Caribe Hilton Hotel

Caribe Hilton
Caribe Hilton Hotel as seen from Condado.
Hotel chain	Hilton Hotels & Resorts
General information
Location	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Address	1 San Geronimo Street, San Juan, PR 00901
Opening	December 9, 1949
Management	Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Design and construction
Architect	Toro-Ferrer
Other information
Number of rooms	652 rooms, 264 villas
Website
www.caribehilton.com

The Caribe Hilton, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is one of the best-known hotels in the Caribbean. It was the first facility ever operated by Hilton Hotels outside of the continental United States.

In early 1946, as part of the Puerto Rican industrialization effort known as Operation Bootstrap, the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co. decided to erect a modern luxury hotel. The facility would be owned by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, but leased to the multinational hospitality operator that provided the better bid. The hotel would have 300 bedrooms, the necessary ancillary facilities, and be located adjacent to Fort San Jerónimo in Puerta de Tierra.

A competition was held to select the design, with three architectural firms in Puerto Rico invited: Schimmelpfennig, Ruiz y González; The Office of Henry Klumb; and Toro Ferrer y Torregrosa. Two additional firms from Florida were also invited to participate: Frederick G. Seelman from Palm Beach and Robert Swartburg from Miami. These two firms submitted Spanish Renaissance-style designs, while the three Puerto Rican firms presented modern designs inspired by the International style. The final design chosen was by Toro-Ferrer, who also designed the Modern Movement-style Supreme Court Building in San Juan.

To operate the hotel, the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co. invited seven leading American hotel firms. Conrad Hilton, being from New Mexico, opened his letter back with "Mi estimado amigo" and won over the Puerto Ricans.

The hotel opened on December 9, 1949. It was Hilton's first hotel outside the continental United States and made Hilton the first international hotel company. The government-backed Puerto Rico Industrial Development Corp. (PRIDCO) spent $7 million to build and furnish the hotel. After it was built, the government leased the hotel to the Hilton Corp. on a 20-year lease. The hotel was the first in Puerto Rico to offer radios in every room and individually controlled air conditioners.