All-inclusive resorts have been striving to outdo each other in offering luxury experiences, but there’s still a place to stay if you’re looking for the certainty of paying one low price for all your food, drink, and fun. The Dominican Republic has long been the bargain destination for Caribbean travelers, and remains the go-to for those looking for a budget friendly beach vacation where the view matters more than having 20 different dining options or a room kitted out with a balcony whirlpool. Here are our picks for the best Dominican Republic resorts where you can get in for under $200 per person, per night.
This Marriott Autograph Collection resort (yes, you can use your points here) has one major drawback: it’s not on the beach. That explains why you can get such good deals on this family friendly all-inclusive, and having to take a short walk to the sand is more than offset by the resort’s big water park, which has a kid-pleasing wave pool, 7 water slides and tubes, splash pads, and spray grounds. Guests at the 273-room resort also have inclusive access to a kids club and teen lounge, plus add-ons like spa services and Diamond Club amenities.
It’s always been one of the greenest hotels in the Caribbean, but Aruba’s Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort has taken its sustainability push to a far more significant level, both with a carbon-negative push and a new program to help travelers take a carbon-neutral vacation.
The adults-only resort on Eagle Beach was already the Caribbean’s first certified carbon-neutral hotel, meaning it did everything it could to offset carbon emissions.
That had resulted in what was a very minute emissions gap — but the plan is now to go fully carbon-negative this year — and help take that philosophy right to the heart of the guest experience.
Bucuti is working on a number of initiatives toward that end, from going toward 100 parent paperless; adding a new rooftop variable refrigerant flow system; adding rooftop solar panels dedicated for water heating; using only indigenous trees, shrubs and plants to add to the resort’s landscaping; and creating a self-sufficient microgrid of solar panels for administrative offices.
“With climate change happening faster than scientists could even predict, going carbon-neutral is no longer a choice — and it’s almost no longer enough,” Ewald Biemans, the resort’s owner, tells Caribbean Journal. “It can be done as the United Nations noted that the sustainability program at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort is ‘highly replicable and scalable.’ Beyond that, going carbon negative contributes to our own vulnerable spot along the Caribbean coastline as much as it helps as share in this global movement.”
The hotel was already the first hotel in Aruba to be certified LEED gold; it’s also Green Globe platinum, Travelife Gold and, of course, CarbonNetural certified.
Bucuti calls it it the world’s first Carbon Offset Concierge, and it includes a host of carbon-neutral experiences for travelers.
The goal is to help guests offset their own emissions from flights, airport transfers and island excursions through certified programs.
That ranges from the option to use an EV taxi or the resort’s EV car for exploring Aruba via clean energy.
The resort’s Elements eatery offers full vegan and vegetarian menus, and travelers can hike the island’s Arikok National Park with their own refillable water bottle.
Even better? The resort doesn’t charge for the Carbon Offset Concierge service, which also helps calculate the carbon emissions want to offset based on their vacation plan and then provide options to purchase credits from verified programs.
That typically amounts to about $30 per person for the entire stay.
“As long as people can, they will travel, and here at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Aruba, our promise to them is they can have a dream vacation that is as healthy for them as it is the planet thanks to our door-to-door climate neutral vacation,” Biemans says. “The Google 2022 Travel Search Trends revealed that among the top six search criteria is sustainability. By Bucuti & Tara providing travelers with the world’s first carbon-neutral vacation, we are giving them the control of how they impact the planet and there is peace through purpose.”
Spirit Airlines is launching the only nonstop service between Connecticut and Jamaica, Caribbean Journal has learned.
The low-cost carrier is kicking off nonstop service between Hartford’s Bradley International Airport and Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.
“Spirit Airlines is excited to launch our first ever international flight from Bradley International Airport. We sincerely appreciate our partnership with the airport and the opportunities to grow since launching service in 2017,” said John Kirby, Spirit Airlines Vice President of Network Planning. “We have tremendous teams both here in Connecticut and in Montego Bay and have proudly served Jamaica since 2005. We can’t wait to provide our Guests with More Go.”
The S Hotel in Montego Bay.
The year-round service will be operating four times each week. The flights will launch on Dec. 15, 2022, according to the company.
“We have pursued nonstop Jamaica service at Bradley International Airport for years now in an effort to meet our community’s needs, and we are proud to finally make it a reality with Spirit’s partnership,” said Kevin A. Dillon, Executive Director of the Connecticut Airport Authority. “I have no doubt that this service will be successful.”
Last month, the island reported that it had recovered 90 percent of its tourism numbers compared to the same period in 2019.
Earlier this year, the island lifted all of its health protocols, meaning no testing or vaccination requirements for visitors.
“We welcome Spirit Airlines’ new service from Connecticut to Montego Bay, which will commence just in time for the start of the 2022-23 Winter Tourist Season,” said Jamaica Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett. “This is a welcome addition to our airlift arrangements as we continue our drive to further boost the flow of US visitors to Jamaica through the addition of new gateways and greater seat support. Our tourism sector is rebounding at a very brisk pace, with record arrivals and greater visitor spend. So, this new service will also help to enhance these numbers and will increase arrivals into our tourism Mecca, Montego Bay. Furthermore, Connecticut has a vibrant Jamaican diaspora and on the flip side many Jamaicans trek to Connecticut for business and family engagements, they will all no doubt fully utilize this convenient service.”
It’s not peak season, and that’s what makes it so wonderful.
Because while September is the slowest time of year in the Caribbean, the region is very much open for travel — and thanks to relaxed travel protocols, right now is the easiest it’s been to travel to the Caribbean since the onset of the pandemic.
Our latest edition of Places to Go takes you to well-known destinations, luxury hotels and a few far-flung beach destinations where you’re guaranteed to have all the space you’re looking for.
Here’s where to go this month.
One Particular Harbour at the Magaritaville Beach Resort in Nassau.
Nassau, The Bahamas Nassau has never been better. Period. The island of New Providence (and its sister island of Paradise Island) is pulsing with energy: world-class chefs have been opening Nassau outposts in droves; sleek new bars are drawing cocktail enthusiasts, from downtown’s Graycliff Sky Lounge to Kendall Jenner’s new tequila bar; new resorts have debuted like the sparkling new Margaritaville Beach Resort; and The Bahamas’ vibrant culture and gastronomy remain at the forefront, whether you’re spending an evening at the Fish Fry or taking a conch-flavored stroll in the afternoon at Potter’s Cay. And of course there’s Atlantis Paradise Island and the Baha Mar, the two mega resorts that continue to up the game for the entire destination.
