The Condado Vanderbilt Hotel is a historic
luxury hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
built in 1919 and located on Ashford Avenue in the district of
Condado in
San Juan, capital city of the U.S. territory of
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2008.
[ The hotel was designed by the architectural firm ]Warren and Wetmore
Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City which was a partnership between Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles Delevan Wetmore (June 10, 1866 – May 8, 1941), that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and w ...
, who also designed New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
's Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
. It was built by the Vanderbilt family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...
and it marked the beginning of high end tourism in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
.[Flores, Ronald. "New Hotels on the Horizon". (February/March 2009) ''¡Qué Pasa!''. ]Puerto Rico Tourism Company
The Puerto Rico Tourism Company ( es, Compañía de Turismo de Puerto Rico, or simply ''Turismo'') is the government-owned corporation in charge of tourism matters and regulations in Puerto Rico. The company was created during Governor Luis A. F ...
.
History
Early Years
Construction of the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel began in 1917 by Frederick William Vanderbilt
Frederick William Vanderbilt (February 2, 1856 – June 29, 1938) was a member of the American Vanderbilt family. He was a director of the New York Central Railroad for 61 years, and also a director of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad and o ...
, the son of William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbi ...
. He selected the prominent architectural firm of Warren and Whitmore—which designed New York City's Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
, as well as the Biltmore, Commodore, and Ambassador Hotels—to design the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. On 16 October 1919, the hotel, having cost a million dollars to construct, was inaugurated. It was suggested that the early Spanish Revival style architecture be used by Fredrick Vanderbilt. Capitalizing on the property's setting adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, the designers created a Beaux Arts-style structure with white walls, red tiles, French windows, lofty ceilings and other design details typical of the style at the time. The original roofing featured antique Spanish tiles sourced from Puerto Rico's older Spanish buildings. The floors and the public areas including the main staircase were decorated with marble and mosaics and the area between the ocean and the hotel building was developed to help the building withstand damage from the Atlantic coast. The hotel also featured a flagstone
Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other con ...
paved terrace. Giant pandanus, several kinds of bougainvillea
''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...
, fruit trees and coconut palms
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...
could also be found in the hotel's gardens.
The Condado Vanderbilt was the first luxury hotel to open in Puerto Rico and was also the first hotel in Puerto Rico to have a casino after gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
was legalized in 1940. Among the famous guests to have stayed at the Condado Vanderbilt are the former Presidents of the United States
The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
and Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and Roosevelt's wife Eleanor
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introd ...
, the American aviator Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
, composer José Luis Moneró
José Luis Moneró (April 6, 1921 in Juncos, Puerto Rico – February 15, 2011) was a Puerto Rican musician and bandleader.
Music career
Moneró first sang at the Tapia Theater at age 17. He then went on to Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. And thereafter ...
, singer-songwriter Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...
, Hollywood actor Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...
, comedian Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
, and pianist Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. .[ Activities that were available included American golf, tennis and motoring among other things. These were advertised in various American newspapers during the 1920s.
]
Expansion
Manuel Gonzalez bought the hotel from the Vanderbilts during The Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
in 1930, and changed its name to the Condado Hotel. In the 1940s, the hotel's East Wing was built, a five-story L-shaped addition on the hotel's east side, containing additional guest rooms and public areas.[ In the 1950s, after a series of changes in ownership, the name was changed to the Condado Beach Hotel.] In 1962, another addition was built on the other side of the hotel, the West Wing, a nine-story concrete structure containing 156 air-conditioned guest rooms, all facing the sea.[
]
Difficult Years
In the early 1970s, with the hotel threatened with demolition, governor Luis A. Ferré
Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo (February 17, 1904 October 20, 2003) was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the governor of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973. He was the founder of the ...
issued an executive order, declaring the structure a cultural heritage site.[ In 1973, the Condado Beach Hotel was united with the adjacent La Concha Hotel into one resort, known as the Hyatt Puerto Rico.] The 1940s East Wing of the Condado Beach Hotel was demolished in 1975 and a huge convention wing was built in its place, joining the Condado Beach and La Concha Hotels into one physical complex. In 1976, with construction complete, management of the complex was taken over by Hilton International[ and it was renamed the Condado Beach La Concha Convention Center. Management later transferred to ]Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel (ship), funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue colo ...
