Santo Domingo offers national and international guests an excellent list of hotels from which to choose from.

Most importantly, Santo Domingo offers visitors not only excellent hotel accommodations, but an exciting nightlife and top-quality restaurants.

Restaurants abound in the capital city, specifically along George Washington Avenue, the Caribbean’s most beautiful seaside boulevard; in the Colonial Zone, declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, or in the very heart of Santo Domingo, where shopping malls, restaurants and bars abound.
Below is a selection made by the Access team, in consultation with 10 tour operators and tourism experts, regarding Santo Domingo’s hotel offers:

1. Occidental El Embajador (278 rooms). Situated in one of Santo Domingo’s most centrally-located avenues, this hotel is just steps away from international and national banks, trendy shopping malls and restaurants and nightclubs. It features, by far, the capital city’s hotel with the most impressive gardens and pool. It is one of the city’s most distinguished hotels, featuring seven meeting rooms, lobby bar, pool bar, café, restaurant and Executive Floor (www.occidentalhotels.com).

2. Hostal Nicolas de Ovando (104 rooms). Situated on “Calle Las Damas,” one of the oldest in the Americas, this hotel is the Colonial Zone’s most important facility. The hotel offers modern and fully-equipped rooms and facilities in one of the oldest buildings in the New World. It is a member of the exclusive Accord Hotels MGallery Collection. Features a pool, bar and restaurant (www.accorhotels.com).

3. Barceló Santo Domingo (217 rooms). This hotel is situated on Maximo Gomez Avenue, one of the city’s most important north-south boulevards. It is the most centrally located hotel in all of Santo Domingo, featuring eight meeting rooms, executive floor, bar with live music, casino, café, buffet restaurant and cigar shop (www.barcelo.com.

4. Magna 365 (245 rooms). Overlooking the majestic Caribbean Sea, on the city’s seaside boulevard, the Magna 365 offers guests nine meeting rooms, lobby bar, restaurant, café, buffet restaurant, cigar shop, casino, executive floor and a pool area that overlooks the sea (www.hotelmagna365.com).

5. Hilton Santo Domingo (228 rooms). Also on the Malecon, or city’s seaside boulevard, the 21-floor Hilton Hotel features a 670-square meter ballroom, lobby bar, pub, restaurant, shops and executive floor. Next to it is a modern plaza with casino, cinemas, restaurants and many other services (www.hilton.com/Santo-Domingo).

6. Crowne Plaza Santo Domingo (227 rooms). This facility, also on the Malecon, features sea-view rooms, 14 meeting rooms, café, restaurant, bar and an event-planning service (www.ichotelsgroup.com).

7. Renaissance Jaragua Hotel & Casino (288 rooms). Also, on the Malecon, this hotel offers “all inclusive” packages and public spaces for smokers. It features a main hall (23,360 square meters, with staff for large events), casino, sports bar, restaurant, spa and a wonderful swimming pool surrounded by a plush garden (www.marriott.com / Renaissance).

8. Dominican Fiesta Hotel & Casino (298 rooms). Situated on the city’s western edge, in an exclusive neighborhood, the hotel overlooks the beautiful six-mile Mirador Park. Its convention center comfortably holds 2,500 guests. It also features a rooftop bar, lobby bar, restaurant, swimming pool, casino and shops (www.palladiumhotelgroup.com).

9. Hotel Santo Domingo (215 rooms). Also on the Malecon, the hotel also overlooks the Caribbean Sea and offers five meeting rooms, a Spanish-style courtyard, heliport, bar, swimming pool and garden café, restaurant, executive floor and tennis courts (www.hotelsantodomingo.com.do).

10. Holiday Inn (179 rooms). Modern and cozy, situated on Abraham Lincoln Avenue, in the very heart of Santo Domingo, the hotel is walking distance from shopping malls, trendy restaurant and entertainment centers (www.holidayinn.com)

Casa Bonita is an old country farm that has been transformed into one of the country’s most beautiful and innovative boutique hotels.

A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the 12-room Casa Bonita offers an exquisite and intimate setting and has placed the country’s southwest region in the map of world tourism. One Casa Bonita’s most important features – and which sets it apart from all other local boutique hotels – is its eco-spa.

The spa offers guests traditional Mayan massages directly in the nearby forest or crystalline river that surrounds this amazingly beautiful hideout hotel.

Unique Massage In The Forest

Casa Bonita has put into operation the country’s first Eco-Spa, designed to produce a sense of well-being among its guests just by looking at its lush tropical surroundings.

The spa is located in the middle of a beautiful forest, and its designers have used local materials in its unique construction.

Everything about the design is in harmony with the natural surroundings.

