Hurricane Jeanne came at the DR as a boxer. In the fistfight for the first time several coastal destinations were affected.
The 16 September storm affected primarily the Punta Cana/Bavaro/Uvero Alto area, although an estimated 65% of the hotel rooms remained operational. The Punta Cana International Airport suffered damages, but repair crews quickly restored operation once weather conditions permitted. Several hotels in the area closed for cleanup and repair. The area should be back to normalcy by the end of October.
The Puerto Plata/Playa Dorada area rebounded quickly, suffering only minor damages. A few days were needed to cleanup Sosua and Cabarete, but these are restoring most of their services this week.
In the Bayahibe area hotels quickly resumed normal operations. Charter flights with guests headed for Bayahibe hotels, though had to be diverted to Punta Cana International Airport, given that the bridge that links the La Romana International Airport to Bayahibe suffered major damages that would take 10 days to be repaired.
La Romana?s leading resort, Casa de Campo suffered minor damages to landscaping. Teeth of the Dog and The Links golf courses, nevertheless, closed for maintenance. Dye Four remained open. The Casa de Campo Marina suffered major river waters flooding, but cleanup works proceeded rapidly to get this commercial area back in operation.
Santo Domingo hotels were not affected.
DR1 has been providing updates at http://www.dr1.com/travelnews/status.shtml