By Alexander Britell
The grande dame of Puerto Rico’s resorts is set for a highly-anticipated reopening.
Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, long the island’s halo hotel, is officially reopening its doors at the beginning of next month.
The ultra-luxe retreat, the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the Western Hemisphere, is planning its post-Hurricane Maria relaunch on Oct. 1.
The 110-room property is already accepting reservations beginning that date, Caribbean Journal confirmed.
When it reopens it will instantly take back its mantle as the island’s most luxurious hotel, crucial for the luxury travelers Puerto Rico is increasingly looking to attract.
October will not just be a reopening, but a relaunch, with new design touches, a new color palette, the addition of more than 300,000 new flora and fauna and the complete modernization of the property’s Su Casa five-bedroom villa.
Other changes include a new menu at the family-friendly Encanto Beach Club Bar and Grill; a new Omakase and Ceviche Bar; and a fully revitalized Spa Botanico, the hotel’s signature spa and wellness center. (The property’s impressive golf course collection is already back open).
The property’s signature restaurant and bar will have a new concept that will debut in mid-November, however.
“[The reopening] marks an exciting next chapter in the legendary history of our [hotel]. I am extraordinarily proud of our Ladies and Gentlemen, who have lovingly restored our treasured property with the same heartfelt care they show our guests,” said George Sotelo, General Manager at Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, in a statement. “We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back to Dorado Beach as well as introducing the Reserve to a whole new set of guests experiencing the property for the first time.”
It’s the latest chapter in Puerto Rico’s recovery, one which has gone largely under the radar.
Indeed, the vast majority of the island’s airlift has returned, and most of its top hotels are already back open.
Ritz-Carlton’s other Puerto Rico property, the Ritz-Carlton San Juan, remains shuttered in the wake of last year’s storms.
No opening date has been released by parent company Marriott.