In 1969, a group of American investors acquired a 58-million square meter lot, equivalent to 48 square kilometers of pure jungle on the east coast of the Dominican Republic. Being almost rectangular in shape, this lot, with approximately 10 kilometers on the seashore, with numerous white-sand exotic beaches and thousands of coconut trees, had no access roads.

Joining the group some time afterwards was a group of local investors, headed by entrepreneur Frank R. Rainieri, who had the vision to make use of the lot for tourism development. Climate in the area fluctuates between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit all year round, with less than 800 millimeters of annual rain, which, along with coral reefs which calm their crystalline waters, the soft breeze and white-sand beaches, made UNESCO in 1968 declare these beaches as truly exceptional and unique in the world for their fine sand and crystalline waters.

Managed by Dominican Frank R. Rainieri and American Theodore W. Kheel, the Compañía de DesarrolloTurístico, Residencial e Industrial, S.A. (CODDETREISA), known today as GRUPO PUNTACANA, S.A., began development of the lot in 1971, with the launching of a small hotel known as the Punta Cana Club, with 10 two-room villas, a Clubhouse, a small town for employees, a power plant and a basic aircraft runway. At full capacity, this hotel could accommodate 40 guests, but it could never reach its maximum, nor was it profitable enough. It did demonstrate that the property had great potential, which was confirmed in 1978 when Club Mediterrané, of Paris, France, started the construction of the first 350-room hotel.

IIn the same year, the Dominican Government started the construction of the first access road, to connect Punta Cana with the country road network, facing the inconvenience of having to travel four hours to arrive to the nearest airport, located in Santo Domingo. This, among other reasons, enabled the construction of the Punta Cana International Airport. After an eight-year battle and three different Governments, authorization was obtained for the construction of the first private international airport in the country, in America and the World. Construction started in 1982 and was finished and inaugurated in 1984, with a first international flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico in a twin turbo propeller aircraft.

Due to its isolated location and lack of public facilities provided by the Dominican Government, GRUPO PUNTACANA, S.A. has taken the responsibility to solve and maintain by itself all kinds of facilities required to operate, such as access roads, security, waterworks, electricity, garbage disposal, waste water disposal, schools, etc., by creating projects and subsidiary corporations, as described below. Since 1997, the owners of GRUPO PUNTACANA are Theodore W. Kheel, Frank R. Rainieri, Julio Iglesias and Oscar de la Renta. Essentially, the following corporations belong to the Group:

GRUPO PUNTACANA, S.A.
PUNTA CANA BEACH AND GOLF, S.A.
CORPORACIÓN AEROPORTUARIA DEL ESTE, S.A.
PUNTA CANA YACHT CLUB, S.A.\
CORPORACIÓN TURÍSTICA Y DE SERVICIOS PUNTACANA, S.A.\
GUARDIANES DEL ESTE, S.A.

They have been grouped strategically under the trade name
PUNTACANA RESORT & CLUB