La Concha Resort
{{short description|Luxury resort located on the beach in Condado, San Juan, Puerto Rico}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox hotel
| hotel_name = La Concha Resort
| chain = Autograph Collection
| image = La Concha.JPG
| caption = La Concha Resort
| location = San Juan, Puerto Rico
| address = 1077 Ashford Avenue, San Juan, PR 00907
| pushpin_map =
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| pushpin_map_caption=
| latd =
| longd =
| opening_date = 1958
| stars =
| diamonds =
| closing_date =
| developer =
| architect =
| operator = International Hospitality Enterprises
Melendez International Hotels by Melendez Global Inc
| owner =
| number_of_restaurants = 5
| number_of_rooms = 483
| number_of_suites = 226
| floor_area =
| floors = 12
| parking =
| website = [http://www.laconcharesort.com La Concha Resort]
| footnotes =
}}
La Concha Resort is a historic resort hotel opened in 1958, located at the Condado oceanfront within the district of Santurce in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
History
File:San Juan - La Concha Hotel.jpg
The La Concha Hotel opened in December 1958{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQzdKunMTfoC&q=%22la+concha%22+opened+san+juan+1958&pg=PA339|title = Negotiating Paradise|isbn = 9781458755056|last1 = Merrill|first1 = Dennis|date = 7 May 2010}} during the Tropical Modernism Movement. The hotel was publicly owned, by the government of Puerto Rico, and managed by the US-based Associated Federal Hotels chain.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=whlj86T2dFMC&q=%22associated+federal+hotels%22+%22la+concha%22&pg=PA591|title = Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board|year = 1973}} The main hotel building was designed by architects Osvaldo Toro and Miguel Ferrer, of the firm Toro Ferrer. The two men had previously designed the first modern luxury resort in San Juan, the Caribe Hilton. Another part of the complex, the seashell-inspired building for the restaurant La Perla, was designed by architect Mario Salvadori.{{Cite web|url=https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/san-juan-best-restaurants-guide|title=Support Puerto Rico's Recovery Efforts by Eating at These Incredible Restaurants}} The hotel's design incorporated tropical climate features such as cross-ventilation, natural illumination, open lobbies and seamless transitions between inside and outside spaces, with details supposedly relevant to Island traditions: an interior patio, blinds, a mirador encompassing both the sea and the city and the use of water throughout as a leitmotif. The protective concrete element in the façade, called brise-soleil in French or “quiebrasol” in Spanish, is an architectural element used by famed architect Le Corbusier. The purpose of the “quiebrasol” is to filter the sun's rays towards the interior corridors.
In 1973, the La Concha Hotel was united with the adjacent Condado Beach Hotel into one hotel, known as the Hyatt Puerto Rico.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/04/archives/whats-doing-in-purto-rico.html|title=What's Doing in PUERTO RICO|first=Manuel|last=Suarez|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 November 1973|publisher=}} In 1976,{{cite journal |last1=Duperray |first1=Martha Dreyer |title=This week in CB history |journal=Caribbean Business |volume=37 |issue=35 |date=3 September 2009 |page=13 }} management of the complex was taken over by Hilton International{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/11/archives/whats-doing-in-puerto-rico.html|title=What's Doing in PUERTO RICO|first=Manuel|last=Suarez|newspaper=The New York Times|date=11 December 1977|publisher=}} and the resort was renamed the Condado Beach La Concha Convention Center, with a huge convention wing built between the two existing hotel structures to physically connect them. The complex was later taken over by Carnival Cruise Line{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1993-08-20/business/9308191155_1_louisiana-casino-cruises-riverboat-s-casino-riverboat-gambling|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210120622/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1993-08-20/business/9308191155_1_louisiana-casino-cruises-riverboat-s-casino-riverboat-gambling|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 10, 2015|title=Miami Firm To Run Louisiana Riverboat Casino|publisher=}} and renamed The Condado Beach Trio, before the La Concha wing was closed in 1995, followed by the closure of the Condado Beach wing in 1997.{{cite web|url=http://www.ihepr.com/ihe-portfolio/la-concha-a-renaissance-resort/|title=La Concha A Renaissance Resort - IHE|website=www.ihepr.com}} The government-owned properties sat vacant for years, and were finally severed in 2004. The convention center that joined them was demolished to build a public park.{{cite web|url=http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2004/vol8n14/CBRebirthCondado.html|title=PUERTO RICO HERALD: The Rebirth Of Condado|website=www.puertorico-herald.org}}
The La Concha reopened in December 2007 after a $220 million renovation, managed by Renaissance Hotels as La Concha Renaissance San Juan Resort.
In the summer of 2010, the hotel opened a $100 million addition called The Suites Tower which features an atrium style building with one and two bedroom suites, kitchens, architectural lighting, and amenities. The hotel's Casino del Mar is located on the street level of the new tower.
On June 12, 2025, following an $80 million renovation, the hotel transferred from Marriott's Renaissance brand to its Autograph Collection brand and was renamed La Concha Resort, Puerto Rico, Autograph Collection.https://www.hospitalitynet.org/announcement/41012753/la-concha-renaissance-san-juan-resort.html
See also
{{Portal|Puerto Rico}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
- [http://www.laconcharesort.com/ La Concha Resort official website]
- [https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sjulc-la-concha-resort-puerto-rico-autograph-collection/overview/ La Concha Resort, Puerto Rico, Autograph Collection official chain website]
{{Coord|18|27|26|N|66|04|26|W|type:landmark_region:PR|display=title}}
Category:1958 establishments in Puerto Rico
Category:Hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Category:Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico