Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has been tapped to manage a new urban resort currently under development in Viña del Mar, Chile.
Mandarin Oriental, Viña del Mar is slated to open in 2020 with 195 guestrooms and suites close to the Hotel Santiago, which Mandarin Oriental also manages. The company plans to rebrand the Hotel Santiago as the Mandarin Oriental, Santiago once the first phase of the renovations is complete in August 2018.
The hotel group became the Hotel Santiago’s manager in May 2017, marking its foray into the South American market. The property, which has 310 guestrooms and 123 suites, originally operated under the Grand Hyatt brand. Much of the renovations will be done on the guestrooms and public areas.
The project developer—HRV S.A., a HCC S.A. subsidiary—will develop the oceanfront hotel near the city's main shopping district. HCC S.A. is the owner of Hotel Santiago. The hotels are both in central Chile's Pacific coast in the Valparaiso region. They are close to the Viña del Mar's historic quarter, the Casablanca Valley vineyards, parks, beaches, and entertainment venues.
The new property will expand Mandarin Oriental's portfolio of 31 hotels and eight residences. The group’s existing London property is also currently under a renovation that began in November 2017. The second phase of updates are slated to be complete in the third quarter of 2018, like the Hotel Santiago. All guestrooms and suites are being renovated while two new penthouse suites will be added. A total of 95 new guestrooms and suites were added to the property during the first phase of the renovation. The entrance, main lobby, reception lounge and building’s façade were all updated and redesigned.