Hospitality Design - August 2013 - 96

2
3

Some 50 years ago, Laurance S. Rockefeller created the
Caribbean’s first luxury eco-resort on Puerto Rico’s Dorado Beach,
set on a former plantation amid acres of lush vegetation and a
pristine stretch of golden sand beaches. Now the RockResort-turnedHyatt has a new life as a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, the brand’s second
outpost and the first in the western hemisphere.
Instead of going with a more traditional Caribbean look, the
design team—SB Architects and Wilson Associates—opted for
a mid-century modern interpretation that’s rooted in the history
of the seaside development and Puerto Rico. “It’s more forward
thinking, in line with Rockefeller’s original vision,” explains Scott
Lee, president and principal of San Francisco- and Miami-based SB
Architects, who assumed leadership after the unexpected passing of
SB principal Joseph Andriola partway through the project.
Using some of the footprints of the original hotel (thereby
grandfathering its close proximity to the beach and giving
guests uninterrupted views of the sea) the “uncomplicated” yet
architecturally stunning structures with uplifted butterfly roofs

096

August 2013 hospitalitydesign.com

2. Stone, wood, and
a play on shade and
shadow create an
understated elegance
in the lobby.

3. The porte cochère,
where a large Taíno
pattern covers the floor,
naturally lit from above
by a ceiling oculus.

4. Thanks to a long
floorplan, sculptural
wood headboards slide
open to give guests a
view from the bathroom
through the luxurious
guestroom to the ocean.

(which take cues from Rockefeller’s architecture) are low in scale.
The Dorado Beach private resort community is known for its “parklike atmosphere, the connectivity of pathways, so we wanted to
extend that idea and respect the vegetation, keeping the buildings
below the mature palm tree canopy,” Lee explains, noting that the
entire hotel was built to LEED Silver standards.
Uncomplicated also translates to a simple, sophisticated, yet
textural material palette—native stone, wood, integrally colored
cement plaster, bronze, glass—a neutral color scheme, and
clean, horizontal lines. The architects let the materials speak for
themselves: for instance, contrasting slatted wood ceilings against
horizontally stacked stone meant to emulate striated rocks found
on the beach, insetting cement plaster columns with bronze panels
featuring a coral-inspired pattern, and creating a subtle play of shade
and shadow thanks to various trellises, louvers, and screens.
The understated drama is best captured at the entrance. “Arriving
at the porte cochère, you’re not looking at the view,” Lee explains.
“As you meander up some stairs, a symmetrical framed view unfolds.
We lifted the arrival buildings up so your view is across the pool,
stepping down to the beach and the water.” Walkways connecting the
public spaces are raised as well (more than six feet), to not only help
in the preservation of the vegetation, but to also make guests feel as
though they are meandering through the treetops.
An expert blend of the indoors and outdoors continues in the
115 beachfront guestrooms, where sliding pocket doors disappear
to terraces, a sculptural wood headboard glides open so guests can
take in ocean views across the room from the bathroom and outdoor
shower garden, and exterior stonework crawls inside and up the
walls. “As there’s such a richness, energy, and color coming in from
the ocean, we could simplify the interiors,” says Michael Crosby,

http://www.hospitalitydesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - August 2013