Hotel Palacio Provincial opens in Old San Juan

The hotel is owned by a group consisting 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 developer Interlink; the interior designer Jorge Rosselló and José Vizcarrondo, president of the developer Desarrollos Metropolitanos.

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

Meduña explained to this medium that the Hotel Palacio Provincial and El Convento will operate as separate properties, although they will share resources – such as marketing and administration teams – for greater cost-effectiveness. He announced that Sara Vélez will be responsible for the management of Hotel Palacio Provincial.

The hotel belongs to the Lifestyle LVX category of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts luxury chain, the largest for independent hotels, with a portfolio of more than 750 hotels, resorts and residences in 85 countries. According to its website, the chain has other properties on the island, such as the 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 Lifestyle LVX category on the island, confirms Adrián Mercado, Sales and Marketing Director of the property. The inn seeks to appeal to “a young audience who are working and looking for unique experiences, such as exploring a city like this,” Meduña said. “It’s a different crowd than El Convento, where European and older tourists come, interested in the historic part of the building.”

Mercado reported that rates start at $ 189 per night for Chancellor Rooms, which have one king bed, and Deputy, which has two beds.

Hotel Palacio Provincial combines neoclassical architecture with modern furniture and design in the interior, with touches that refer to the historical past. Jorge Rosselló was responsible for the design, who was inspired by the historical and architectural authenticity of the structure, which is listed on 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 expands and diversifies the hotel offering in San Juan; but moreover it shows that economic development can also go hand in hand with the preservation of our historic architecture, ” said San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero at the event, which was also attended by the Minister of Economic Development, Manuel . Cidre; the executive director of the tourism company, Carlos Mercado; Discover Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean; and former Governor Alejandro García Padilla.

“This inauguration gives us great hope for the revival of tourism in Puerto Rico,” said Governor Pedro Pierluisi., referring to an industry severely affected by the drop in global travel demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previously, the building had several incarnations, including a citadel, a welfare institution and the Institute for Secondary Education, until the renovation in 1873, it was transformed into the Palace of the Provincial Council. In 1898 it became the seat of Puerto Rico’s first parliament.

The legendary building was also reported to house the United States Postal Service’s first office, the Insular Library, and the telegraph and telephone office. More recently, it served as a workplace for the Puerto Rico Department of State in the latter half of the 20th century.