Photo Courtesy of Blue Mall Santo Domingo

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts has announced plans for a 2014 opening of a new, 131-room JW Marriott Hotel in Santo Domingo. The hotel will be located in Santo Domingo's primary business district. It will be on the first seven floors of the 15-story, multi-use tower, The Blue Mall Santo Domingo.

The mall, which opened in 2010, includes high-end retail stores such as Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Salvatore Ferragamo and Carolina Herrera. The luxury hotel will feature 131 guestrooms and suites, a restaurant, a lobby bar, a lounge, a fitness center, and a swimming pool.

"We are fortunate to begin this partnership with Mr. Velutini and FVI, which has one of the largest real estate portfolios in Latin America," says Laurent de Kousemaeker, Chief Development Officer for Marriott International, Inc. in the Caribbean & Latin America. "We currently have two other hotels in Santo Domingo and believe that the JW Marriott luxury brand will be very well received in the city."