By the Caribbean Journal staff

Excellence Group has has officially broken ground on a major new all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic’s tourism hub of Punta Cana.

The new Finest Punta Cana resort will feature 450 suites on the beach in the Uvero Alto section of Punta Cana.

The groundbreaking comes after Excellence opened another new resort in Punta Cana last year, the Excellence El Carmen.

Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina lays the first stone on the project.

The luxury all-inclusive will be family friendly, with 60 suites specifically geared for traveling families.

Amenities will include at least 20 restaurants and bars, six pools and capacious suites with amenities like in-room jacuzzis and plunge pools.

It will join Excellence’s other Finest-branded hotel in the region, the Finest Playa Mujeres on the Caribbean coast of Mexico.

The project is a joint investment with Medieval Times, Zafiro Hotels and Viva Hotels, which owns and manages properties in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Jamaica.

The resort will be one of two Finest-branded resorts in the region, along with Finest Playa Mujeres, above.

This will be the third hotel for Excellence Group in the country, along with the aforementioned Excellence El Carmen and the Excellence Punta Cana resort.

It’s yet another boost for what is easily the hottest hotel investment market in the Caribbean right now, one that accompanies a surging tourism industry overall.

“Every year we break a record for tourist arrivals,” said Dominican Republic Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia, who was on hand for the groundbreaking with Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina.

Excellence has been expanding its portfolio in the wider region, most recently with the launch of the Excellence Oyster Bay hotel in Jamaica.

— CJ