Above: a rendering of the new project

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A Courtyard By Marriott is coming to the island of Curacao.

The hotel, which will have 177 rooms and suites, is scheduled to open in 2017.

The CMC Real Estate project will be located next to the SVB social security bank facing the Mega Pier in Willemstad’s Otrabanda neighbourhood.

The project is an initiative of Gold Investmnet Curacao and three local partners, along with hotel and casino developers from the US and Ecuador.

“With the success of the brand across Latin America and the Caribbean, the Courtyard by Marriott brand has become a favorite amongst regional travelers,” said Laurent de Kousemaeker, chief development officer for the Caribbean and Latin America at Marriott International. “The new hotel in Curaçao will be a significant milestone in our rapid expansion across the Caribbean.”

The hotel is part of a wider mixed-use area in development called Mega Pier Plaza.

Development on the Mega Pier and the hotel is slated to begin in the second half of this year.