Dominican Republic Luxury Resorts Shift Upmarket

The Dominican Republic, long marketed as a value destination for all inclusive beach vacations, is now preparing for a surge in high end inventory that could reshape how travelers experience its coasts. CBRE advisory estimates that nearly 15,000 new hotel rooms are slated to open over the next three years, an increase of about 18 percent in national capacity, and most of that supply is aimed squarely at upscale and luxury travelers. The shift comes as occupancy growth levels off and cruise lines compete aggressively for the same leisure guests the country has relied on for decades.

Dominican Republic Luxury Resorts Shift Upmarket

Michael Cummings, managing director for valuation and advisory services at CBRE, told industry delegates that the current pipeline is weighted toward the higher end of the market, with more than 1,000 upscale rooms expected to open in Miches alone this year. Miches, a relatively new tourism zone about 60 miles west of Punta Cana on the country's eastern shore, has already welcomed three large all inclusive properties under the Secrets, Dreams, and Zemi flags, each bringing roughly 500 guestrooms online and signaling that major brands now view the area as a long term luxury play.

The pipeline in Miches is not limited to mass market all inclusives. A Four Seasons resort and residential complex is planned along Playa Esmeralda, spanning about 60 acres and positioning one of the world's best known luxury brands in a part of the Dominican Republic that only recently saw its first large scale developments. For travelers, that means the familiar Punta Cana corridor is gradually gaining a genuine rival, offering quieter beaches and newer infrastructure, but still requiring slightly longer surface transfers than the established resort strip near the main airport.

At the same time, Punta Cana itself is adding more high end names. In 2025 the region welcomed the 200 room St. Regis Cap Cana and the 340 room W Punta Cana, the latter being W Hotels' first all inclusive property anywhere. Next in line is Moon Palace The Grand Punta Cana, a $ 1.5 billion (USD) investment that will bring 2,171 rooms across two tall towers, making it the largest single resort in the country by room count once fully open.

For context, the current giant on the coast, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana, has about 1,800 rooms, which means Moon Palace would outsize it by more than 20 percent if the project delivers as planned. Palace executives say they are targeting travelers already familiar with the brand in Cancun, promising similar levels of service and rate bands in Punta Cana, where starting prices at the Mexican flagship often fall between $ 700.00 and $ 1,000.00 (USD) per night depending on season.

Workforce, Training, And New Resort Towns

Delivering luxury service at that scale is not automatic. Palace has outlined an unusually ambitious staffing and training program, including sending several hundred experienced employees from its Cancun operations to Punta Cana and rotating hundreds of Dominican workers through Mexico before the opening so they can train in live resort environments. The company also plans to build a purpose designed workers' community called Ciudad Palace, with about 1,800 apartments plus schools, health care, and other services for more than 12,000 people once fully populated.

This focus on staff housing responds directly to one of Punta Cana's chronic operational headaches, long commutes for resort workers who often live many miles from the hotel zone. By clustering housing closer to the beach, Palace hopes to reduce travel time, stabilize staffing for such a large property, and unlock a more sustainable pipeline of trained workers for the wider destination. If Ciudad Palace performs as advertised, it could become a template other megaresorts copy in the eastern Dominican Republic over the next decade.

Other brands are not standing still. Nobu Hotels has announced plans for a 200 room Nobu Hotel Punta Cana, adding another globally recognized luxury flag to the region, while Palladium Hotel Group is preparing to debut two new all inclusive concepts, Grand Palladium Select Bavaro and the Family Selection at Grand Palladium Select Bavaro, within its existing complex. Combined with the Miches builds and the planned Four Seasons, these projects underline that the country is moving beyond its historical reputation as primarily a bargain all inclusive destination.

Supply Growth And Softening Occupancy

The luxury shift is happening against a backdrop of softer hotel performance after several years of post pandemic outperformance. The Dominican Republic's hotel and tourism association reports average hotel occupancy of 77.7 percent between January and August 2025, down 1.5 percentage points from the same period in 2024, with August occupancy at 69.5 percent, 3.7 points lower year over year. CoStar data cited in the same reporting show that September occupancy slipped further to 49.3 percent from 53.4 percent a year earlier, while average daily rate (ADR) fell 5.5 percent in the month to $ 167.92 (USD).

