Inside Santo Domingo's Aggressive Hotel Plans

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Santo Domingo, located in the heart of the capital city, will have 400 hotel rooms and suites and a casino.

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic -- As part of Travel Agent's recent coverage of the Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange (DATE), we learned some more details on some upcoming hotel developments in the Dominican Republic's capital city of Santo Domingo.

Radhames Martinez Aponte, the country's vice minister of tourism, told media that Downtown Santo Domingo is "growing at a very important pace" and hotel room offerings have grown 10 percent annually.

Earlier this year, Hard Rock International revealed plans for its second hotel and casino in the Dominican Republic, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Santo Domingo, located in the heart of the capital city. 

In collaboration with the All Inclusive Collection, the full service hotel, estimated to open in late 2017, will have 400 hotel rooms and suites. Aponte also says it will be home to the largest casino in the Caribbean.

Aponte also told media that Santo Domingo will be home to a new InterContinental Hotel Group property in July. That hotel will represent 227 rooms, he says. 

As part of our coverage of last year's DATE, Travel Agent got to tour the JW Marriott Santo Domingo, the first JW Marriott hotel in the Caribbean. 

That hotel opened in August of 2014 and represents a $50 million investment. It has some really cool, out-of-the box features, including televisions embedded into the mirrors of the bathrooms and key cards that are protected from magnetic strip damage. 

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