Hilton's Costa Rica Hotels Blend Nature, Fresh Ideas

With Costa Rica gaining recognition as a first-class vacation destination, Hilton Hotels Corp. saw 2008 as just the right time to enter the market. “Airlift is improving, the free trade agreement with the United States has been signed, and the Costa Rican government is very committed to developing tourism in a responsible manner,” says Danny Hughes, Hilton's area vice president for the Caribbean and Central American regions, and Cancun. Working closely with the Caribbean Property Group, and noted Costa Rica

By Monica Rogers, contributing editor -- Hotels, 2/1/2008 3:31:00 PM

With Costa Rica gaining recognition as a first-class vacation destination, Hilton Hotels Corp. saw 2008 as just the right time to enter the market. “Airlift is improving, the free trade agreement with the United States has been signed, and the Costa Rican government is very committed to developing tourism in a responsible manner,” says Danny Hughes, Hilton's area vice president for the Caribbean and Central American regions, and Cancun. Working closely with the Caribbean Property Group, and noted Costa Rican designer Miloika Penon of Fusion Interior Design, Hilton spent much of 2007 transforming two first-class Costa Rican properties—the former Fiesta Resort in Puntarenas and the former Premier Fiesta Resort and Spa at Papagayo—into the Doubletree Resort by Hilton Puntarenas and the Hilton Papagayo Resort, which opened in January. Both the centrally located Doubletree Resort by Hilton Puntarenas and the bayside Hilton Papagayo resort were redesigned to reflect the natural beauty of each Costa Rican region. Each features multiple pools, dining venues and tennis courts. Papagayo also has a completely renovated and expanded spa. At the 410-room Doubletree Resort by Hilton Puntarenas, designer Penon used the town's heritage as a fishing port as inspiration to design with bright colors, and straight simple lines in furniture and fabrics. And at the Hilton Papagayo, which includes 202 rooms and has 71 bungalows, Penon imbued the property with a sense of spaciousness and respect for the surrounding environment. Hotel buildings naturally nestle into the mountains and flow to the sea. Discussing her work at Puntarenas, Penon says she designed new main entrance elements to enhance guests’ sense of arrival at the resort. Penon added a port cochere, inspired by the palapas (straw roofs) used in some of the other buildings. Large wooden posts lit from underneath highlight the woven straw ceiling. A large fountain with stone wall adds movement and sound. Inside, Penon opened up the space and installed large murals—one behind the reception desk and one behind the bar—as focal points. Large hanging light fixtures fashioned from pergamino (raw leather) bring movement and soft, ambient light to the space. Bamboo accents at the reception desk add more natural context. Looking at Puntarena's guestrooms, furniture was redesigned. High headboards done in natural woods and brightly colored fabrics add importance to the small rooms. Maximizing space in the bathrooms, Penon designed small counters for towels and switched to large, light-colored tiles for walls and floor. Photographs of leaves by a local artist add another natural accent to guestroom walls. Penon continued the leaf motif in the design of the property's Italian restaurant, executed with leaf-like light fixtures, leaf-image photography and a palette of green hues. Also new at Puntarenas: the seafood restaurant was remodeled to include a contemporary sea motif articulated with a blue and white mosaic, new upholstery, and a new receiving and waiting area. Making a bigger entry statement at Papagayo, the lobby is now housed in a completely new building and incorporates local guanacaste woods and local stones to enhance the sense of place. Oriented to give views to the Bay of Papagayo, the lobby includes three seating areas featuring brightly colored hand-painted fabrics and a coffee table handcrafted from one, large piece of guanacaste wood. The adjacent outdoor bar seating area is enhanced with large teak lounge chairs and tables, and locally handmade accessories such as bejuco balls and antique metal bases. Completely reworking the spa, Hilton remodeled the first floor, added a second story and fitness center. Staying consistent with the natural elements theme here, Penon chose sugarcane as the primary spa design motif. Antique sugar cane molds function as art pieces on the main walls, fabrics were chosen in a range of hues that match sugar cane's seasonal color shifts, and furniture was crafted of local woods. Wanting to adapt and reuse locally sourced and handcrafted wood furniture inherited from the original properties, Penon chose the preservation route. She repurposed original furniture in guest rooms and bungalows as her “base” as she redesigned up to Hilton standards. Says Penon, “We unified all different woods to one solid-chocolate color scheme,” balancing things out with both bright, and neutral colors. Freshening the look, Penon included accent pieces from local artisans. Side tables, for example, are of local fiber, and slabs topping main TV consoles, are of local stone. Bathrooms include new vanities and light fixtures. And flooring and tiles were redone in a larger scale and lighter colors. Revising the fine dining venue at Papagayo, Penon chose the local “Dorado” fish as the design motif. Green slipcovers give new life to existing chairs. Light fixtures in bright colors were added to the high-ceilinged space, and brick walls were accented with a contemporary work by local artist Alejandro Villalobos. Ensuring that each redesigned property would retain a sense of history, while becoming something fresh, Penon says her main objective “was to blend in with nature—not to impose.” This idea extended to the uniforms at Papagayo, designed by Costa Rica-based international fashion designer Sonia Chang, and exclusive to the property. Based on motifs native to Costa Ricans of the Guanacaste region, Chang combined modern elegance, with local ambience and Costa Rican flair in the garments. Fabrics are mainly a mix of cotton, linen and synthetic fibers in a variety of colors: white, beige, terra cotta, light green, black, and coffee. Bringing both properties up to Hilton brand standards also meant implementing everything from new bedding (Hilton Serenity collection; Doubletree Sweet Dreams bedding) to MP3 alarm clock radios and other amenities. Overall, Hilton's Hughes says challenges that came with doing a renovation in Costa Rica were well worth the effort. “When you build in Costa Rica, you really have to jump through a lot of hoops and demonstrate that what you are doing fits in with the ecological protectionism that exists here,” says Hughes. “It makes construction a bit more challenging, but is absolutely the right thing to do and completely well worth it in the end.” Positioning the freshened resorts, Hughes said Hilton sees a “tremendous opportunity to fill the gap between the predominantly all-inclusive market that currently exists in the region and the very expensive alternative.” Rates at the Doubletree Resort by Hilton Puntarenas start at $199 while double-occupancy rates at the Hilton Papagayo Resort start at $499. Hilton's primary target market for Hilton Papagayo? The North American traveler. And at Puntarenas, Hughes says Hilton is keen to nurture the local clientele that has historically favored this property, but is also targeting the international arena. “There is tremendous potential for growth from the international markets not only looking for an all-inclusive accommodation option, but also one that offers easy access to an array of Costa Rica's unique experiences tours, and excursions,” Hughes concludes.