Cerro Verde Mountain Hotel

To analyze the technical, environmental, legal, economic and market feasibility of this historic tourist lodging establishment in El Salvador.

The project was commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism in El Salvador and the Salvadoran Tourism Corporation CORSATUR, in an international bidding process, and was executed in the first seven months of 2013.

The property is located on a 4.4 hectare plot of land within Los Volcanes National Park, part of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec UNESCO Biosphere Reserve 2007, in the Department of Santa Ana.

The hotel was inaugurated in 1957, based on the architectural designs of René Suarez and Francisco Morales. As a result of the country’s internal problems and management difficulties, the establishment ceased operations in 1997, and its structure was damaged in the 2001 earthquake.

Together with the Pax# team, the physical diagnosis, socioeconomic and tourism studies were carried out; as well as a market study, a conceptual architectural design, a legal study, an environmental and economic impact study, an economic and financial analysis, and an investment promotion study.

For the architectural design of the new hotel, which included an increase in the number of rooms, the architectural firm CC245, led by Sandra Rodà and Jordi Blanch, collaborated in the project.

A multidisciplinary team of almost 20 people was assembled to carry out the work. The challenges of the project were diverse, varied and far-reaching; from studying the structure of the building itself and the dynamics of the land, the availability of water and basic supplies, the new architectural design, to promoting the best legal framework for the project to materialize, the keys to the market and achieving the necessary profitability of the investment in the facility. In addition to this, there was the sizing of the staff, the complementary services, the investment in accesses and the area of influence; and in short, to rehabilitate a very singular asset for the country, and to provide it with an infrastructure and attractiveness for a new stage and path.

The realization of the different studies and activities allowed us to lay solid foundations to recover the assets in the best way, quantify investments, guide architectural actions and heritage recovery interventions, while having the first professional work experience in El Salvador, and discovering a country rich in nuances, hospitality, friendship and a high potential for the development of sustainable tourism, aligned with the welfare of its population.