WILLEMSTAD – The Pyrmont Curaçao Beach Resort, a new 305-room luxury hotel located between Pietermaai and Penstraat, is expected to open later this year as part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The project is now in its final stage of completion.
A ceremony was held Friday in the resort’s new reception area ahead of the opening. The event also highlighted the restoration and repurposing of two historic buildings incorporated into the development.
The resort stretches from the former Cerro Bonito property to the former Kas di Pueblo, previously known as Kas Pyrmont. Cerro Bonito will house a restaurant offering classic cuisine, while Kas di Pueblo is being transformed into a full-service spa. Both facilities will also be accessible to people who are not staying at the hotel.
The Pyrmont will feature 305 rooms, including 36 suites, along with six restaurants and bars, a ballroom, fitness center and a diving and watersports center. Guests will also have access to two swimming pools, a beach and a boardwalk running along the resort.
One of the project's distinctive features is its cooling system. The resort will use seawater-based technology through the Ocean Water Air Conditioning, or OWAC, process to cool its indoor spaces. According to the owner, the technology is expected to reduce energy costs by approximately 75 percent.
The hotel will operate under Marriott International's Autograph Collection, a portfolio of independently designed hotels.
The approaching opening comes amid a wider debate over Curaçao's rapid tourism and real estate development.
On August 16, activist groups Sin Kabes and Curaçao Nature Conservation held a passive demonstration near Botica Juliana concerning development projects across the island. Although the protest was not directed exclusively at The Pyrmont, Penstraat was specifically identified as one of the areas of concern.
The groups argue that some development projects do not sufficiently consider the interests of nearby residents, nature, culture and public accessibility.
The Pyrmont therefore enters Curaçao's tourism market at a time when the island is balancing continued growth in visitor arrivals and hotel investment against increasing questions about land use, infrastructure, environmental protection and the amount of space available for additional large-scale tourism developments.
During Friday's ceremony, General Manager De Bekker presented a cheque for XCG 15,000 to the Curaçao Clean-Up Foundation. The gathering concluded with a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony ahead of the start of hotel operations.
An exact opening date has not yet been announced.