Excellent New Hotel Complex in Sosua

Ken · #1 09-18-2002, 03:48 PM

This morning, as part of my efforts to choose a hotel for relatives coming for a visit in late November, I was given a tour of the new hotel complex being constructed in Sosua. The complex, which consists of two hotels--Victorian House and Sosua Bay Hotel--overlooks the bay and has direct access to the Sosua beach.

The Sosua Bay Hotel, which is partially in use, is expected to be fully open by the first of the year. The smaller Victorian House is completed and in service. Both of these hotels merit serious consideration. The website is http://www.starzresorts.com/ and includes links for both hotels where you can get greater detail about each.

The Sosua Bay Hotel is all inclusive. The Victorian House is not. Instead it offers options, ranging from EP to all meals.

The rooms in both hotels are comfortable and attractively furnished, including a small refrigerator. Rooms in the Victorian House are larger, include a couch as part of the furnishings, and have a microwave. The ground-floor rooms of the Victorian House have a large balcony with a jacuzzi.

For swimming, there is a 2 level pool area, immediate access to the Sosua beach, and a deck from which you can swim in the bay.

I don't know what the rates will be when the hotels are fully operational, but they are very attractive now. If I were planning a trip to Sosua in the foreseeable future, I would be very interested in one of these hotels.

If you are already booked into a different hotel, at least walk over to the new complex while in Sosua and ask for a tour so that you can consider it for the next visit. While I was taking my tour this morning I saw others doing the same thing.

Robert · #2 09-18-2002, 04:08 PM

Too funny, your timing couldn't be better, you will see why later today :-)

AnnaC · #3 09-18-2002, 04:12 PM

That is amazing. Most of it was falling apart back in 99. They've done a great job. Are they still trying to sell time share, Ken?

Larry · #4 09-18-2002, 05:34 PM

Lookng forward to seeing it..Now all they have to do is get rid of all those damn Hatian vendors outside the hotel heading down to the beach!
ILoveDR

Ken · #5 09-18-2002, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Anna Coniglio
That is amazing. Most of it was falling apart back in 99. They've done a great job. Are they still trying to sell time share, Ken?

No, at least not that I am aware of. Nothing said about this when I toured, and nothing re time share on website.

But the complex has big plans for future. A huge hole has been dug for the parking garage/casino. Also, the complex now owns the property between it and Piergiorgio, the one with the two partially completed structures. It has plans for those structures and the property, as well. Whether time share is in their thinking, I don't know. If I hear anything on this in future, I'll let you know.

Ken · #6 09-18-2002, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ILoveDR
Lookng forward to seeing it..Now all they have to do is get rid of all those damn Hatian vendors outside the hotel heading down to the beach!
ILoveDR

You can step off the hotel property onto the beach without going past any vendors. At least this morning, there were no vendors between the hotel and the row of stands under the trees. These business locations along the street leading from the town to the beach also are part of the resort complex. I understand they have big plans for this area, also.

Ken · #7 09-18-2002, 06:15 PM

I'm not working for the hotel complex, but by chance I discovered a website that presents a slide show of the Victorian House/Sosua Bay Hotel complex. http://www.drtravel.com/sosua_slideshow/

Go to the website and watch. Every 10 seconds a new slide is shown. It is just like taking a personal tour of the complex. The white building is Victorian House, the brown is Sosua Bay Hotel. The pool facilities are shared by both.

abe · #8 09-19-2002, 07:12 PM

See, how easy it is to get good news about Sosua? Building on this new property and its attempt to offer the visitor a choice between the AI and a chance to sample local restaurants, we must wonder where Sosua will go now? I predict that the ascent has begun

Ken · #9 09-21-2002, 03:24 PM

The question of what will go on the large property (the property with the 2 multi-story block skeletons) it owns between its Victorian House hotel and the Piergiorgio seems to have been answered.

The company has announced plans to build on this property a French hotel with kosher kitchen catering to the Jewish market. The hope is to capitalize on Sosu's rich history as a Jewish settlement. The wonder is that no one has tried to capitalize on it sooner.

For those unfamiliar with this history, the colony of Sosua became official on January 30, 1940, when the Dominican government and a private philanthropic organization, the Joint Distribution Committee of New York signed the Dominican Republic Settlement Association (DORSA). The US was a witness to its signing in Santo Domingo. The intent of all this was to provide an asylum for Jews desiring to escape the massacre of Jews that Hitler was promoting in Germany and the nations he conquered.

There are still living in Sosua people who fled to Sosua from Europe, and many descendents. But otherwise, few people outside of Sosua know anything about this history. With the construction of this new hotel, it appears that Starz Hotels will be reviving this history and making it a major attraction for a potentially significant market.