I’m generally not a “beach person” — I can only manage a few hours of doing nothing before I get antsy. Which is one of the reasons I enjoy a good cigar: it gives me something to do while I do nothing, making me feel comfortable about sitting in one place for a little while. Recently, I found myself at a resort that had both: a beach and a cigar lounge. Needless to say, I may have spent the majority of my vacation comfortably ensconced in those leather chairs.
The St. Regis Cap Cana Resort marks the St. Regis brand’s first-ever property in the Dominican Republic, officially opening its doors on May 1, 2025, as part of Marriott International’s luxury portfolio. The location puts guests minutes from Punta Espada Golf Course (a Jack Nicklaus design), a yacht-lined marina packed with restaurants and bars, and other nearby attractions. Design-wise, the resort leans hard into “culture as architecture”: CHAPI Design (under Tatiana Sheveleva) built the property around Dominican heritage, weaving local materials, handwoven textiles, and regional artwork into the 200 rooms and suites rather than treating it as generic tropical-luxury wallpaper.
Located on the top floor of the resort directly above the entrance, the Amber Room is open pretty much every day from 3 PM until late into the evening. Designed and operated in collaboration with the Arturo Fuente cigar brand, the architecture and vibe of the space blends perfectly with the beautiful design of the rest of the resort.
I noticed immediately that they didn’t just slap a label on an existing space — this location was thoughtfully designed from scratch for this purpose, with artwork commissioned to accentuate that experience. For example see the photo above: this piece sits on the wall outside the lounge and is a series of tobacco leaves, backlit on a canvas and arranged in the shape of a wisp of smoke. This feels like an actually intelligent piece of art that combines the raw materials and the activity in a way that also plays with time (the past of the leaf and the future of the smoke) and tells a story, rather than yet another mural of cigar bands plastered to a wall.
The location is split into three sections. On the left side is the cigar store (or “club”) where they offer cigars for sale. I appreciate that they segregated this section from the bar, because this really is a separate experience and makes this feel special and not just some bar that also has a cigar humidor. This is part of that purposeful design that I mentioned and it does help the space feel luxurious and intentional.
Something to note here is that (at least at the time of writing) the location has a partnership with Arturo Fuente and that means that they only stock AF’s cigars. That’s not a problem for me — there are plenty of delicious options available in their product catalog. But I will note that the limited selection that is available within the store makes their humidor look a bit under-stocked. There’s plenty of open shelf space where I assume cigars might go in the future, but keeping all that perishable inventory on hand doesn’t make sense if the throughput is low I guess.
In terms of pricing, these actually aren’t bad at all. The prices are listed in both US and Dominican dollars, and might actually be one of the items with the lowest markup on the resort. They also sell the cigars in boxes and individually if you want to take them elsewhere, but be aware that the resort is “smoke free” — so sitting by the pool or on the beach with a lit cigar might not necessarily be possible. Even your balcony isn’t safe from the smoke free rules.
If you’re looking for some different brands or other cigars, there are some others on offer in one of the shops elsewhere in the resort. I didn’t try bringing my own cigars into the lounge, but I can’t imagine that they would object too strenuously given the low markup on their own stock.
Walk straight out the back of the lounge and you’ll find the highest (publicly accessible) rooftop patio on the resort. Up here there’s not only wonderfully comfortable chairs, sturdy tables, and ashtrays as far as the eye can see, but there’s also a shallow pool up here (a water feature, not for swimming) that makes the space once again feel premium and intentional.
The views are absolutely amazing. You can look out over the whole resort from here as well as off to the dramatic cliffs in the distance and soak it all in while enjoying a good cigar. We visited in July (peak summertime months) and while the temperatures were generally pretty hot, the breeze up here was enough to make sitting outside bearable for those brave enough to try. I’d imagine that in the cooler months, or in the evening hours, this is absolutely perfect.
I personally spent my time in the third section: the bar. Rest assured that the ashtrays in here aren’t just for show, and this area too is designed for us cigar smokers. This bar features about three large, low tables with a cluster of four comfy armchairs around each one, and a delightful Arturo Fuente ashtray in the corner for your convenience. Additional ashtrays are available if needed as well.
Just take a second to soak in the vibe here. The cool green walls, the wood paneling with gold accents, the ceiling that looks like stone waves on a linen sheet — all of it feels right.Comfortable, but not pretentious. Relaxing yet refined. Exactly the vibe I wanted for my vacation.
And then we get to the centerpiece of this room: the bar.
Every year during the summer I wander off my usual preference for whiskey and find myself going down the rabbit hole of rum. There’s something about that sweet, characterful spirit that just makes it feel like summer and vacation time to me. Hearing that this was specifically a cigar lounge and a rum bar my ears perked up, and it felt like this might be the perfect combination of my two favorite summertime activities.
I’ll start with the good news: the cocktails are delicious. Whether I tried something that was listed on the menu or something that I worked with the bartenders to figure out, everything was at least a solid four stars on the rating scale. Fascinating was the fact that apparently they make their own falernum at the resort, and rather that leaning into the spicy and nutty elements that one might expect they instead opted for a sweeter version that probably is a little more in tune with the overall vibes of the resort.
Two things were a little out of sorts here though.
The first thing was that, while there were a good number of rums on the back bar, it wasn’t enough to really declare this to be a “rum bar”. Then again, when bars like Pagan Idol in San Francisco or the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood are my benchmark, that is admittedly a pretty high bar to clear (pun intended). I think there was about one shelf of rum laid out, and while they did have a flight of Dominican rums available for tasting, they also had a scotch whisky flight on the menu. And bourbon, and rye, and gin, and whatever else. If I could give one note it would be to lean into the rum more here — you can get the standard cocktails anywhere on property, this space should be special.
My other note was that the staff at the bar, while very pleasant and helpful, did not seem to be trained to a standard I would expect. For the prices being charged, I’m expecting five star service, and I feel like I got barely better than what I’d find down the beach at the next all-inclusive resort. Service was slow despite the limited seating, my order was made incorrectly at least once, and on one occasion I was asked to move tables to accommodate a photo shoot that was happening to advertise something for the resort. (And that didn’t happen because I was getting some unique after-hours experience — that happened because they decided to do the photo shoot while the bar was open. And not even “just open” like barely after opening, this was hours after they opened their doors.)
And those, my friends, are the only complaints I can possibly scrape together for this review.
Of the time I spent at this resort, I can confidently say that I enjoyed my time at this bar the most. It felt like this space was intentionally designed and perfectly positioned, allowing for the ideal hideaway where you really can slow down, smoke a cigar, and watch the waves out the window. There are a few things about the service that still need to be polished up and perfected, but overall I feel like this officially the second favorite cigar lounge I’ve ever visited.