Over the past decade, Puerto Rico has emerged as a world-class, international meetings destination. Meetings and conventions in Puerto Rico now contribute approximately $900 million annually to the local economy and represents about one-third of Puerto Rico’s overall tourism market mix. 

As the Island’s tourism product continues to evolve in anticipation of the opening of the new Puerto Rico Convention Center in November 2005, hoteliers and other service providers continue to prepare for the influx of large meeting groups and citywide conventions, with more than $228 million currently being spent to expand and renovate properties.

By the end of 2005, Puerto Rico will boast close to 14,000 hotel rooms and over 1.2 million square feet of meeting.

Following is a briefing on some of Puerto Rico’s major hotel and resort openings, expansions and updates:

Openings:

• The 222-room Holiday Inn San Juan opened in December 2004 and features two ballrooms and eight meeting rooms offering approximately 15,000 sq. ft of conference, meeting and outdoor function space for up to 550 people.
• In April, the new Four Points by Sheraton Palmas del Mar Hotel opened in Humacao. The 107-room property underwent $28 million in renovations and offers guests a casino, restaurant and wine cellar, pool, gym, business center, play room, retail boutique and access to two championship golf courses. 
• The Renaissance La Concha Hotel & Casino is scheduled to open by the end of 2005.  The 474-room Renaissance property will offer 15,000 sq. ft of meeting space, as well as a 15,000 sq. ft. casino, three restaurants, oceanfront pool and a 5,000 sq. ft. fitness center located on the beach.
• The Condado Vanderbilt Hotel is scheduled to open in 2006. The 300-room luxury property will feature 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, a gourmet restaurant, bistro, spa and two oceanfront pools. 
• The re-opening of Treasure Island hotel is slated for early 2006.  The property, which was Puerto Rico’s first hotel built in the central mountain region of the Island in the 1930s will offer guests 18 cabins, 20 guestrooms, restaurants, banquet and meeting space.
• Next year, Marriott Hotels and Resorts will open a 150-room Courtyard by Marriott at the former Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla.  In addition, the former Excelsior Hotel, located in Miramar (San Juan), is currently being transformed into a 140-room Courtyard by Marriott. 

Expansions:

• The Caribe Hilton’s Paseo Caribe, a world-class development with 264 luxurious Condado Lagoon Villas was completed in January 2005 and consists of 168 villas.  Phase Two, to be completed by the end of 2006, will feature 96 additional villas, for a total of 910 guestrooms.  Additional plans include the renovation and expansion of the San Geronimo ballroom.  
• In February 2005, Las Casitas Village, the Island’s only AAA Five Diamond resort located within the Wyndham El Conquistador complex, opened 67 new one-, two- and three-bedroom casitas as well as a stunning new infinity pool at the cost of $37 million.  The resort now offers 24-hour butler service for all Las Casitas guests.
• The Ponce Hilton’s $152 million Costa Caribe Resort project is completed with the addition of a 100-room Executive Tower.  The property also offers guests a 27-hole championship golf course designed by Bruce Besse Jr., with a 32,000 sq. ft. Club House, Italian restaurant, lounge and swimming pool. 

Renovations & Upgrades:

• The former Wyndham Old San Juan has been reflagged after a $7 million renovation.  The new Sheraton Old San Juan opened in November with renovations that included upgraded guest rooms, new meeting space, casino enhancements and a redesigned restaurant. 
• Puerto Rico’s famed art-deco hotel in the shape of a luxury liner, the Normandie Hotel completed a $7.5 million renovation in May. A boutique hotel affiliated with WorldHotels, the property is geared to business executives and offers oversized work station desks, ergonomic chairs and high-speed Internet access.
• More than $16 million in renovations to the 600 guest rooms at The Westin Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort & Spa continue on schedule for completion in August.  In November 2005, the property opened its full-service $1.25 million, 7,000 sq. ft. Mandara Spa with 11 treatment rooms in Balinese-inspired art and textiles.
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts is now managing the former Martineau Bay Resort on Vieques Island.  $15 million in renovations will be undertaken with to transform the resort into a full-service boutique-style hotel managed under the first W Hotel brand on the Island and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2006.  
• Slated to open in the fall at the Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort & Country Club is a second $6.5 million Dorado Plantation golf clubhouse, golf pavilion, as well as a complete renovation of two of the resort’s four signature Robert Trent Jones Sr. courses. The property is also undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation of its 262 guest rooms on soft goods, to be completed by January 2005. 
• The 51-room Plaza de Armas Hotel was recently sold and franchised to become the Howard Johnson Plaza de Armas in Old San Juan. The hotel will invest $400,000 for additional remodeling, with renovations recently completed on the building.
• In addition to $16 million in casino renovations, an additional $15 million in renovations to three of Wyndham’s flagship Puerto Rico properties are currently underway, including:
• Wyndham El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa: a new health club offers an entire wall of windows with ocean views and state-of-the-art equipment; a new full-service Kids Club located on the resort’s private recreation island and two new dining venues, including the Latin fusion Las Brisas restaurant, and a trendy poolside lounge, called Virgin Burgers.
• Wyndham Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino: new dining options include the local gourmet coffee shop Café Alto Grande; Gusto di Italia, a new family-style restaurant and ice cream parlor serving traditional Italian fare and Max’s Grill, featuring a new menu and new 24-hour service.  There is a new indoor/outdoor Kids Camp; and, the pool deck and beach area renovations have also been completed.
• A complete makeover of all guest rooms and suites at the Wyndham El San Juan Hotel & Casino includes carpeting, upholstery, drapery, wall coverings and textures, luxury linens and televisions along with guest bath finishes. The hotel’s spa has also been redesigned, along with décor restorations and embellishments to the Club Tropicoro, one of the Island’s original nightclubs. 

Other updates:

• The $59.6 million, 36-hole Coco Beach Golf & Country Club golf complex opened in March.  Located on 1,200 waterfront acres at Coco Beach, the course features a 46,000-square-foot oceanfront clubhouse (the largest in the Caribbean) with locker rooms, lounges, and a golf shop.  The club also offers a 3,000-square-foot ballroom, two restaurants and is adjacent to Sol Meliá’s all-inclusive, four-star 500-suite Paradisus Puerto Rico Resort.

·         This spring, Hertz Rent-A-Car introduced its NeverLost navigation system in several of its rental units in Puerto Rico. During its first phase of implementation in Puerto Rico, Hertz’s navigation system will provide directions to the Island’s top tourist attractions as well as the top pharmaceutical companies and include about 95% of the Island’s roads.

• Visitors to Culebra and Vieques can now take a high-speed ferry from Old San Juan aboard a 250-passenger catamaran. Operated by Island Hi-Speed Ferry, there is daily service Mon - Fri, and two round trips available on weekends.  Prices range from $60 - $75 round trip.  Travel time is one-hour and 45 minute trip to Culebra, with an additional 30 minute trip to Vieques.