SUPERCLUBS officially opened its 466-room Breezes Puerto Plata hotel in the Dominican Republic last weekend with a slew of activities that included familiarisation tours by North American travel agents and tour operators.

Travel professionals representing GoGo Tours, Travel Impressions, Funjet, Apple Vacations, Carlson Wagonlit and Liberty Travel, were among the group of travel industry officials invited to the resort which underwent major renovations over the last six months.

The weekend roster of events featured a mix of the serene (putting to the test Breezes’ full-service spa and a golf tourney), adventurous (flying trapeze and rock climbing), rhythmic (Merengue dance classes) and pure island fun (kite surfing and kite flying competitions).

To help agents and operators sample the Dominican Republic’s complete resort experience, SuperClubs organised excursions to a number of attractions. These included a “monster truck” safari, which is basically an eight-wheel Zebra-striped all-terrain truck traversing scenic landscapes through rivers, streams and sugar cane fields, with pit stops at a local cheese factory as well as an overview of Sabaneta and Cabarete, rated as the windsurfing capital of the world.

On Friday evening, a themed “Junglemania” party was held at the hotel, while on Saturday night, a formal black-tie cocktail party was held, followed by a grand gala dinner.

Breezes Puerto Plata is seven miles from Puerto Plata international airport, or 15 minutes by car. The 62-acre resort boasts the largest landscaped swimming pool on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. Fully appointed rooms and suites are air-conditioned and feature balconies or terraces, satellite television, direct-dial phones, CD players, tea- and coffee-making facilities, safety deposit boxes, iron and ironing boards, hairdryers and mini-fridges. Five restaurants are available on-site offering French, Italian, Japanese, Mexican and continental cuisine.

A Mini-Club runs programmes for children 4 – 12 years old and a 6,500 square-foot casino completes this Super-Inclusive package.

In addition to Breezes Puerto Plata, SuperClubs has a second Dominican Republic resort, Breezes Punta Cana.

The John Issa-led SuperClubs group operates properties in three brand categories:

* SuperClubs Grand Lido Resorts — Grand Lido Negril and Grand Lido Braco, both in Jamaica;

* SuperClubs Breezes Resorts — Breezes Runaway Bay and Breezes Montego Bay in Jamaica; Breezes Bahamas, Breezes Curaçao, Breezes Punta Cana and Breezes Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, and Breezes Costa Do Sauipe in Brazil;

* and SuperClubs Hedonism Resorts — Hedonism II in Negril and Hedonism III in Runaway Bay, both in Jamaica.

The group has also licensed its brands in Cuba where four hotels now operate under the Breezes and SuperClubs banner: Breezes Varadero, Breezes Jibacoa, Breezes Costa Verde and SuperClubs Puntarena.

Properties under construction include two in Cuba: Grand Lido Varadero, and Breezes Cayo Coco; and one under development in St Kitts.