Dominican Tourism

Miami-based Desires Hotels announced the latest international addition to its boutique collection, The Cliffs Ocean Resort, which is situated between Puerto Plata and Samana along the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The project is the first in the Dominican Republic to be LEED certified and is set to open in summer 2011.

Room amenities at the resort include large living areas and private terraces with views to the ocean and the mountains. The Cliffs Ocean Resort’s initial 102 rooms mark the first phase of development in which guests will enjoy the resort’s close proximity to great golf at the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed Playa Grande Golf Course. (more…)

Palma de Mallorca (Feb. 18, 2010) — Sol Meliá Vacation Club has received the prestigious Gold Crown award from the RCI Group, the world’s leading timeshare company, representing all of the major hotel companies in the world. The award has gone to the Sol Meliá resorts in the Dominican Republic: Paradisus Palma Real, Paradisus Punta Cana and Meliá Caribe Tropical, all of them luxury properties meeting the needs of the most discerning guests thanks to their quality facilities and excellent entertainment and leisure programme. Sol Meliá Vacation Club has been selected for the award thanks to the positive experience of many RCI customers, something which Denis Ebrill, CEO of Sol Meliá Vacation Club, believes “recognises our dedication and the commitment of the teams in each of the hotels, and is also an honour to know that we are exceeding the expectations of our customers”.

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The Viva hotel group is presenting its new hotel in Samana, the Viva Residence Bahia Estela (40 units) in Coson, Las Terrenas. This is the third residential vacation property offered by the Viva brand. Viva was first known for its all-inclusive hotels in Bayahibe/Dominicus before expanding to Puerto Plata, Samana, the Bahamas and Mexico. The others are Viva Residence Las Terrenas (76 units under construction also at Playa Coson) and Viva Residence Playa Dorada, in operation in Puerto Plata.

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Resorts throughout the DR offer Day Passes that allow anyone to experience the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink philosophy of the all-inclusive.

A daily fee basically grants access to everything the resort has to offer, except a room. In Boca Chica and Juan Dolio there are some great options to enjoy the all inclusive lifestyle for a day.

Boca Chica

Hotetur Dominican Bay Resort
Calle Juan Bautista Vicina & 20 de Diciembre, 809.412.2001
Monday-Thursday: Adults: RD$900, Children (4-12): RD$450
Friday-Sunday: Adults: RD$1,100, Children: RD$550, from 10am-5pm

Don Juan Beach Resort
Calle Duarte, 809.523.4511
Everyday: Adults: RD$1,700, Children (4-12): RD$850, from 10am-5pm

Oasis Hamaca Resort (more…)

SANTO DOMINGO. – The Tourism Ministry asks the sectors interested in Puerto Plata’s tourism development to participate on Thursday in the public hearings on the reach of Decree 847-09 and advances of the Territorial Tourism Master Plan Cabarete 2015, aimed at eliminating the zone’s urban sprawl.

Tourism minister Francisco Javier Garcia said the decree regulates construction in Cabarete, where they’ll have to be built without jeopardizing the territory’s integrity, the characteristic urban landscape and natural resources and sports activities.

He said borders will be established in the regulatory Territorial Master Plan in each of that tourism zone’s environmental units, according to building suitability for vision and wind management criteria.

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Punta Cana.– Green Globe, the leading certification program for sustainability in travel and tourism, congratulates the Barceló Punta Cana Resort on achieving certification. Throughout the certification and auditing process, the Barceló Punta Cana Resort made significant investments to ensure that the resort’s infrastructure met the highest environmental standards.

A key focus for the certification was the upgrading of chiller systems and guest room air-conditioning as well as the installation of an ultraviolet purifier in the resort’s water treatment plant. In addition, the resort’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, which were introduced to assist the local community’s school and students, also played an important role.

The new program encourages guests to donate notebooks, pencils and textbooks for the local community. The resort organizes day trips for the local school students, where the educational materials are presented and the resort’s facilities are open for the students and their families to enjoy.

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Punta Cana is included in the Top 50 Most Searched for Destinations from US airports.
In the Caribbean and the Bahamas, the most searched for destinations are Cancun, Mexico (11th), Nassau, Bahamas (30th) San Juan, Puerto Rico (33rd) and Punta Cana (38th). Also listed for the Caribbean are Montego Bay, Jamaica (42nd) and Havana, Cuba (49th).
See http://www.skyscanner.com/news/articles/2010/01/…
The Top 50 listed for 2010 are:

1. London, UK
2. New York City
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Paris, France
5. Dublin, Ireland
6. Los Angeles, CA
7. Orlando, FL
8. Rome, Italy
9. Madrid, Spain
10. Miami, FL
11. Cancun, Mexico
12. Frankfurt, Germany
13. Honolulu, HI
14. San Francisco, CA
15. Amsterdam, Netherlands
16. San Jose, CA
17. Barcelona, Spain
18. Manchester, UK
19. Sydney, Australia
20. Johannesburg, South Africa
21. Bangkok, Thailand
22. Fort Lauderdale, FL
23. Lima, Peru
24. Buenos Aires, Argentina
25. Chicago, IL (more…)