Estefan’s hotel to open with little fanfare

Singer-celebrity Gloria Estefan’s sleek Costa d-Este Beach Resort is to open to guests about June 16 — but without fanfare, hotel officials said.

In the next few days the county Building Department expects to clear the way for the opening by approving that the newly-constructed hotel is structurally ready for use, department Operations Coordinator Kery Jones said Wednesday.

“We look forward to its opening,” he said. “We need more hotels.”

However, it could be late September or early October before there is an official grand opening of the $50 million, five-story beach-front facility.

Some people have already reserved rooms that have an introductory rate of $189. Rates will rise to $249 beginning Oct. 1 through Dec. 19. The resort has 90 guest rooms, four suites and a large spa.

Rooms feature marble floors, teak headboards and even iPod docking stations, along with wireless internet access.

Details are still being worked out for the opening of the resort’s 85-seat restaurant Oriente that will be under the management of Cuban-American chef David Rodriguez.

The Ocean Drive hotel is built around the core of a five-story hotel purchased for $12.5 million after it was heavily damaged by hurricanes in 2004. The overall architecture was changed, creating a modernist style unique to the hotel.

The showers are round and made of limestone. Large circular opening, of random sizes, punctuate the building’s stark exterior.

Estefan co-owns the 2.4-acre hotel with her husband, Emilio Estefan. They have a home in the Vero Beach area. Benchmark Hospitality International is managing the resort that will employ 70 people.

Costa d-Este Beach Resort will have “keen style and multi-cultural sophistication,” according to the resort’s publicist. Service will be “discreetly attentive.”

Source:tcpalm.com (Thanks to Jos for this information!)

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