After months of construction at Hacienda Pinilla Beach Resort in the northwest province of Guanacaste, Hacienda Pinilla owner H.G. Pattillo joined President Oscar Arias, Grupo Poma President and CEO Ricardo Poma, and Marriott’s President and Managing Director of International Lodging Edwin D. Fuller on Feb. 4 to cut the ribbon of the new J.W. Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa. The new hotel is the 40th J.W. Marriott property worldwide. Grupo Poma’s Real Hotels & Resorts Division will operate the Hotel under a franchise agreement with Marriott.
Over 100 guests, including U.S. Ambassador Peter Cianchette, attended the opening of the 310-room facility, which includes 20 junior suites, a presidential suite, a 25,000-square foot pool, a state-of-the-art spa, four restaurants, two bars and executive meeting rooms.
At a reception prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, President Arias pointed out how the J.W. Marriott Corporation has weathered the economic crisis. He said that the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel San José and J.W. Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa are symbols of progress. “Today that progress is threatened. The international crisis that currently strikes all the countries of the world, has also struck a little in Costa Rica,” Arias said. “We can move forward if we act with faith and hope.”
“Costa Rica is a small country, but it has the right to dream big, the same right that John Williard Marriott had more than 80 years ago,” he added.
–Ellen Zoe Golden
