Hyatt Is Adding Two Dominican Republic All-Inclusive Resorts….

Hyatt Is Adding Two Dominican Republic All-Inclusive Resorts….

In 2019, a series of unexplained deaths among American tourists at resorts in the Dominican Republic drew international attention and prompted investigations by both Dominican and U.S. authorities. The fatalities occurred under similar circumstances, with many victims found unresponsive in their hotel rooms after consuming drinks from minibars or engaging in routine activities.​

The Victims

The following individuals were reported dead after stays at Dominican Republic resorts:

Miranda Schaup-Werner (41) – Pennsylvania resident who died on May 25 at the Grand Bahia Principe in La Romana shortly after checking in. She collapsed after drinking from the minibar and was later found dead. Preliminary autopsy results indicated a heart attack, pulmonary edema, and respiratory failure.

Nathaniel Holmes (63) and Cynthia Day (49) – Maryland couple found dead on May 30 at the same resort. Both had internal bleeding, including in their pancreases, and fluid in their lungs. Holmes had an enlarged heart and cirrhosis of the liver, while Day had fluid in her brain. ​

Leyla Cox (53) – New York resident who died on June 10 at the Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana. The hotel attributed her death to a heart attack, but her son expressed doubts, suspecting foul play.

Joseph Allen (55) – New Jersey man who died on June 13 at the Terra Linda resort in Sosua. He was found unresponsive in his room after reportedly feeling unwell the previous day. ​

In addition to these, other Americans had died in previous years under similar circumstances, including:​avid Harrison (45) – Died in July 2018 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana from a heart attack and pulmonary edema. ​

Yvette Monique Sport (51) – Died in June 2018 at the Bahia Principe Resort in Punta Cana from a heart attack.

Investigations and Speculations

The U.S. State Department maintained a Level 2 travel advisory for the Dominican Republic during this period. Investigations by the FBI and Dominican authorities focused on potential links between the deaths and tainted alcohol, as nearly a third of the country’s alcohol was reportedly illicit. ​

The Dominican government implemented new safety measures to rebuild traveler confidence, including hotel inspections for food handling, establishing walk-in emergency centers with multilingual staff, and providing emergency contact information in hotel rooms. Ecolab was contracted to offer quality training to tourism staff