Despite those short term declines, ADR across the Dominican Republic has held roughly flat at about $ 220.00 (USD) so far this year, indicating that hotels have been reluctant to discount aggressively even as occupancy softens. At a regional level, CoStar analysts say the Caribbean has moved from a high growth phase into a more mature, stabilizing cycle, with hotels focusing more on segmentation and guest mix rather than relying on automatic demand.

On the supply side, the pipeline is substantial. CoStar estimates that the Dominican Republic alone has about 6,000 rooms currently under construction, roughly 7 percent of its existing inventory, making it one of the busiest hotel construction markets in the Caribbean. Across the region, incoming hotel supply could lift room counts by about 6 percent through 2029, with much of that growth concentrated in upper upscale and luxury segments similar to the new Dominican projects.

For travelers trying to interpret these numbers, occupancy measures how full hotels are on average, ADR tracks the average rate paid per occupied room, and revenue per available room blends both into a shorthand for how well a destination's hotels are performing financially. Softening occupancy with stable or only slightly lower ADR often points to a market where hoteliers are testing how far they can hold pricing power even when demand is no longer surging.

Cruise Competition And Traveler Choices

One additional variable is competition from Caribbean cruises. CoStar's analysts and other speakers at recent regional conferences note that cruise passenger volumes and on board rates have climbed sharply, and that this growth is likely diverting some value oriented leisure travelers who previously would have booked weeklong Dominican Republic resort stays. For travelers, that means comparing land and sea options is more important than ever, especially for families and groups that are sensitive to total trip cost.

If cruise demand continues to expand faster than hotel demand, midmarket resorts that once filled primarily on price may feel more pressure than the new top end luxury properties. The latter can lean on brand recognition, loyalty programs, and high end amenities to justify premium pricing, while midrange resorts may have to decide whether to discount, differentiate, or pivot more aggressively toward niche segments such as wellness, meetings, or long stay digital nomads.

Analysis

For high end travelers, the near term outlook is straightforward, more choice in Dominican Republic luxury resorts, particularly in Punta Cana and emerging areas like Miches, with new product from brands that already anchor other global resort markets. Over the next three years, it will be easier to find suites, branded residences, and elevated culinary programs on the island than at any point in its tourism history, although fully mature service levels at the very largest new resorts may take a season or two to calibrate.

For value travelers, the picture is more nuanced. Softening occupancy and a large pipeline suggest that shoulder season and late booking discounts should remain available, especially outside peak holiday periods and long weekends. At the same time, the overall shift in mix toward upscale and luxury rooms means the share of truly budget all inclusive inventory may decline, nudging some price sensitive guests either toward smaller independent hotels or toward cruises that bundle more costs into the headline fare.

Travel planners should pay close attention to construction and soft opening timelines, particularly for milestone trips such as weddings, anniversaries, or large family reunions. Mega projects like Moon Palace The Grand Punta Cana can open in phases, and while early guests often enjoy brand new facilities, they may also encounter incomplete amenities or staff still in training. Booking six to twelve months after the official opening date can offer a better balance between novelty and operational stability.

Final thoughts

The Dominican Republic is not abandoning its value roots, but it is clearly repositioning itself upmarket, with thousands of new rooms coming online across Punta Cana, Cap Cana, and Miches, and a fresh wave of branded properties that will compete head to head with luxury resort clusters in Mexico and elsewhere in the Caribbean. For travelers, the best strategy is to treat the coming years as a transition period, using careful research on specific properties, construction status, and seasonal demand to decide whether a cruise, a midrange hotel, or one of the new Dominican Republic luxury resorts offers the best fit for each trip.

Sources

• Known for its value vacations, the D.R. is expanding in luxury
• Caribbean hospitality performance stabilizes after post-pandemic surge
• Moon Palace the Grand Punta Cana to Debut With 2,171 Rooms
• Moon Palace The Grand-Punta Cana to Debut with 2,171 Rooms - 66% Offering Ocean Views
• Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Punta Cana
• Dominican Republic projects record 11.7 million tourists in 2025