One of the most popular massages offered is the Maya Massage, which is given in the middle of the river that runs next to the spa.

Mexican Azucena Montes is proud of her staff, consisting of young women from nearby communities who have been taught everything there is to know about the Mayan massage.

Guests who receive this massage in the middle of the nearby river have expressed that the experience is truly unforgettable. The natural breeze, the murmur of the running river, and the sounds of the rustling trees make this a unique experience.

The Dominican Republic has consolidated its position as the Caribbean’s golf capital. Most recently, the online newspaper “Caribbean Daily” included the Tortuga Bay, Casa de Campo and Eden Roc hotels – all in Cap Cana – in the list of the 10 Best Golf Resorts in the Caribbean.

The luxury Tortuga Bay Hotel in Bavaro, Punta Cana – on the country’s eastern region – offers guests the opportunity to play 45 holes in the “Coral” golf course, designed by Tom Fazio and in “La Cana”, designed by PB Dye, both world-famous designers. This boutique hotel offers guests 15 luxury villas and 50 exquisitely decorated rooms.

Casa de Campo, in La Romana, is considered by experts to be the Caribbean’s best golf resort. It features four world-class golf courses, such as Teeth of the Dog, ranked as the best in the Caribbean. It occupies the 22nd slot among the top 100 golf courses in the world.

All four golf courses were designed by famed architect Pete Dye, and on various occasions has been selected as a “World Leading Golf Resort by the World Travel Awards.

The 34-suite Eden Roc boutique hotel is the first facility in the Caribbean managed by the Solaya Hotels & Resorts, specializing in ultra-luxury accommodations.

The hotel also features six a-la carte restaurants created by world-renowned chef Gianluca Re Fraschini, a full spa, beach and kids club, access to the impressive seaside Punta Espada golf course, designed by Jack Nicklaus.

At Mangu Disco, over one million visitors have danced the night away until the early hours of the morning since it first opened its doors 13 years ago in Punta Cana, on the country’s easternmost region.

The Disco has clearly established itself as the country’s most popular nighttime entertainment center. This iconic disco in situated at the Hotel Occidental Grand Punta Cana. The facility is open to all.

Some 10,000 visitors visit the popular disco every month.

Although the disco is situated in the Hotel Occidental Grand Punta Cana, guests from other hotels and facilities are welcome.

The nightclub recently revamped its facilities and now offers two types of social environments: one features international music and the other Latin music. Circus acts are also part of the disco’s lively program, giving the nightclub a completely different twist to traditional discos.

In the beginning, most of the disco’s guests were international. But now, more and more national guests also enjoy the scene at Mangu Disco.

MLT Vacations, the tour operator for Delta Airlines and United Vacations Brands, is now including in its multiple vacation packages three Dominican resorts operated by the Bahia Principe chain of hotels.

All the facilities are situated in the country’s stunning northeast coastal region.
The resorts are the Gran Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado, the Gran Bahia Principe Cayacoa and the Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo.

MLT Vacations spokesperson, Ms. Karen Kammer, explained that this particular region offers many fun attractions and activities, such as hiking, water sports, fishing, diving, and humpback whale watching from January to March.

“The Bahia Principe resorts in Samana are impressive,” she said.

MLT Vacations made the announcement during the Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange (DATE 2013), the tourism fair organized by the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic.

The event, held this year at the Barcelo Bavaro Convention Center, is cosponsored by the Ministry of Tourism.

“We are pleased to announce that we are including Samana, in the Dominican Republic, to our list of tourism offers,” said Karen Kammer, Director of Product Development in the Caribbean for MLT Vacations.

“The Bahia Principe resorts in Samana, are impressive and provide travel agents with more options to offer our customers.”

Ms. Kammer said that the Samana Peninsula offers a wide-ranging list of activities, such as hiking, water sports, fishing and diving, and an important destination for whale watching. “Samana is a sanctuary for the humpback whales and whale watching is popular there during the winter months.

This is just the kind of travel experience that creates memories for a lifetime,” said Kammer.

Samana is now included in the impressive list of destinations provided by MLT in the Dominican Republic and which are found in Santo Domingo, La Romana, Puerto Plata and Punta Cana.

In all, it represents 59 hotels in the following regions:

• Punta Cana – 38 hotels
• La Romana – 5 hotels
• Santo Domingo – 3 hotels
• Puerto Plata – 10 hotels
• Samana – 3 hotels

Punta Cana is currently the most popular destination for MLT Vacations in the Dominican Republic, boasting double-digit growth year after year.

The Westin Puntacana Resort is scheduled to open in December 2013, at the exclusive Puntacana Resort & Club.

