Hyatt Place Manati, located west of San Juan, is slated to open in January. The 104-room property will offer 2,000 square feet of meeting space, complimentary Wi-Fi, an e-room with complimentary computer access, a 24-hour fitness center and a casino.
The Wyndham Garden brand recently entered the Puerto Rico market with the addition of the Wyndham Garden at Palmas del Mar. The 107-room property features 6,000 square feet of meeting space, a business center, a fitness center, a casino, a restaurant and a wine bar.
The Condado Vanderbilt Hotel emerged from a makeover that restored the venerable 1919 property to the same grandeur it had when hosting such illustrious guests as Charles Lindberg, Carlos Gardel, Errol Flynn, Bob Hope, Arthur Rubinstein and President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Among the amenities are butlers’ quarters on every floor, an executive lounge, a daily wine reception, and a pool and beach butler. The hotel has 30,000 square feet of meeting space, including a ballroom overlooking the ocean.
San Juan’s Verdanza Hotel opened the Muse Room, an unconventional meeting space designed to encourage creativity during retreats and strategic planning sessions. In addition to couches and ottomans that invite relaxation, the walls and even the conference table are designed for doodling, drawing and jotting down ideas, while in-room shiatsu massages and video games are available to recharge batteries or keep the creative vibe going.
Recently reopened after extensive renovations, the Antiguo Casino in Old San Juan hosts high-end events in grand style that dates back to 1917. The casino features lush gardens, classic balconies and moldings, white marble floors, a majestic central staircase and a 12-foot chandelier.
The Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort completed a multimillion-dollar renovation, updating guest rooms, lobby areas and restaurants, while the resort’s 60,000 square feet of meeting space boasts improved setup flexibility and better wireless connectivity.
The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort & Golf Club in Rio Grande, southeast of San Juan, recently equipped golf carts with GPS and Wi-Fi technology for use on the property’s 18-hole Robert Trent Jones Jr. course.
On Nov. 20, JetBlue will launch daily nonstop service from Chicago’s O’Hare to San Juan. Chicago joins Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford, Jacksonville, New York’s JFK, Newark, Orlando, Tampa, Washington, D.C., and West Palm Beach as U.S. cities connected to San Juan by JetBlue.