Construction of Hotels in Guanacaste Not Stopping Despite Recession
Jun 1, 2009
By The Staff, SAN JOSÉ, COSTA RICA (InfoWebPress, The Journal)
Despite the recession, hotel construction continues in Guanacaste.
Although it is true that some hotel projects have been put on the backburner in the North Pacific region of Costa Rica, news have come out in the past few days that new hotels are already being slated for construction.
For example, the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) firm is getting ready to break into the beach hotel business by opening two resorts, one in Guanacaste and one in the Central Pacific region.
There’s no set date for the opening of these hotels, but this company has a lot of experience in the management of other hotels in the country — including Real InterContinental, Crowne Plaza Corobici, Aurola Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Indigo. The firm has also announced plans to build another hotel in San Jose in 2011.
Meanwhile, Barcelo Hotels & Resorts announced that it will manage two new 5-star hotels, which are currently under construction in Jaco (Central Pacific) and Santa Cruz. The Guanacaste hotel will be unveiled in late 2011 and will be located in Playa Azul.
The Spanish conglomerate has signed a management contract for both hotels, whose construction will cost $301 million. Private investors footing the bill, while Barcelo will run them under the Barcelo Premium brand (its highest category).
Once the Barcelo Jaco Beach and Barcelo Playa Azul are built, this corporation will reach a total of 1,319 hotel rooms in Costa Rica — making the country its third largest market in Latin America.
Guanacaste’s Barcelo Playa Azul will serve in part tourists who come to Costa Rica for medical treatments. The resort will include a hospital, a health center and spa, 60 rooms for “health tourists” and a research center. Overall, the hotel will have 248 rooms and 50 villas, in addition to a shopping center. Cost of this hotel will be $237 million.
Meanwhile, the Marriott International Corporation has opened the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Guanacaste, seeking to capitalize on the large number of tourists who visit this beach- and sun-rich province to enjoy its natural treasures.
Located inside the Hacienda Pinilla complex, the hotel seeks to attract tourists from Central America, South America and Europe. It has 310 rooms.
Even though the global recession has led to the postponement of mega hotel and real estate development projects in Guanacaste, other projects have continued their normal construction rhythm so that their hotels can be ready for business in time for the wave of tourists expected once the economy rebounds and tourism boom of the past few year comes back to life in the province. However, a transition period is expected before hotel projects reach the dynamic rhythm they once enjoyed.
Source: www.journalcr.com