Puerto Rico is popping with a 113-acre hotel zone under development around the convention center.
Corrie Dosh
When the $432 million Puerto Rico Convention Center opened in 2005, the 580,000-sf center became the largest and most technology advanced facility of its kind in the Caribbean. Now city developers want to create a convention district around the centera 113-acre development of hotels, retail, entertainment, and attractions.
Last November, the Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority unveiled plans to create a hotel zone around the center, and said more than 1,358 rooms were already in the pipeline for the development. The first property, the 503-room, 22-suite Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino, is scheduled to open this November.
A 250-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 252-room Aloft are also scheduled for construction in the convention center hotel zone.
"Puerto Rico's commitment to the meetings and conventions market continues to be unsurpassed," says Ana Maria Viscasillas, president and CEO of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau. "The addition of 1,700 hotel rooms within the district creates an entirely new hotel or tourist zone, with the primary purpose of serving large blocks of convention groups while providing an easy-to-navigate and vibrant backdrop to guests of all types that exemplifies Puerto Rico."
Other hotels and resorts around the island are redeveloping and renovating. El San Juan Hotel & Casino recently completed a $52 million renovation of its lobby, 382 guest rooms, and meeting spaces.
The property will be added to Hilton Hotels' Waldorf=Astoria Collection this year, joining the 750-room El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa (100,000 sf of meeting space), which completed a $120 million renovation in 2008.
Other developments include the $172 million St. Regis Resort and Residences Bahia Beach, scheduled to open next year with 139 rooms. The 150-room Regent Palmas del Mar Puerto Rico is scheduled to open in 2011.
Pinnacle winner Rio Mar Beach Resort, with golf, a casino, and a spa, recently completed a $5 million renovation and now offers allergy-friendly rooms.
Originally published April 1, 2009