Today's paper brings "official" news of the long rumored establishment of the InterContinental chain in Uruguay. According to the paper, the hotel will set up shop in Avenida del Mar, in the Lobos complex on the Brava side (presumably behind Torre Lobos) at a cost of US$45 million for the hotel part alone, plus an undisclosed amount for the casino facilities.
The casino hotel --of course it's a casino hotel, now that we're decidedly pursuing our vocation of becoming the Vegas of the South-- is expected to have 250 suites and to generate 400 direct jobs, according the report in the press today.
The arrival of another major chain in a way marks the "growing up" of Punta del Este as a destination. Jointly with the Setai, which is more of a boutique offering, the Conrad, and Mantra, we can now say we have at least 3 large five star hotels and a few world-class boutique hotels. Slow going, but we're getting there in terms of tourism infrastructure. If, as a local expat you're wondering "what's in it for me?" I would say, down the line, greater conveniences such as increased flight frequencies at some point, or more and better service offerings year round, etc. It's all a matter of achieving scale in order to make commerce viable year round.
But the best part for Punta del Este in general, beyond the immediate prospect of jobs in building and setting up the thing, may be the fact that we will have help from a chain with the global reach of InterContinental in attracting off-season travelers, whether to the casino or for what will hopefully be a growing convention travel industry. And lastly, no doubt others such as Marriott will decide to take the plunge and follow suit.
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