Santo Domingo
The capital: UNESCO-listed Colonial City wedding venues and walking tours, Piantini business hotels, coworking spaces and Las Américas airport (SDQ).
Santo Domingo · Photo: Desox7x / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Santo Domingo's Colonial City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, offers historic courtyard and hotel wedding venues, walking tours and caterers in the capital. Santo Domingo is the capital and business center, served by Las Américas International Airport (SDQ). Our listings here are business hotels with ballrooms and boardrooms, coworking spaces with meeting rooms, and DMCs and event agencies based in the city.
Highlights
- ✓ Historic hotel and courtyard venues
- ✓ Colonial City walking tours
- ✓ Wedding caterers
- ✓ Las Américas airport (SDQ)
- ✓ Business hotels in Piantini and on the Malecón
- ✓ Coworking and meeting rooms
- ✓ DMCs and congress organizers
Editors' selection (not paid)
Boutique hotel & wedding venue
Billini Hotel
Gala hall (545 m²) directly across from the Cathedral
Tour operator & DMC
Colonial Tour & Travel
3-hour Colonial Zone walking tour with guide and tickets (Cathedral, Alcázar de Colón, Museo de las Casas Reales, Ozama Fortress, Calle Las Damas)
Hotel with theater and ballroom
Renaissance Santo Domingo Jaragua Hotel & Casino
Browse all listings
Weddings (14)
Corporate retreats & events (7)
Excursions (3)
Why Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic, and its historic core, the Ciudad Colonial (Colonial City or Colonial Zone), is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas. The district covers about 106 hectares on the west bank of the Ozama River and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. Its streets were laid out from 1502, and Calle Las Damas, from the same year, is regarded as the first paved street in the Americas.
For visitors that history is the point: stone houses that now hold boutique hotels and restaurants, the 16th-century Cathedral on Parque Colón, and the Alcázar de Colón, the viceroy's palace built around 1510 and restored in 1952. For couples and event planners it means something rarer in the Caribbean: city-centre ceremonies in courtyards and historic halls rather than on a beach.
Weddings and events in the Colonial City
Our listings cover seven event venues. Billini Hotel, across from the Cathedral, has five spaces, from the 545 m² Gala hall (up to 300 guests) to Salón Iris for 30–50, plus 24 suites in restored buildings. Hodelpa Nicolás de Ovando, in the historic Casa de Ovando, offers garden ceremonies with a wedding coordinator and civil officiant. Casas del XVI, now part of IHG's Vignette Collection, rents one or more restored houses for exclusive use with on-site catering. Atarazana, facing the Alcázar, has hosted events since 1972 and specialises in Dominican-themed receptions with folk music and Creole food. Fixie Lofts is a restored private villa built in 1503 as part of the first hospital in the Americas, hired whole for getting ready, symbolic ceremonies of up to 20 and courtyard dinners of up to 20. El Búho Eatery, in a 16th-century property, seats 25–130 in two halls and a covered garden patio, or up to 180 for cocktails.
Just outside the zone, El Mesón de la Cava, a restaurant open since 1967, hosts receptions in a natural cave (70 guests), on its terrace (180 seated) and in a garden with a lit pergola for ceremonies. Anselmo Catering and Banquet RD cater weddings across the city, and Dominican Limousine lists Santo Domingo among the areas it covers for bridal-party transport. Music can be booked through ExperiencesDR: Wedding DJ from US$2,500, Event DJ from US$1,000, video on request.
Tours and things to do
The Colonial City is compact enough to walk, and four listed operators cover it in different ways. Colonial Tour & Travel runs a 3-hour walking tour with entry to the Cathedral, the Alcázar and the Museo de las Casas Reales (US$35 adults, US$25 children). Urbano Tours departs hourly from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with museum entries and a mamajuana toast (US$45). Kayoe Excursiones runs a pay-what-you-wish walking tour of about 90 minutes, plus a 2.5-hour Colonial Experience from US$25. Chu Chu Colonial's 45-minute narrated train costs US$12 for adults and US$7 for children, with audio in seven languages.
Those tours also suit wedding guests with a free afternoon, and they double as a welcome activity for a group arriving the day before an event.
Getting there and when to go
Most visitors fly into Las Américas International Airport (SDQ), the capital's main airport; Prestige Limousine and Pedro Taxi both list SDQ transfers. The city is warm all year: the average temperature is about 24 °C in January and 27 °C in July. Outside the north coast, the rainy season generally runs from May to November, and the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November, so outdoor courtyard events are easiest to plan from December to April.
Santo Domingo also works as a first or last night for a longer trip: Las Terrenas is about 225 km away by road, and the highway to the Samaná Peninsula was completed in 2012.
| Venue | Setting | Published capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Billini Hotel | Boutique hotel facing the Cathedral | Gala hall up to 300; four smaller spaces |
| Hodelpa Nicolás de Ovando | Historic Casa de Ovando, gardens | On request |
| Casas del XVI | Restored 16th-century houses | One or more houses, exclusive use |
| Atarazana | Facing the Alcázar de Colón | On request |
| El Mesón de la Cava | Natural cave and garden, Mirador Sur | Terrace 180 seated; cave 70 |
| El Búho Eatery | 16th-century property, covered garden patio | 25–130 seated; 180 cocktail |
| Fixie Lofts | Private villa from 1503 with courtyard and pool | Ceremony 20; cocktail 30; dinner 20 |
Related pages
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · whc.unesco.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · billinihotel.com · hodelpa.com · casasdelxvi.com · atarazana.do · elmesondelacava.com · elbuhoeatery.com · fixielofts.com · colonialtours.com · urbanotoursrd.com · kayoeexcursiones.com · chuchucolonial.com
FAQ
Can you get legally married in the Colonial City?
Yes. A legal wedding is a civil ceremony performed by a civil registrar; Hodelpa Nicolás de Ovando lists a civil officiant in its wedding services. See our legal-requirements guide for documents.
Which airport serves Santo Domingo?
Las Américas International Airport (SDQ).
How much is a Colonial City walking tour?
Listed prices run from pay-what-you-wish (Kayoe) and US$12 for the Chu Chu train to US$35 (Colonial Tour & Travel) and US$45 (Urbano Tours).
When was the Colonial City named a World Heritage Site?
In 1990.
Guides
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