you haven't yet been to the Dominican Republic, you must come to Sanctuary Cap Cana. We challenge you NOT to fall in love with it!

WBENC Certification

A great endorsement has just come my way. The Women's Business Enterprise National Council has officially certified Gail Flannigan Associates as a Woman Business Enterprise. This enables increased access to business opportunities for WBEs from companies who wish to work with women entrepreneurs, and who are encouraged to do so by their corporate philosophies.

The process to become a WBE was lengthy and involved extensive forms, strict criteria, and ultimately being interviewed to make sure our 22 year old business was, indeed, owned by myself, a woman entrepreneur. Over the years, the business has changed, evolved and grown to include commercial and hotel-related real estate. The rewards and worries have come with the territory. Also, the thrill of knowing it is through my tenacity that it has continued to thrive, despite economic and personal challenges.

This award is to be shared especially by Terence Rufer, my husband, partner and Executive Vice President. Besides being an implacable support and calming influence, his judgment is spot on, and he has a wealth of experience in the hotel industry, upon which I draw constantly. And then there is my alter-ego who seems always to be one step ahead of me...my extremely talented Executive Assistant and invaluable support person, Sarah Coughlin.

Finally, due to the loyal clients who have followed me through the years, I am able to accept gratefully this acknowledgement by the Women Presidents Educational Organization (WPEO).

Thank you all.

Onward and upward.

"Clear" Credit Card at the Airport...Shoeless but Stressless

Summer somnolence has prevented me from doing a more timely blog. I think my keyboard slows measurably when the outdoor temperature hits 85 degrees or more. My desk has views of Central Park, so the call of the wild does tempt me to take afternoon breaks as well. Thank you for your understanding, and I hope you have had similar seasonal distractions.

The long absence of an update compels me to write now about a very interesting subject, even though I know no one is reading this today. All are planning for the weekend getaway for Labor Day. That leaves us stay-at-home New Yorkers in an enviable position. No rush to the airport, with anticipated delays cutting into the precious holiday by at least an hour or more. Two thousand flights a day from LaGuardia Airport. Amazing. Two runways, total, at LaGuardia for all incoming and outgoing traffic. Even more amazing.

There is hope, however, for all of us seasoned travellers who do this for a living. If you haven't heard of "Clear" the card that allows you to whisk through a private security line at a growing number of airports...listen up.

Some enterprising company has created a system that scans your iris and takes multiple finger impressions on a scanner and then puts this information into a computer chip. Kind of James Bond meets Homeland Security, with panache. You are issued a sexy, clear plastic credit card with your unique information, that is not transferred to the CIA or the FBI. I am confident that Dick Cheney does not know a thing about my iris. At least, I don't think so.

There are currently 59,000 members of Clear. I am, happily, one of them. I do admit to having to resist my fear of government intervention into my private life before sharing information with Clear in return for this privilege. But, the government knows all there is to know anyway, except the questions asked for in pre-screening and phone security on Clear. What is my favorite movie? "Portrait of Jenny." What is my favorite activity? Yoga. I don't think the government would be assisted in finding Osama bin Laden, even if I told them my intimate answers over lunch. So, the process is swift, futuristic and, I admit, fun. Try it. We need to have as many sophisticated travelers sign up so it will be accepted at all U.S. airports, whose number is steadily growing. Check out http://www.flyclear.com/

Have a great holiday weekend, and I'll be in touch next week with updates on Sanctuary Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic and the latest following my recent trip to Bermuda...

Manhattan Parking and the Art of Investing

I read the other day that the median price for an apartment in Manhattan in the first quarter of 2007 was $835,000. This is four times the national median home price of $214,000. This information comes from the National Association of Realtors, whose NYC members themselves make astronomical commissions on co-ops and condos sold to those guys downtown working on futures. Theirs, not mine.

This made me wonder why there seems to be no end to the uptick in the prices of housing here in New York City. If the New York Stock Exchange were in, say, Las Vegas would we still have to pay over a $1 million for a tiny one bedroom apartment on the East Side? Come to think of it, Wall Street and Las Vegas have an awful lot in common. Legalized gambling from the floor just needs some showgirls to ring the closing bell. Might give a more proletarian feel to investing.

And what if Manhattan weren't an island? What if it stretched out in endless monotony like Vegas beyond the Sodom and Gomorrah neon light part? I mean, isn't part of this over-inflated pricing due to the fact that there are only so many streets to hold so many apartments to hold so many hedge fund guys?

As you know, Peter Minuit bought the island of Manhattan from the Canarsie Indians for $24 worth of trinkets. Yes, that is the story...allegedly, the Canarsie Indians resided on Long Island, and just traded in Manhattan. Kind of like the Westchester crowd today. Brooklynites choose to believe they they were from Canarsie--a pure myth--so it was the Long Island Indians who put one over on the Dutch white man. The Indians were probably thinking that those beads and silver trinkets, and maybe a hatchet or two were a much better deal than having to fix pot holes and get Co-op board approvals. So, with a collective sigh of relief on the part of the original native Manhattanites, the first real estate deal was done. Peter Minuit slyly exchanged his cache, believing he had put one over on those poorly clothed guys. And so began the incredible inflation that brought us to the ultimate silliness that was announced today.

