Artist's rendering of the San Juan Intercontinental, 1958
The San Juan Intercontinental opened on February 1, 1958, operated by the Intercontinental Hotels division of Pan Am.[2] It was constructed at a cost of $7.5 million by the San Juan Hotel Corporation and was designed by Miami-based architect Roy F. France, with G. Fernos Lopez serving as the San Juan-based consulting architect.[3] The 16-acre resort had 320 rooms and boasted the largest convention hall in Latin America. The hotel's Tropicoro nightclub and adjoining casino were designed by Cuban architect Max Borges Jr., in a style similar to his earlier Tropicana Club in Havana.[4]
The hotel left the Intercontinental chain in 1961 and became the El San Juan Hotel.
In 1998 the Banyan Tree, the 300-year-old centerpiece of the hotel, was heavily damaged by Hurricane George. A tree surgeon from Florida had to be flown in to save it.
In 2009, the El San Juan joined The Waldorf-Astoria Collection division of Hilton Worldwide and was renamed El San Juan Hotel & Casino, The Waldorf Astoria Collection.[6] In 2011, it was transferred to the Hilton Hotels brand and was renamed El San Juan Resort & Casino, a Hilton Hotel.[7]
In 2015, a Miami-based private equity firm called León, Mayer & Co., later known as Liongrove,[8] purchased the hotel. The hotel closed in August 2016 for a $60 million renovation designed by Jeffrey Beers International.[9][10] It reopened on February 5, 2017,[11] as part of Hilton's Curio Collection division, renamed El San Juan Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton.[12]
Just months later, the hotel was hit back-to-back by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, which flooded much of the hotel. This led to another $65 million renovation.[13] The hotel reopened in December 2018.[14] The hotel left Hilton on January 2, 2020 and joined Accor's Fairmont Hotels division [15]as the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel.[16]
The hotel's thirteen one-story Banyan Villas, named for the iconic Banyan Tree and also designed by Jeffrey Beers International, were completed in 2022.[17][18]
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