$120M Hyatt Regency Coco Beach Resort to open in the fall
The former Gran Meliá Puerto Rico Hotel has been acquired by a trio of companies that will reopen in the fall as the Hyatt Regency Coco Beach Resort, government and company officials announced.
The hotel will operate as The Resort at Coco Beach, a Hyatt affiliated hotel, from July 2019 until the renovation is completed in the fall, when it will officially become the Hyatt Regency Coco Beach Resort, Hyatt officials said.
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After the passage of Hurricane María in September 2017, Monarch Alternative Capital, a company that had interests in the peninsula already, saw the opportunity to acquire the former Gran Meliá Hotel with 486 rooms, 135 one-bedroom units, and an additional 14 acres of land. It did so in partnership with Royal Palm Companies and Aimbridge Hospitality.
The Hyatt Regency Coco Beach Resort is part of a $120 million transaction that was made possible through an agreement with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, in which tax credits were granted in accordance with the benefits available under Act 74. The Tourism Co. said it had been working on this transaction together with the group of investors for several months.
The Hyatt Regency will be the first under that flag to operate in Puerto Rico, where Hyatt already has properties under the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands.
The 486-room hotel with 93 branded residencies will be managed by Aimbridge Hospitality and signifies Hyatt’s continued brand growth on the island of Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean region. The hotel will be the brand’s only full-service property in Puerto Rico.
“The expansive redevelopment of this premiere beachfront property is a testament to the confidence among owners and developers in the destination of Puerto Rico and the Hyatt brand,” said Camilo Bolaños, vice president of development and real estate – Latin America and Caribbean, Hyatt.
“We are pleased to continue our strong brand growth in the region, proudly supporting Puerto Rico’s upward tourism sector, which we believe has an even brighter future ahead,” he said.
The hotel will be situated on a 1,000-acre peninsula within a private development known as Coco Beach on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico that includes 36 holes of championship golf.
The announcement was made during the 41st New York University (NYU) International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, before a large group of developers, investors, and hotel brand executives.
Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said the developers contemplate a 10‑year master plan that will locate a total of six hotels on the Coco Beach peninsula. It has been projected that three of these six hotels will have opened by 2022.
“It is with great enthusiasm that we share this information in the most important forum of hotel investment. Transactions like these that are taking place today validate that our commitment to tourism is a wise one and that there is a positive environment for investment,” said Rosselló.
Once fully operational, the Hyatt Regency Coco Beach Resort will have five new restaurants and is estimated to create over 200 new jobs. The average rate is expected to be around $300 per night.