It is the second property run by the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in Punta Cana.

The project is the end product of an alliance between the Puntacana Group, pioneers in the development of the tourism industry in the country’s eastern region and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, one of the world’s leading hotel companies boasting an impressive 1,090 properties in 100 countries.

The agreement also included last year’s opening of the Four Points by Sheraton Puntacana Village, situated in the residential area closest to Punta Cana’s international airport.

The five-star, 204 room beach hotel, will also feature 16 suites, convention and wedding facilities, a large outdoor swimming pool, lobby bar, cigar bar, kids club, a business center that will operate 24 hours a day, and a Westin Workout gymnasium.

Guests will have access to all facilities at the Puntacana Resort & Club, which includes three miles of white-sand beaches, world-class golf courses, eight restaurants, a 1,500 acre ecological reserve featuring crystal-clear springs, hiking trails, an equestrian center and a Dominican-style ranch. Also available: water sports, such as scuba diving, ecotours on Segway and buggies, kite surfing and paddle surf, among others.

The prestigious Gray Line international travel services company, based in Denver, Colorado, recently opened offices in the Dominican Republic.

Aside from offering transportation to and from local international airports, the company will provide a wide range of tourism products and tours, including luxury travel services. The company operates in 700 locations around the world.

Besides tourist transport to and from the main international airport, Dominican Republic Gray line will offer a range of tourism-related products and tours such as horseback riding on the beautiful beaches of Punta Cana, hot air balloon rides, watching beautiful sunsets aboard a Luxury catamaran in the Caribbean Sea, among other attractions.

The Gray Line Company specializes in offering tourists fun-filled vacations, including eco-tours, luxury travel services, dining, as well as cultural and historical tours.
“As a company we are trying to unify the existing shuttle-trip services and activities that exist in the Dominican Republic,” said Gina Javier, Marketing Director for Gray Line Dominican Republic.

She also said that the company will use new and used vehicles, with experienced and friendly drivers to provide maximum quality service to its customers.

Gray Line Worldwide, based in Denver, Colorado, operates some 700 locations worldwide and has emerged as an industry leader in tours, activities and tourism-related attractions.

Founded in 1910, the company specialized in providing tourism services within the United States. Today, Gray Line is an international giant providing global tourism services.

The “Alcázar de Colón,” in Santo Domingo, the first Vice regal residence in the Americas and the official home of Diego Columbus, the Admiral’s son, will now include the Mandarin language in its audio tours.

The museum, which exhibits a valuable collection of more than 800 pieces of furniture, tapestries, ceramics, sculptures and paintings that date from the thirteenth to the twentieth century, also provides audio tours in Spanish, English, French, German, Russian, Italian and Portuguese.
The service is provided by the “Audio Guide Dominicana” company, a pioneer in providing local audio guides and “guided audio groups.”

The service lets the visitor use a mobile phone to listen to the information.

Audio Guide features high quality MP3 stereo sound, and easy to use hand equipment to use during the museum tour.

These devices are the same used in the largest and most famous museums in the world, including the Louvre Museum, the Metropolitan Museum in New York City and the Statue of Liberty, among others.

The guide includes a calendar of events, tour guide services, maps, scuba diving facilities and a feature article on the region’s National Park.

It also provides information on buggy tours, horseback riding, yacht excursions, snorkeling and nearby golf facilities. It is distributed through local hotels and tourism attractions in the region.

Xeliter Serviced Residences recently incorporated three vacation real estate projects, thus expanding its range of tourist accommodations in the Dominican Republic by offering villas and apartments.

The new condos are Marbella, Costa del Sol I and II, both located on the beachfront community of Juan Dolio situated some 45 minutes east of the capital city of Santo Domingo. Xeliter, which manages and markets vacation condos and other properties, confirms its leadership position in this particular sector. In all, the company currently manages 1500 apartments and villas in Punta Cana, Juan Dolio and Samana.

The company’s real estate portfolio includes: lofts, beachfront apartments and villas, some on golf projects, luxury real estate and farms. For detailed information: www.xeliter.com.

Costa del Sol Condos

The Costa del Sol I and II condos feature 2/3 bedroom beachfront apartments.

Some are situated near world-class golf courses, such as the “Los Marlins” golf course in Metro Country Club and Guavaberry (in the beachfront community of Juan Dolio, some 45 minutes east of Santo Domingo). These apartments are the ideal destination for golf lovers and their families.

Marbella

The Marbella condos feature 400 apartments distributed in five beachfront buildings. Also available: restaurant, gymnasium and swimming pools. The 2/3 bedroom apartments are fully equipped with modern amenities.

Overall Properties