.

ISLA VERDE, Puerto Rico (August 26, 2009) – Effective December 4, the Holiday Inn San Juan will officially become the new Verdanza Hotel, a member of the Summit Hotels & Resorts collection of Preferred Hotel Group.  With its launch, Verdanza Hotel will become the only independent full-service hotel in the San Juan Metropolitan area of Puerto Rico.  Based on the insight from leisure and business guests, repeat business clients, and other stakeholders, Verdanza has been conceived as an independent hotel that reflects the personality of its location and aims to be the hotel of choice for travelers who want to feel the San Juan ‘vibe.’  “The Verdanza guest will be one who wants to sense the pulse of San Juan, experience a feeling of belonging,” said Ricky Newman, general manager.   Located steps from the beach in the Isla Verde tourism district, the property has 222 rooms with 20 suites, three restaurants, a pastry shop, and more than 15,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.  In addition, it features an expansive pool area with Jacuzzi, spray park, and massage gazebo; complimentary WIFI in public areas; and a rooftop fitness center with professional training equipment and panoramic views of Isla Verde, among other facilities and services.  In harmony with the aesthetic of the rebranded Verdanza Hotel, new décor and furnishings in organic colors and simple lines will create a fresh and casual urban-inspired atmosphere in public areas and guestrooms. A team of seasoned staff to serve guests will complete the Verdanza Hotel concept. “The Verdanza team - at all levels - will be responsible for conveying the vibe of San Juan, the feeling of belonging and being ‘in the know’,” added Newman.   The individualized design and service philosophy of the new Verdanza Hotel has earned it acceptance to Summit Hotels & Resorts, a collection of more than 150 independent properties worldwide.  Like Verdanza Hotel, each property in the Summit collection, from historic urban hotels to beach resorts, articulates a genuine sense of its location. The creative direction of the new brand was led by Peter Yesawich, considered the guru of consumer travel trends and president of Ypartnership, is a worldwide advertising and public relations agency that specializes in serving travel, leisure and entertainment-industry clients and is co-author of the widely acclaimed National Travel MONITORSM with Yankelovich, Inc. Meanwhile, the interior design firm Lynn Wilson & Associates was commissioned to implement the visual brand identity of the hotel.  Coral Gables-based Lynn Wilson & Associates was responsible for the transformation of the property when it opened as Holiday Inn San Juan in 2004.  With a 35-year strong trajectory designing interior concepts for the hospitality industry, its portfolio of commissions boasts a diverse range of projects in five continents, including Windlesham Moor, property of HRH Queen Elizabeth of England; Biltmore Hotel in Boca Raton, Florida; Al Jazira Resort in Abu Dhabi; and the legendary Taj Mahal in la India.   The mid-century modern construction first opened in 1962 as The Racquet Club and later became known as the Carib-Inn Hotel until its closure in the late 1990’s.  Flagship Services Corporation bought the property and invested over $16 million to renovate it.  In 2004, Flagship Services Corporation redefined the concept of the affordable hotel in Puerto Rico with the opening of Holiday Inn San Juan in Isla Verde, which has stood ever since in a class of its own that exceeds the standards of a traditional three-star property affiliated to a chain.