simi baez land sold to pinero group

You sure that's not the Bezi land??

HB

(Blatant speculation follows).

I've noticed that the hotels that they have bought/built/renovated in the area (Gran Bahia, Cayo Laventado and El Portillo) are all relatively small resorts which is uncharacteristic of this groups resorts in other areas. I wonder if they are planning a larger, perhaps 4 or 4.5 star accomodation to complement the 5 and 5+ star resorts they already have in the works there.

(end of blatant speculation)

The shopping center site in front of the gymnasium in downtown Samana has been under construction for 6 to 8 weeks now, mostly site preparation. However the other day when I passed it, it looked like they were starting to work on foundations.

I had not heard about the latest sale of the Baez family land although it doesn't suprise me as it is a great, touristy location with it's proximity to "Bacardi Island." I did just hear there may be problems with this current deal as the land's ownership is in question. As you know, a lot of land on the Samana peninsula has similar problems, mostly with the heirs of the original owners. This "law of the heirs" is a serious problem, not only here in Samana but in the entire DR, and needs to be addressed and updated by the court. A person should be able to decide just WHO they want to leave their estate to and not have every scoundrel and black sheep of the family demand their share, no matter how estranged they were from the estate owner.

Actually, I'm happy to see these big resorts going up ELSEWHERE and not in Las Galeras proper. What I am seeing in LG is a lot more large, expensive homes being built which will further bolster us as eventually becomming an upscale, residential community with limited tourism rather than another "tourist trap" such as Las Terrenas has become.

I heard about the Baez lsale a month or 2 ago from Kim Beddall