The Palacio Provincial Hotel opens in Old San Juan

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Thanks to a $ 12 million investment, today he inaugurated the Palacio Provincial Hotel a few steps from the Plaza de Armas in Old San Juan, in a structure that originally housed the Provincial Council of Spain in Puerto Rico.

The inn has 43 rooms and an open-air restaurant, event room, library and a rooftop terrace with terrace, infinity pool, jacuzzi and bar overlooking San Juan Bay and the colonial city.

“We appreciate the government’s support in saving this jewel of the built historical heritage, which allows us to give life to the Palacio Provincial Hotel, allowing the creation of over 50 jobs and a new destination for experiences in Old San Juan,” said Cyril Meduña, in the names of the hotel owners during the opening event. He added that the investment was financed by Oriental Bank.

The hotel is owned by a group of Meduña, president of the investment firm Advent-Morro Equity Partners; Hugh Andrews, founder and president of the hotel management company International Hospitality Enterprises (IHE); Arnold Benus, president of Copamarina Beach Resort in Guánica; Federico Sánchez Ortiz, President of Interlink Developer; interior designer Jorge Rosselló and José Vizcarrondo, president of developer Desarrollos Metropolitanos.

This group also owns the hotel Monastery, which is housed in another historic building in Old San Juan. Both pensions are managed by IHE.

During the event, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, visited the facilities of the new Hotel Palacio Provincial, together with the project investor and the president of the Advent-Morro capital partners, Cyril Meduña. (TERESA CANINO RIVERA)

Meduña explained to this environment that Hotel Palacio Provincial and El Convento will operate as separate properties, although they will share resources – such as marketing and management teams – for better profitability. He informed that Sara Vélez will be responsible for the management of the Palacio Provincial Hotel.

The hotel belongs to the Lifestyle LVX category of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts luxury chain, the largest for independent hotels, with a portfolio of over 750 hotels, resorts and residences in 85 countries. According to its website, the chain has other properties on the island, such as Rincón Beach Resort in Añasco; and Vanderbilt County, in the San Juan area of ​​Condado.

Of the three, Hotel Palacio Provincial is the only one in the LVX Lifestyle category on the island, confirmed Adrián Mercado, director of sales and marketing for the property. The inn seeks to appeal “to a young audience that works and seeks unique experiences, such as exploring a city like this,” Meduña said. “It’s a different audience from El Convento, where European tourists and the elderly come, interested in the historic part of the property.”

Mercado reported that rates start at $ 189 per night for Chancellor Rooms, which has a king-size bed, and Adjunct, which has two beds.

Hotel Palacio Provincial combines neoclassical architecture with modern furniture and interior design with touches that evoke its historical past. The project was commissioned by Jorge Rosselló, who was inspired by the historical and architectural authenticity of the structure, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings. Bird Construction and GB Project Management, LLC led the construction and restoration work.

“The opening of this new hostel not only increases and diversifies the hotel offer in San Juan; but it also shows that economic development can go hand in hand with preserving our historic architecture, “San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero said during the event, which was also attended by Economic Development Secretary Manuel Cidre; executive director of the Tourism Company, Carlos Mercado, Discover Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean, and former Governor Alejandro García Padilla.

“This inauguration gives us high hopes for the resurgence of tourism in Puerto Rico,” said Governor Pedro Pierluisi., alluding to an industry that has been severely affected by declining global travel demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the rooms of the new inn whose rates start at 189 USD per night for the chancellor’s rooms, which have a king-size bed, and the deputy, which has two beds. (TERESA CANINO RIVERA)

Previously, the structure had several incarnations, including a fortress, an asylum for social assistance and the Institute of Secondary Education, until the 1873 remodeling turned it into the Palace of the Provincial Council. In 1898, it became the seat of the first Parliament in Puerto Rico.

It was reported that the multi-storey building also housed the first U.S. Postal Service office, the Island Library, and the telegraph and telephone office. More recently, it served as a job for the State Department of Puerto Rico in the second half of the twentieth century.

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