Iconic golf resort Trump National Doral Miami is in the process of completing a $250 million makeover—touching everything from the villas to the golf courses on the sprawling 800-acre property.
“With almost 800 acres in the heart of Miami, minutes from the airport, there is nothing else like Trump National Doral Miami. Mr. Trump has fond memories of visiting the resort with his family in his youth, and when he acquired the property, he committed an additional $250 million to return it to the grandeur of its heyday and beyond. Mr. Trump—along with Ivanka, Eric and Don Jr.—has completely reinvented the resort,” says Robert Filipelli, director of sales and marketing, Trump National Doral Miami.
In the year since Recommend visited the resort, so much has changed, the property seemed unrecognizable. The resort has made a name for itself hosting the PGA TOUR over the past 50 years. To honor its history of golf, the resort is completely redesigning its eight villas, each one named after a celebrated golf player.
In January, the Gary Player Villa was the first of the villas to open, and soon the Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson villas will join. Designed in part by Ivanka Trump, the new deluxe villas feature vintage images of the golf legends they’re named after and offer views of the golf course or garden with balconies or lanais.
The luxurious new villas have a Mediterranean-style exterior, which the rest of the resort is also incorporating, with a neutral color palette inside with ivory, champagne and caramel hues. Furniture is a combination of dark mahogany wood with golf leaf detailing and bathrooms are stunning—frameless showers, marble floors, rainfall showerheads and stone-top vanities.
In addition to the villas, guests will find a renovated lobby, remodeled pool complex with 22 cabanas, new locker room facilities, and new dining options, such as BLT Prime, opening in the main building this month, with three dining rooms, a verandah and views of the golf course. But the piece de resistance that the golf world has been waiting for is finally finished—the Blue Monster Golf Course.
Now five times the original size, the course offers a new driving range, short game, chipping and putting area, as well as a spectator area.
“The Blue Monster has been and will continue to be the centerpiece of this resort,” Filipelli says. “For over 50 years now, it has drawn—and frankly, challenged—the biggest names in golf. Now with this massive redesign—by Gil Hanse (who is designing the Olympic course in Rio de Janeiro) and Jim Wagner working in conjunction with Mr. Trump and the PGA TOUR—the new Blue is even better-positioned to provide more challenge for the greatest players of today.
“The course infrastructure has been improved with all-new turf grass, the greens were enlarged by 30 percent, and five acres of water have been added, along with thousands of new trees placed strategically throughout. We have also tripled the size of our practice area and added a state-of-the-art LED lighting system—the only LED-lit practice range in the world,” Filipelli adds.
Introductory villa room rates start at $345 per night. For more information, call (800) 71-DORAL or visit trumpnationaldoral.com.
