Dominican News

New boutique hotel for Colonial City Casas del XVI is the new boutique hotel scheduled for a 15 December soft opening in Santo Domingo's Colonial City. It is an eight-room luxury hotel located at Calle Mercedes 57 in a collection of three restored colonial houses dating back to the 16th century. The hotel will offer butler service, cultural-themed decor including navigation maps to evoke images of the Colonial City during the age of early exploration.

Westin Puntacana Resort & Club opens in December Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is opening the Westin Puntacana Resort & Club this December 2013. The hotel was built by Grupo Puntacana in a strategic alliance with the leading international hotel chain. The hotel is located in the Playa Blanca beach, a kitesurfing and SUP paddle area within the Puntacana Resort & Club with its many restaurants. Guests have access to golf at Corales and La Cana courses, and the Indigenous Eyes Ecological Reserve and its freshwater lagoons. The 200-room hotel will have 10 suites, a convention area with capacity for 400 persons, facilities for weddings and a children's club. It brings Westin signature standards to the Dominican Republic, including the Heavenly Bed, the SuperFoods and the Westin Workout Studio.  The Westin is about five minutes from the Punta Cana International Airport, the airport with the most international flights in the Caribbean and Central America.

JetBlue nonstops from Fort Lauderdale to PUJ JetBlue Airways has announced it will fly non-stop once a day from Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood beginning 1 May 2014. The flight is already available for sale, with special introductory fares starting at $99 one-way for travel from 1 May 2014 through 18 June 2014. The airline also announced new flights to Montego Bay in Jamaica, and Port-of-Spain in Trinidad & Tobago.  "Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood was JetBlue's very first destination and we have always been very committed to the South Florida region." With the start of the flight the airline expects to be offering 29 nonstop routes and more than 70 daily flights from Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood on peak days.  "We are delighted to welcome JetBlue's new service from Fort Lauderdale to Punta Cana," said Magaly Toribio, marketing advisor for the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism. "We greatly value our long-term partnership with JetBlue and the new route will positively impact tourism.  JetBlue's schedule between Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Punta Cana (PUJ) effective 1 May 1, 2014:  The flight will depart FLL at 11:20am arriving at 1:44pm in PUJ. It will depart PUJ at 2:40 to arrive at 5:20pm in FLL.