lunes, 24 de agosto de 2009

Holiday Inn Santo Domingo (4)

El pasado día 18, Joel Martínez, de La Vega, visitó Santo Domingo y aprovechó para hacer un recorrido por el interior del Holiday Inn con su compadre César Curiel. Quería constatar la vorágine que supone poner la obra a punto, y mostrar su solidaridad y afecto a sus amigos. Y que no le contaran. Así mismo fue. Esa visita Joel la registró en tono de testimonio de memoria gráfica. Vendría a ser como el ojo interior de Joel en el Holiday Inn a días de la pre-apertura. Una visita guiada.

Joel Martínez (La Vega, 1959) es, además, hijo y padre de verdaderos fotógrafos. Una afición que recorre tres generaciones.











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Holiday Inn Santo Domingo (2). (en construcción)

jueves, 13 de agosto de 2009

Holiday Inn Santo Domingo (3)

Crónicas

DR1 Travel News
Holiday Inn set for 2 September opening
The 9-floor 141-room Holiday Inn, strategically located on Abraham Lincoln in the Piantini neighborhood, smack in the middle of the prime commercial and residential area of Santo Domingo, will be opening 2 September. Kenia Munoz, sales director for the hotel, says the soft opening will be on the 2nd, but a full opening is set for 6 October.The hotel was originally envisioned as an affordable Holiday Inn Express brand with limited services. But Munoz explains that further studies showed their market demanded the full-services of a Holiday Inn.
She explained the hotel will offer a Mediterranean restaurant and bar lounge, business center and four meeting rooms, spa, fitness center, outdoor swimming pool on the top floor.
Local company Inverplata S.A. and the international IHG hotel chain are behind the construction of the Holiday Inn Santo Domingo. This is the second IHG property in Santo Domingo. The first IHG property is the InterContinental Quinto Centenario on the Malecon.
Tomado de DR1 Travel News (August 4, 2009)


Latin Business Chronicle
Monday, August 17, 2009
Holiday Inn: Santo Domingo Next

The new Holiday Inn Santo Domingo will feature modern rooms in the city's business district.
Holiday Inn is scheduled to open a new hotel in Santo Domingo, which will serve as a standard for others in Latin America.

BY CHRONICLE STAFF
SANTO DOMINGO – While cars are busy driving down Avenida Abraham Lincoln, one of Santo Domingo’s busiest thoroughfares, construction workers are busy putting the latest touches on the new 141-room Holiday Inn Santo Domingo, which is located on Lincoln close to the offices of several major national and foreign companies. It is scheduled to open in October.
“Its fantastic location in the heart of Santo Domingo’s business district and within walking distance to the largest multinational companies serving the Dominican Republic, make it an ideal hotel for business travelers and groups,” says Alvaro Diago, Chief Operating Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean for UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group (I
HG).
Leonardo Nahas, who represents developers Inverplata S.A, agrees. “Lincoln Avenue is one of the main avenues this city offers,” he says. “Strategically, this Holiday Inn is located in the center of everything, walking distance to the best restaurants, local and foreign companies, malls, and so on. That is why we chose Lincoln Avenue.”

UNIQUE DESIGN

Visitors to the new hotel are immediately struck by the unique architecture and design, which is dramatically different from your typical Holiday Inn. Among several surprising touches: the business center located at one end of the same room as the ultramodern bar.

“We believe that design is a main character on our projects,” Nahas says. “We like to create unique buildings that have personality, and also to create an impact in the city of Santo Domingo. Having a modern design raises the bar on the location and also creates a challenge for new developments in order to modernize the up and coming businesses and residential living.”

The new hotel, which was designed by local architecture firm Sánchez y Curiel, will not only be the first Holiday Inn in the Dominican Republic, but also set the standard for future Holiday Inns in Latin America.

STANDARD

“The Holiday Inn Santo Domingo will serve as a standard for new Holiday Inn hotels that will be built in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Diago says. “The Holiday Inn Santo Domingo is one of the firsts in Latin America to introduce the new standards and hallmarks for the Holiday Inn brand, including new green signage, a new arrival experience with fresh Holiday Inn scents and calming sounds, new service standards, new guest room experience which offers more space, new bedding, and upgraded bathrooms.”

In addition, the new hotel provides both business and leisure travelers with the latest technology as well as value-added amenities that will ensure the highest levels of comfort while visiting Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Diago says. “This is a significant hotel opening for the Holiday Inn brand since as a destination, Santo Domingo provides a rich history, a vibrant culture, and a thriving economy in the Caribbean,” he says.

KNOWN BRAND

Nahas says Inverplata, which also owns the V Centenario InterContinental, chose the Holiday Inn brand because of its name recognition. “Aside from being known across the globe, Holiday Inn is a brand that has been around for many years and is a brand that people can trust,” he says. “We believe in this brand... Furthermore, a good part of the tourists and business travelers come from North America, and they already know about this brand and its pristine quality of service and rooms.”

The new hotel will also feature conference rooms that can hold up to 250 people, a restaurant and a swimming pool. “Due to its strategic location, we hope to bring to the city of Santo Domingo, a great hotel to stay at, and to do business,” Nahas says.