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Although the Doral Golf Resort and Spa is considered one
of the premiere vacation spots in the nation, the five-star retreat has
plenty to offer the locals as well.
Golf is the main attraction and for local golf
enthusiasts the famed Blue Monster course, known for its challenging
18th hole and coined one of the toughest finishing holes on the PGA
tour, is sure to keep golfers throughout South Florida entertained and
frustrated for a long time to come.
And, Doral's newest golf attraction, the Great White --
a par-72 course designed by two-time British Open winner Greg "The
Shark" Norman -- features more than 222 pot bunkers, water on 14
holes and four different types of turf, including an Australian hybrid
developed by Norman's turf company. Norman says the Great White's design
brings the dry, rugged landscape of the southwest to Miami.
"We wanted to do something totally opposite of what the Doral Blue
Monster is," he said. "We did that. We brought the southwest
flavor of the United States here."
The course will play host to this year's Franklin
Templeton Shark Shootout, a charity pro-am tournament set for Nov.
15-19. The $1.75 million event will be nationally televised.
Doral marketing manager Dina Allende says golf is a big
deal in the South Florida community, with locals making up a good
percentage of golfers at the resort, particularly on weekends.
"A lot of locals come here for that," she
said. "You can play 90 different holes of golf here and you just
can't find that anywhere else in the area."
Locals, Allende says, also take advantage of Camp Doral,
a supervised, interactive program for children age five to 12 offering
activities ranging from swimming, fishing, tennis and volleyball to arts
and crafts, and a state-of-the-art Sega electronic game arcade. Rates
for the camp are quite reasonable at $47.50 per day (9 a.m.-4 p.m.),
with lunch and a commemorative t-shirt included.
"A lot of locals use Camp Doral as a day-care
during the summer when the kids are out of school" Allende
explained. "They come for weeks at a time and they get to fish,
play tennis and golf. There's just so much for them to do."
Overlooking the Blue Monster's 18th green is Windows on
the Green, one of Doral's five restaurants and a big hit among the
area's elite. Allende says the restaurant's "power lunch
buffet" attracts Miami's movers and shakers.
"On any given day you can go into Windows on the
Green during lunchtime and you'll see it jam-packed with Miami's top
executives," she said. "Everybody knows about Windows on the
green locally."
The resort, at 4400 NW 87 Avenue, also structures
holiday events to include the local residents, Allende says.
"For the Fourth of July, we had a barbecue and
fireworks event that we promoted toward locals," she said. "We
also have events for Halloween and Labor day where we include people
from the community."
Running a close second to golf in attracting locals is
Doral's award-winning spa. With more than 100 services to choose from,
area residents pamper themselves in a variety of ways, including massage
therapy, body treatments, dietary analysis and salon services, to name
only a few.
"There are day packages at the spa that many local
people take advantage of, especially on the weekends," said Allende.
"They'll come in the morning have some treatments, have lunch, then
have some more treatments and pretty much spend the whole day
here."
For more information on events and rates at Doral,
please call Allende at 305- 591-6471, or contact her via the Internet at
dallende@doralresort.com.
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