A 270-hectare estate on the east coast
Yanuna covers around 270 hectares at Punta Macao, on the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic, 35 minutes from Punta Cana International Airport. The project will bring together hotels, private residences, food and beverage, wellness facilities and experiences on a single site.
The presentation on 30 October was led by President Luis Abinader, alongside the project’s founders and investors, government representatives and strategic partners. Guests toured the site and sampled some of the experiences planned for the estate.
The developers are targeting guests who value privacy, personalised service and a genuine connection with the destination. Nature, Dominican culture and local hospitality lie at the heart of the concept.
Entirely Dominican financing
The first stage represents an investment of more than $1bn, or over €860m. Across all stages, the total budget is estimated at around $2.4bn, or close to €2.1bn, provided exclusively by Dominican capital.
The investors include Pioneer Corporate Development Fund II, a fund managed by Pioneer Investment Funds that invests in strategic companies and projects in the Dominican Republic. The fund is represented by Yamil E. Isaías, chairman of the board of Yanuna.
Yamil E. Isaías said that Yanuna was born of a deep conviction in what the Dominican Republic can offer the world, stressing that the country is much more than sun and beach. That, he explained, is why its backers want to help move Dominican tourism forward, with a community that combines the richness of the land, international standards of excellence and the country’s own way of welcoming and caring for its guests.
The project is expected to create 2,500 jobs during construction, followed by 1,600 once operational. Ongoing training programmes are set to prepare local talent for careers in luxury hospitality.
The Ritz-Carlton and Casa Mirayá due in 2029
The first stage will be delivered in two phases. The first covers two all-inclusive hotels from the Marriott International portfolio, with a combined 548 rooms. Both are scheduled to open in 2029.
The Ritz-Carlton Yanuna will have 250 rooms and will focus on personalised service, privacy and wellbeing. It is set to be the brand’s first hotel in the Dominican Republic. The Ritz-Carlton is thus taking an all-inclusive format that Marriott is also developing outside the region, as with The Ritz-Carlton, Kemer, All-Inclusive in Turkey.
Casa Mirayá, a Luxury Collection Hotel, will offer 298 rooms and an experience rooted in the culture and landscapes of the site.
Javier Tejada, chairman of the board of The Ritz-Carlton Yanuna and Casa Mirayá, a Luxury Collection Hotel, highlighted the ambition to move beyond the traditional resort model. With Yanuna, he said, the partners are going beyond the conventional resort concept to create a new hospitality and luxury destination, where architecture, nature, privacy and service come together in a considered, long-term vision. In his view, the project will also help diversify the country’s tourism offering.
Twenty-five Ritz-Carlton Residences in three collections
The second phase comprises 25 Ritz-Carlton branded residences, split into three collections. Caicú will be on the beachfront. Bayacú will sit on higher ground, with open views. Jiva will be surrounded by native vegetation, for greater privacy.
Sales of the residences are due to begin in mid-2027, around two years before the hotels’ scheduled opening.
A master plan shaped by the site
The master plan follows the lie of the land, from the seafront to the native vegetation and the terrain. It makes use of existing infrastructure and previously developed areas in order to limit new construction work and earthworks.
Particular attention is being paid to coastal dunes, mangroves, wetlands and sea turtle nesting sites. The developers aim to reconcile luxury hotel development with the long-term preservation of the natural environment.
A second stage is currently being designed. It includes a third hotel and a village centre with restaurants, shops, wellness facilities and activities. Yanuna thus aims to become a new benchmark for luxury tourism in the Caribbean.
Punta Macao, a new frontier for all-inclusive luxury
Analysis – Yanuna is arriving in an area where competition is taking shape. On the same beach, Hyatt is planning the adults-only Secrets Macao Beach Punta Cana, and is also targeting 2029 for the Hyatt Ziva Punta Cana.
The project also comes at a time of intense activity in the Dominican Republic, where Accor recently announced 23 hotel projects and almost 6,000 rooms. For Marriott, Yanuna extends a regional ramp-up already illustrated by a record 2025 in the Caribbean and Latin America region.
The financing structure, however, sets the project apart. Accor relies on both Dominican and international investors, whereas Yanuna is backed solely by domestic capital. The arrival of Dominican capital in all-inclusive luxury real estate, a segment long dominated by foreign investors, will be a signal worth watching.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Yanuna unveils first stage of luxury coastal destination near Punta Cana
First stage investment of over $1bn (c. €860m); c. $2.4bn across all stages, fully Dominican-financed
Two Marriott all-inclusive hotels with 548 rooms: The Ritz-Carlton Yanuna (250) and Casa Mirayá, a Luxury Collection Hotel (298), both due in 2029
25 Ritz-Carlton Residences in three collections, with sales due to start in mid-2027
270-hectare site in Punta Macao, 35 minutes from Punta Cana International Airport
Second stage in design: a third hotel and a village centre
