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.

Built on 25 acres of ocean-side property, The Cliffs Ocean Resort will include a spa, two salt-water infinity pools overlooking the Caribbean Sea along with a Beach Club that offers the bar and cigar lounge. The club also consists of a food and beverage outlet and area for teenagers.

The resort has 24-hour room service, a fitness center, helipad, and commercial shopping area. There is also a golf practice facility, sports center with tennis courts, and equestrian center. The Cliffs Ocean Resort is only 40 miles from Puerto Plata International Airport which has daily international flights to and from the United States.

Around 15,000 foreign tourists and new species have visited the Marine Mammal Sanctuary in Samaná (Dominican northeast) since January 15, in the current humpback whale watching season, the Environment Ministry said today.

The figure is 30 percent higher than the first weeks of the 2009 season, and sets a record in attendance, said Whale Observation Program local coordinator Peter Sanchez in a statement.

Hundreds of humpback whales come to Samaná Bay every year from Iceland, Greenland, Canada and the United States north coast, to mate and give birth.

Sanchez added other species have also been observed that in the current season such as sperm whales and sharks, “which means that the safety and quality of the ecosystem make these species feel safe and remain in the country’s Marine Mammals Sanctuary.”

Maximo Brito, director of the office in Puerto Rico responsible for the construction of the project in Constanza (center), said it will be developed in three years and will be the most innovative ecotourism project ever conceived in the country’s North region and will be a model ecological and retirement city for Dominicans and foreigners.

“The zone needs the protection of its environment and the investors from New York and London such as Sergio Pino, president of Century Home Builder, agreed that it’s essential to protect the zone and conserve its biodiversity,” Brito said.

Milan.- The Minister of Tourism signed agreements to bolster cooperation with major Italian tour operators and airlines, to strengthen and expand the diversity of the Dominican Republic destination in that European nation.

Francisco Javier Garcia signed agreements with Nardo Filipetti, president of Eden Viaggi; Franco Pecci, head of the Blue-Panorama charter airline; and executives of the Alpitourworld group, to boost the number of travelers to the Dominican Republic .

He said his visit to Italy, where he took part in the 30th International Tourism Market (BIT-2010), is the starting point for the arrival of Italian tourists to Dominican Republic resumes its previous leadership. “We want Italian tourists to visit us, to observe the important investments the government and the private sector have made in the tourism regions such as Samaná, Puerto Plata, Bavaro and Punta Cana.”

Garcia said the designation of Santo Domingo as the American Culture Capital in 2010 is another added value to the Dominican destination.

Present in the activity, with around 170 citizens interested in the project present and held in the Miches City Council were the project’s promoters; representatives and technicians of the consulting firm ECOMAR, contracted for the Environmental Impact Evaluation; authorities and representatives of the municipal organizations and its districts El Cedro and La Gina.

The Tropicalia project, to be developed in three stages within 20 years counts on a global investment of US$2.0 billion, and will create more than 3,000 jobs in its first stage and around 14,000 when concluded.

“The tourist Resort, whose management incorporates the principles of sustainable development and is guided by a solid policy of social and corporate responsibility, will have a beach hotel with 80 rooms, another mountain one with 120 rooms and 600 individual houses, with 3.5 rooms per hectare, making Tropicalia the the country’s lowest density tourist development,” said William R. Phelan, Tropicalia Vice-president and General Manager.

He said the Tropicalia project’s main guidelines are the development of sustainable tourism which protects the environment, integrating the communities to the project’s development and guaranteeing the access to jobs for local manpower.

Regarded as one of the most important and pioneering competitions of its type, “Master of the Ocean,” returns with more excitement, waves and acrobatic jumps in its 8th edition, to be held from 23-28 February.

Cabarete, a small, laid-back Caribbean beach village located on the northern shore of the Dominican Republic, is notorious for its incomparable kitesurfing conditions.  

The prelate’s call has been echoed by other church and community leaders in the southwest for years, and even led to the construction of the Maria Montez International Airport in the late 1990s, which has never serviced regular airline flights in 20 years.

He said a nation lives and develops when its inhabitants can work, for which companies and institutions need to be created. “The Enriquillo region has one of the highest unemployment rates and therefore with the lowest percentage as a source of jobs.”

Felipe Núñez said the first thing to be done is to promote the sources of jobs, so those who are capable can work. “As a work source, we think about the grand project of the Monte Grande dam, of which we have disheartening news regarding that project.”

He asked president Leonel Fernandez to realize that the zone needs the dam, in addition to developing tourism, which could mean jobs for people,” even students who are preparing for diverse university careers, who need to find jobs here and  not have to emigrate outside the region.”

Sol Meliá Vacation Club is an exclusive international vacation club operated by Sol Meliá, the leading resort hotel company in the world, in the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe. The club offers members a lifetime of resort experiences through guaranteed stays for 50 years in accommodation in selected company hotels along with other travel services.

Sol Meliá Vacation Club was founded in 2004 to provide a flexible and guaranteed response to important changes in travel trends and now has more than 25,000 members. It has become a strategic business unit for the company and an important means of earning customer loyalty through a greater understanding of their vacation needs.

The timeshare industry is highly regulated, and the Sol Meliá Vacation Club is also supported by a major hotel chain with over 50 years experience in the hospitality business, the leading hotel chain in Spain and Latin America. Sol Meliá Vacation Club guarantees a safe long-term investment, a global presence, flexibility, important savings and, above all, quality vacations for customers, the most important credentials provided by Sol Meliá.

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.

Promoter Rafael Blanco Canto made the announcement last week, saying that Viva is betting on the future of Samana in the wake of the investments being made and the major infrastructure projects launched by the government. These include the construction of the aqueduct, a residual water treatment plant, the new highway to Las Galeras, and the new Atlantic-bordering boulevard that will eliminate the need to make the winding Las Terrenas mountain crossing from the southern side of the Samana peninsula.

 Blanco also mentioned the Samana international airport and new urban renewal initiatives in Las Terrenas.
Viva Residence Bahia Estela units have two rooms and 110 square meters right on the beachfront.

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
Calle Duarte & Caracol #1, 809.523.4611
Monday-Thursday: Adults: RD$1,750, Children (4-12): RD$875
Friday-Sunday: Adults: RD$1,925, Children: RD$960, from 10am-5pm

Juan Dolio

Coral Costa Caribe
Calle Principal, 809.526.2244
Everyday: Adults: RD1,812, Children (4-12): RD$906, from 10:30am-5:30pm

Barcelo Capella Beach Resort
Boulevard, 809.526.1080
Monday- Friday: Adults: RD$1,090, Children (2-12): RD$990
Saturday-Sunday: Adults: RD$1,290, Children: RD$1,090, from 10:30am-5:30am

Source: Dr1Guide