2. Peninsula House, Dominican Republic

Peninsula House, a secluded plantation-style guesthouse with gingerbread trim, is set 1,000 feet above sea level—and above the sprawling resorts that line the beaches below—on the Dominican Republic's Samaná Peninsula, with acres of terraced lawns that unfurl to Atlantic views. The property's centerpiece is an open-air brick patio encircled by a simple kitchen, a compact dining room, a formal library, and a British-colonial billiard room. Upstairs, six airy suites are outfitted with Frette linens and French doors with louvered shutters that open onto a wraparound veranda (three also have four-poster beds). Diverse artworks and furnishings fill the property—Congolese masks, Mogul paintings, Louis XV chairs—and breakfasts and dinners make the most of produce from the on-site organic garden (lunch is served at the hotel's beach restaurant). All is not perfect (showers can be lukewarm, and the rates are dizzying considering the limited facilities), but the Peninsula House has a familial yet mature ambience that is uncommon in hotels these days. The relaxed staff mingle with guests, and the place abounds with places to read a book or just listen to the rustling palm fronds. —2009 Condé Nast Traveler Hot List

Peninsula House
Las Terrenas, Samaná Peninsula, Dominican Republic
Tel: 809 307 1827

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