45 Years of History and Highights
In 1959, Doris and Alfred Kaskel found 2,400 acres of swampland in West Miami and created the Doral Hotel and Country Club as a place for family and friends to enjoy the South Florida sunshine. Where did the name come from? It’ a combination of the founders’ names!
The resort opened its doors in 1962, welcoming golfers to a new clubhouse and the Blue, Red and Par 3 golf courses. That same year the Kaskels hosted the Doral Open Invitational, Florida’s first PGA event, benefiting the American Cancer Society. The Kaskel family also enjoyed tennis, and in 1970 asked legendary tennis player Arthur Ashe to become the Director of Tennis. Keeping with the times, the Kaskel family added the Saturnia International Spa Resort as one of the resort’s amenities in 1987. The Spa became an overnight success, and has since been consistently ranked one of the top spa destinations in the United States.
In 1993, the resort was acquired by KSl Recreation Corporation and renamed the Doral Golf Resort & Spa. A $30 million dollar transformation included redesign of the courses by Raymond Floyd, adding the Tommy Bahama and White Palms shops, and unveiling the Blue lagoon water park. After becoming part of Marriott’s portfolio of sixty prestigious worldwide resorts in 2004, we began work on the fabulous new legends ballroom, which debuted with flair during our 45th anniversary this year.
Click on thumbnails below to enlarge the resort historical images. Please ensure that your pop up blocker is turned off before clicking on the thumbnails.
Aerial view of Blue Monster and Lodges |
Blue Monster and Red Course |
Doral Golf Resort and Spa Club House |
Grand Ballroom
circa 1962 |
Doral Golf Resort and Spa circa 1962 |
Aerial of the Resort circa 1962 |
