Fodor's Expert Review Xeliter Balcones del Atlantico

This condotel on a large tract of virgin land offers beautifully designed, spacious apartments with dreamy bedding and private Jacuzzis on terraces that are basically outdoor rooms. If a kitchen can be sexy, the European designer kitchens here are just that, with top-of-the-line appliances. However, if you don't want to cook, the resort's glamorous beachfront restaurant, Porto, is right across the road. One of the pools is lake-size, with a waterfall midway that separates the children's shallows from the deeper adult waters. A fitness facility houses a gym; massages are given in beach cabanas. The initial welcome at the handsome reception building is genuine; citrus-scented towels refresh travel-weary visitors, and golf carts whisk them to their new homes. Weekends, when Dominican families arrive, can be busy, but midweek (especially in the off-season) is very quiet.