Re-construction
In 1979, the mayor of Ponce José G. Tormos Vega announced that the hotel would reopen under new owners for the 1979 Pan American Games, which was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, the hotel didn’t reopen and in 1981, a group of Puerto Rican and American investors were reportedly looking into purchasing the property. No other developments were subsequently reported.[40]
In 1985, and under Government of Puerto Rico guidelines, Puerto Rico's Compañia de Fomento Industrial ("PRIDCO") decided to buy the structure on 7 November 1985, with the goal of remodeling it, expanding its facilities, and providing the city of Ponce with world-class accommodations. PRIDCO commissioned the architectural firm of Pablo Quinones & Associates to initiate investigations and studies on the condition of the main structure with the intention of upgrading it to modern codes. The design team generated its recommendations, which were delivered to the PRIDCO. Simultaneously, the team traveled to New York City in 1985-86, where it located the original plans at the offices of William B. Tabler. As a design strategy for its architectural features, they decided to remodel the essence of its main structure and proposed an enlargement to accommodate a modern convention center within the premises.[41]
On 7 October 1985, as a result of the landslide in Mameyes, the hotel was used as temporary accommodation for people affected by the floods. As the time of the relocation of the affected tenants became longer than anticipated, plans to enlarge and re-model the hotel were abandoned.[42]
In 1999, George Philip Rivera, a local businessman and entrepreneur, became interested in buying and in remodeling property, and have it operate as El Vigía Hotel & Casino. He envisioned the construction of villas, a multilevel parking garage and banquet facilities.[43] However, by 2001 the sale had fallen through and PRIDCO put the property for sale again. CBC Development won the auction for the property and planned to demolish the structure and build a 365-unit walk-up apartment complex.[44]
In 2006, PRIDCO sold the property to CBC Development, however, CBC changed the plans. It then planned to remodel the hotel, build an 80-room condo hotel, a 15,200 ft. square convention center, and 80 villas. The project was named Vista Magna Hotel & Resort. Two years later, however, in 2008, due to the estructural damage deemed too extensive, CBC decided it would instead demolish the structure and build a new hotel having some elements of the nostalgic original building.[45] In any event, neither repairs nor demolition took place and, in 2012, CBC Development along with the Integrated Development Commission of the South Region from the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico began considering the possibility to rehabilitate the structure to operate as a senior citizen housing complex. The plan called for 126 senior housing units.[46]
By 2016, however, a new player surfaced. Juan Jose Acosta won approval to convert the building into a housing complex for homeless youth members of the LGBT community.[47]
In 2018, Grupo Misla Villalba, owners of Hotel Meliá, bought the property from CBC with plans to rehabilitate the structure as a hotel.[48]
On 28 July 2020, Misla Hospitality Group announced that the structure will be rehabilitated to convert it into the Puerto Rico's first Tribute Portfolio by Marriott International. The hotel was preliminarily expected to open in March 2022 after an investment of $20 million. It would be the second under the Marriott flag in Ponce, after the Aloft hotel located on the Ponce Bypass and PR-12.[49]
On March 26, 2025, the Misla Hospitality Group announced they received the financial backing for hotel's reconstruction. The hotel is currently (May 2025) scheduled to reopen by December 2026 after a $35 million investment, and will operate under the name "The Continental". It will feature 168 rooms in the 1960-built structure, 32 swim-out suites, 20 villas, convention center, as well as common areas.[50][51] The groundbreaking for the reconstruction was taken place in May 9, 2025.[52]
