by Brian Major
Last updated: 3:20 PM ET, Mon July 20, 2015
The Homewood Suites by Hilton Santo Domingo will be located adjacent to Santo Domingo's Blue Mall (Photo by Brian Major)
Overshadowed by an explosion of all-inclusive resorts in its Punta Cana resort region, the Dominican Republic's capital city of Santo Domingo is steadily gaining ground as a magnet for visitors with several new hotel openings in the last two years.
The historic urban center will gain another new hotel in 2017 with the opening of a $14 million Homewood Suites by Hilton Santo Domingo property, said government, Hilton Worldwide and Viva Wyndham Resorts officials last week.
The 120-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Santo Domingo will be located on Winston Churchill Avenue, one of the city's premiere commercial streets, across from the upscale Blue Mall and within close proximity of businesses, shopping and entertainment venues.
Accommodations at the new property will feature studios and one- and two-bedroom suites with fully equipped kitchens. Dining options will include a full-service bar and lounge space for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Amenities and services will include complimentary Internet service and daily breakfast. The hotel will also feature a fitness center, an outdoor swimming pool and more than 1,500 square feet of flexible event space.
The new property will be Homewood Suites by Hilton's first Caribbean hotel. Jean Alain Rodriguez, director of the Dominican Republic Export and Investment Center, said the 14-story property will create more than 75 direct and 200 indirect jobs.
The Homewood Suites by Hilton Santo Domingo will be the latest of several new hotels to launch in Santo Domingo during the last few years. The openings coincide with the Dominican government's ongoing, multi-million dollar program to restore the capitol city's historic sites and infrastructure.
Santo Domingo has welcomed 1,013 new hotel rooms in the last two years, said Simon Suarez, president of Asonahores, the Dominican Republic's hotel and tourism association. The new hotels include the 150-room Embassy Suites by Hilton Santo Domingo, the JW Marriott Hotel Santo Domingo, and the Sheraton Santo Domingo, all of which opened in 2014.
"International brands are acknowledging the importance of this market," Simon Suarez, president of Asonahores, the Dominican Republic's hotel and tourism association, said earlier this year. "We are very optimistic that this process will continue and we are anticipating that 2,000 additional rooms will be announced during the course of 2015."
Suarez said 60 percent of the 5.1 million travelers who visited the Dominican Republic in 2014 arrived in Punta Cana. Officials are seeking to draw visitors to other regions including Santo Domingo and the Puerto Plata region on the country's northern coast.
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