, which renamed the resort The Condado Beach Trio. The La Concha Hotel wing closed in 1995 and the state-owned hotel was known in its final years as The Condado Beach Hotel & Casino, before the entire complex closed on June 30, 1997, as it was losing $7 million a year. The properties sat vacant for many years, and the La Concha and Condado Beach Hotels were finally severed in 2004. The convention center that joined them was demolished to build a public park.
Restoration
In 1997, the administration of Pedro Rosselló
Pedro Juan Rosselló González, (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, a ...
proposed that the Condado area be redeveloped. Brian McLaughlin suggested renovating and expanding the hotel, but then-San Juan mayor Sila M. Calderon challenged the proposal in court. This led to the hotel being abandoned until 2002 when she finally agreed. Having been abandoned for seven years, the hotel's renovation was finally undertaken at a cost of US$270 million in 2003. The goal was to transform it into a five-star hotel with resemblance to the original 1919 structure. The 1962 West Wing was demolished in 2003, in preparation for this work. The remaining original 1919 central hotel structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2008.[
On 16 October 2012, after ten years and 53,441 hours of renovations, two years longer than originally planned, a part of the renovated hotel comprising several new banquet halls, bars and restaurants was finally opened for business. On December 1, 2014, the newly built 11-story twin towers on either side of the central structure were opened.] The renovated rooms are 17 feet wide with high ceilings. The bathrooms have double sinks and both a shower and tub. The original staircases, however, remain in place. The remodeling was handled by a team led by Hugh Andrews and Jorge Rossello.
Among the newly built restaurants, "1919", "Tacos & Tequila by Patron", "Veritas", "Marabar" and "Avo Lounge"; "1919" has been credited as "Puerto Rico's finest restaurant" by Turismo, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.
In Popular culture
The hotel was one of the main filming locations of the 1976 teen comedy musical, La Pandilla en Apuros
La Pandilla en Apuros ("La Pandilla is in Trouble") is a 1976 musical teen-comedy film featuring the well known teenage musical group from Spain, La Pandilla.
The film, which was produced by Alfred D. Herger, was recorded at the Condado Beach ...
.
Gallery
Vanderbilt Hotel, Condado, Puerto Rico.jpg, Vanderbilt Hotel, circa 1925
Condado-Beach-Hotel.jpg, Hotel Condado, 1932
Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, Under construction, 2006.jpg, The Condado Vanderbilt Hotel under reconstruction in 2006
See also
*Tourism in the United States
In the United States, tourism is a large industry that serves millions of international and domestic tourists yearly. Foreigners visit the U.S. to see natural wonders, cities, historic landmarks, and entertainment venues. Americans seek simil ...
*Tourism in Puerto Rico
Tourism in Puerto Rico attracted 3.7 million visitors in 2019 and 1.0 million visitors in 2015, a notable increase from the average of 2010–2014 at 3.1 million. Tourism has been a very important source of revenue for Puerto Rico for a number of ...
*List of hotels in Puerto Rico
This is a list of notable hotels in Puerto Rico.
Hotels in Puerto Rico
* Hacienda El Jibarito
* Hacienda Gripiñas
* Hacienda Juanita
* Mayagüez Resort & Casino
Ponce
* The Fox Hotel
* Hotel Meliá
* Hotel Ponce Intercontinental
* Ponc ...
*
Notes
References
External links
Official website
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*
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{{Authority control
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico
Condado (Santurce)
Historic Hotels of America
Hotel buildings completed in 1919
Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places
Hotels established in 1919
Hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico
National Register of Historic Places in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Warren and Wetmore buildings