Above: a rendering of the planned JW Marriott in Santo Domingo

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Marriott’s JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts will open a new JW Marriott hotel in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic in 2014, the company announced Friday.

The 131-room hotel will be operated by Marriott under an agreement with Grupo Velutini, a Panama-based subsidiary of Fondo de Valores Inmobilarios.

“The Dominican Republic is a highly desirable destination for today’s luxury traveler and a growing business hub in the Caribbean,” said JW Marriott, Jr, chairman of the board for Marriott International. “This makes it ideally suited for our JS Marriott brand, which is now in 22 countries around the world.”

The project, which will be located in Santo Domingo’s Plantini district, will occupy the first seven floors of a 15-story tower that opened in 2010.

“We are thrilled to be bringing the JW Marriott brand of luxury to Santo Domingo,” said Luis Emilio Velutini, owner and president of Grupo Velutini. “And with its prime location above the Blue Mall and in close proximity to major businesses, we know that it will be successful.”

Mexico’s Gomez Vasques Aldana Asociados is the primary architect on the project, which will be the first JW Marriott in the Caribbean.