Are you ready for this? There is a waiting list of seven or eight people who want to pay $225,000 for one of five private parking spaces on West 17th Street in the BASEMENT, no less, of a condo development that isn't even scheduled to open until January 2008! Pardon me, but that price should come with a view for your Honda Civic of the Hudson or the East River and maybe a southern exposure on a high floor! The part that has me bowled over is that the people buying these parking spaces don't even own cars! They're buying them as "investments" to be rented out to cover their costs and perhaps some day to be traded down on Wall Street. Or sold to put all the profits on black in Vegas.

So, what does this mean to me, a New Yorker? I am going to turn in my MetroCard immediately, find me a good financial advisor who specializes in Parking, and pull my money out of those stagnating Mutual Funds. The future of investments is clear for me, even if Peter Minuit's was a bit cloudy.

A Hidden Find on the Massachusetts Coast

Rockport, Massachusetts is where people go who aren't going to the "other" Cape. Like an ingenue waiting to be discovered, Rockport remains picturesque, yet incredibly homey, and virtually unknown to those outside Massachusetts. It has been one of my favorites since I was a child. It has nearby towns that sound almost fictional, like "Pigeon Cove" where my grandparents lived, and where the Emerson Inn By the Sea overlooks the rough rocky shore. Ralph Waldo Emerson stayed there and described how it was where he "made acquaintance with the sea for seven days."

But Rockport is the centerpiece and has always been a magnet for artists and musicians, and so draws an eclectic beach crowd. The Chamber Music Orchestra will have a new waterfront space in the old Madras Shop down from Tuck's, where the salt water taffy is still doled out under a tin-ceilinged roof. They do have the best home-made ice cream you could imagine. Or maybe the salt air makes it taste of summer and youth. It doesn't matter.

For those of you who don't know this town, you need to visit. It is best known for Motif #1, the most celebrated subject for artists to paint, which is compelling in its simplicity. The red wood shack is situated on Bearskin Neck, which is the home of tiny shops that have managed to combine tourism with taste. The fishermen who originally colonized this wee town did fight off bears at one point in the late 1600's. But tourists don't have to worry about that now.

Near the center of the town is a terrific place to stay...Beech Tree Bed & Breakfast. There are three guest rooms and Judy and Russ Liddle are the hosts who have brought a high level of excellence to the concept of pleasing their guests. Fresh flowers from their wildflower garden are placed by your heavenly bed. Down pillows are in superabundance. The color of my room was a deep colonial burgundy, with soft muted tones contrasting the elegant antique furniture. And then there is the rainforest shower...The accommodations rival any I have been in recently that are five star, especially as a Bed & Breakfast.

The common areas are cozy with comfortable places to read in abundant corners. During my stay, there was a lovely fireplace in the seafoam green living room that took the chill off an unusually chilly June evening. The porch looks out at the huge 100 year old beech tree from which the inn derives its name. And it is the garden that is the focal point of the summer morning, with abundant irises and cat mint in lavender contrast to the greenery everywhere.

Breakfast is unforgettable. Judy changes her menu daily and offered scrambled eggs with goat cheese folded into the perfectly textured eggs. Accompanying this was a Swedish pancake, home made granola and lots of fresh fruit. Coffee was perfect, of course. This memorable offering was included in the very reasonably priced room rate.
Call them for a quick getaway...www.beachtreebb.com

Champions Tour will hold $2 million event in Dominican Republic

The PGA TOUR's Champions Tour and Cap Cana announced that the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Punta Espada Golf Club in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic will be the site of a new Champions Tour event next spring.

The agreement was signed on May 25, 2007 by Cap Cana's Board of Directors President, Dr. Ricardo Hazoury and Champions Tour Senior Vice President Mike Stevens in the presence of Jack Nicklaus at Nicklaus Design headquarters in North Palm Beach, Fla.

The Cap Cana tournament will be played March 31-April 6, 2008.

The 54-hole stroke-play tournament will feature a 78-player field and official prize money of $2 million, with the winner collecting $300,000. GOLF CHANNEL will broadcast all three rounds in the United States and coverage of the event will be distributed internationally.

"The Cap Cana will be a prestigious addition to our 2008 schedule," said Champions Tour President Rick George. "The pristine setting combined with the Jack Nicklaus design of the Punta Espada Golf Club and resources and amenities of the Cap Cana Resort will immediately establish The Cap Cana as a premier event on the Champions Tour."

Punta Espada Golf Club, the first of three Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses slated to open in Cap Cana, is operated by Troon Golf and opened for play in November 2006. The par-72 course incorporates the surrounding natural beauty of Cap Cana, stretching along a coastline where golfers on each hole look out into the blue expanse of the Caribbean Sea.

"We are very proud to be selected for the PGA TOUR's Champions Tour in 2008," said Dr. Ricardo Hazoury, President of Cap Cana's Board of Directors. "The design of our course at Punta Espada incorporates the natural characteristics of this unique environment of Cap Cana and has been well conceived for this level of play. As a golf destination, we are committed to a successful event. We will continue as a country to position ourselves in the world as a special place to enjoy the sport of golf and to celebrate this kind of professional tournament,"

"We are excited to be a new addition to the Champions Tour in 2008," said Sam Logan, Manager of Operations from Troon Golf assigned to the Punta Espada Golf Club. "Cap Cana has become well-known for excellent conditions and spectacular views, which make it an ideal location for touring professionals and spectators alike. It is a compliment to Cap Cana, Nicklaus Design and Troon Golf that just a few months after opening, Punta Espada debuted at No. 77 in Golf Digest's ranking of the 100 Best Courses Outside the U.S."

The complete 2008 Champions Tour schedule will be announced on June 25 at the annual Champions Tour National Media Conference following the Bank of America Championship in Boston, MA.