Whether meeting at a beachside casino or hosting a cocktail reception in a historic prison, it’s easy to mix business with pleasure in Puerto Rico. On the outside, the island’s hundreds of beaches, nearly 15 championship golf courses and wealth of high-end resorts make it seem like a pure leisure destination. But scratch the surface and there is business being tended to all over the island.
"There are almost 150 Fortune 500 companies operating in Puerto Rico," says Ramon Sanchez, executive vice president and COO of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau. "That tells a lot about our infrastructure."
The bureau promotes both ends of the spectrum.
"We’re a beautiful island with great history and a distinctive culture," Sanchez says. "Culinary is incredible. We have Old San Juan, casinos, the El Yunque rainforest, bioluminescent bays and golf. We promote all of that in our advertising and promotional efforts. But at the end of the day, Puerto Rico is a very sophisticated meetings destination. We don’t have to apologize for being beautiful."
One of the bureau’s current promotions addresses the island’s meetings expertise. Not a Boondoggle.com emphasizes the island’s business acumen, including San Juan’s Puerto Rico Convention Center.
"We bought a website and built a promotion around it," Sanchez says. "The website [highlights] everything Puerto Rico has for the attendee. It also talks to the boss, saying we have great infrastructure, great hotels, great meeting facilities, the best technology in the Caribbean, and at the same time your people can have fun."
This year the bureau is boosting the Boondoggle campaign by adding testimonials from planners who have booked meetings on the island.
Though last year’s meeting and convention numbers fell below those of fiscal 2008 to 2009, according to Sanchez, the bureau is looking to make a comeback this year.
"We’re seeing a lot of medical meetings, sporting events and international associations that are looking at Puerto Rico that would not have considered us in the past," he says. "One reason is our convention center."
Sanchez touts the island’s sports facilities, including the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, as well as venues for swimming, basketball and baseball.
"If you fly into Puerto Rico in the evening, what stands out are baseball fields lit up all over island," Sanchez says.
Next year the island will host its first Ironman 70.3 series, and this past summer it hosted the Central American and Caribbean Games in the western city of Mayaguez.
Access to the island will get smoother when the new 300,000-square-foot Terminal A opens at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport early next year.
San Juan
At the epicenter of Puerto Rico’s meetings, San Juan stands as the island’s historical and cultural apex. Old San Juan is a National Historic Site, including El Morro, a fortress built by the Spanish in 1539 at the eastern edge of the entrance to San Juan Bay, and Castillo de San Cristobal, the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the New World. Yet the city remains vibrant with its restaurants and shopping, namely along Calle del Cristo.
"Walking the streets in San Juan is walking through history, like a living museum," Sanchez says. "We have old buildings we utilize as venues, for instance La Princesa, which used to be a prison and is now the office of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company."
Groups can also host events at the 200-year-old Casa Blanca—the home of Ponce de Leon and his descendants, which is now a museum. Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR) can host functions, as can the interior patio of the Dominican Convent, a former barracks.
East of Old San Juan, the tourist area of Condado features casinos, high-end cuisine and a variety of shopping. It is also near the 113-acre Puerto Rico Convention Center District, home to the 5-year-old convention center, now sporting a new headquarters hotel. Last November, the 503-room Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino opened with 35,000 square feet of meeting space.
A 252-room Aloft Hotel is slated for completion in spring 2012, and a 300-room Marriott Courtyard Convention District Hotel is scheduled to open in late 2012.
Meanwhile, the old Condado Beach Hotel is under renovation and will open next year as the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, with 312 guest rooms and 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Caribe Hilton Hotel recently completed its 96 oceanfront Condado Lagoon Villas, making the property the largest resort in the San Juan area with a total of 910 guest rooms. La Concha, A Renaissance Resort, recently inaugurated a new tower featuring 253 suites.
In December 2009, the former Holiday Inn San Juan in Isla Verde reopened as the Verdanza Hotel, with 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
Rio Grande Area
East of San Juan, the Rio Grande region lures visitors with its secluded beaches, including the sprawling Coco Beach. It is also home to the island’s adventure center, the El Yunque tropical rainforest.
Resorts line the region, including the El Conquistador Resort and the Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa. A number of new properties will cater to the high-end corporate and incentive market, according to Sanchez.
The $172 million St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort is scheduled to open this month with 139 guest rooms, more than 26,500 square feet of meeting and banquet space, a spa and a golf course. The 371-room JW Marriott Hotel & Resort at Coco Beach is slated to open in 2011 with 21,000 square feet of meeting space, a 36-hole championship golf course, a casino and a high-end spa.
Following a $137 million redesign, the 157-room W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island opened in March on Vieques Island off the east coast.
Other Areas
Along the southern end of the island, the city of Ponce is known as "La Perla del Sur," or "Pearl of the South". Its preserved colonial center features the 19th century Ponce City Hall, 17th century churches and plazas, as well as a number of museums such as the Ponce Museum of Art.
Hotels include the Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort and Hotel Melia Ponce.
On the north coast of Puerto Rico, Arecibo is best known as home to the Arecibo Observatory, which can also host group events.
Plans call for The Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Dorado Beach Resort & Spa, slated for a November 2012 opening. The 130-room resort will be part of a $2.2 billion tourism and residential development that will include the reconstruction of the famed Dorado Beach Hotel.
Also on the north side, there are plans for a new $60 million Four Points by Sheraton in Barceloneta. A Four Points by Sheraton is also on the books for Ponce, next to the Ponce Convention Center.
In the western part of the island, Mayaguez is home to the 1909-built Yaguez Theater and the Mayaguez Resort & Casino, which is nearing completion on a $7 million expansion. By early 2011, a 60-room tower will bring the property’s room count to 200.
The 112-room Rincon Beach Resort is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar expansion, scheduled for completion in December.
