The Caribe Hilton is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and is owned by Park Hotels & Resorts and managed by Hilton Worldwide.
History
In early 1946, as part of the Puerto Rican industrialization effort known as Operation Bootstrap, the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Corporation decided to erect a modern luxury hotel. The facility would be owned by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, but leased to the multinational hospitality operator that provided the best price offer. The hotel would have 300 bedrooms and the necessary ancillary facilities, and be located adjacent to Fortín de San Gerónimo in Puerta de Tierra.
A competition was held to select the design, with three architectural firms in Puerto Rico invited: Schimmelpfennig, the office of Henry Klumb, and Toro Ferrer. Two additional firms from Florida were also invited to participate: Frederick G. Seelman from Palm Beach and Robert Swartburg from Miami. These two firms submitted Spanish Renaissance-style designs, while the three Puerto Rican firms presented modern designs inspired by the International style. The final design chosen was by Toro Ferrer, who also designed the Modern Movement-style Supreme Court Building in San Juan.[1]