The Ponce Plaza Hotel & Casino, formerly Ponce Ramada Hotel and Ponce Plaza Ramada Hotel, is a five-story hotel in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The hotel opened in the summer of 2009 and is known for the historic value of its structure: its main entrance is a historic colonial structure known as "Casa Saurí" (Saurí House). In February 2013, the hotel expanded its facilities to include a casino, a cocktail lounge, and a 4-story, 200-car parking garage.Estrenan expansión en Ramada Ponce. Reinaldo Millán. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 27 February 2013. Year 31. Issue 1526. Page 4. Retrieved 27 February 2013. On 1 July 2014, the owners left the Ramada namesake franchise and renamed the hotel Ponce Plaza Hotel & Casino.Apuestan a bandera hotelera ponceña. Reinaldo Millán and Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.

Location and features The hotel is located in the Ponce Historic Zone. It has two major buildings. The first building, facing Plaza Muñoz Rivera, is the historic Casa Saurí structure and houses six colonial-style rooms, as well as the hotel's Lola Eclectic Cuisine restaurant. The rear building, located on the southeast corner of Calle Reina and Calle Mendez Vigo, is a modern four-story structure housing 64 additional guest rooms, as well as an indoor parking garage on the first floor and a fitness center on the fourth floor.Concluyen tres años de espera: Abre sus puertas el Ramada Ponce Plaza. Carmen Cila Rodríguez. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 27, Issue 1335. 1 July 2009. Page 7. Retrieved 19 December 2011.Hotel Ponce Plaza. Bonnin Orozco Arquitectos. 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011. There is also an outdoor swimming pool.

Design The hotel was designed in 2006-2009 by architects Fernando Bonnín and Javier Bonnín of Ponce, Puerto Rico.Concluyen tres años de espera: Abre sus puertas el Ramada Ponce Plaza. Carmen Cila Rodríguez. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 27, Issue 1335. 1 July 2009. Page 7. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

History The historic 1882 Casa Saurí-RubertHotel Ponce Plaza. Bonnin Orozco Arquitectos. 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011. was meticulously rebuilt to accommodate the hotel."Ponce recalls 19th century colonialism in Puerto Rico. Suzanne Van Atten. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Oct. 20, 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013. On the first floor of this Casa Saurí building the hotel now houses its front desk, lobby, conference room/breakfast room, and restaurant. The second floor accommodates six colonial-style guest rooms. These six rooms are all designed to follow 19th century historic themes. The hotel was built with incentives under Law 212 of the Commonwealth.Concluyen tres años de espera: Abre sus puertas el Ramada Ponce Plaza. Carmen Cila Rodríguez. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 27, Issue 1335. 1 July 2009. Page 7. Retrieved 19 December 2011. Félix Sauri y Vivas was a Ponce businessman and hacienda holderSAURI v. SAURI. 45 F.2d 90 (1930). SAURI v. SAURI et al. No. 2440. Circuit Court of Appeals, First Circuit. November 26, 1930. Retrieved 19 December 2011. and mayor of Ponce in 1895.Ponce: Mayors. Encyclopedia Puerto Rico. Fundación Puertoriqueña de las Humanidades. 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011. Casa Sauri is said to be the third oldest residence still standing in Ponce.Abre hotel Ramada en Ponce con inversión local. NotiUno. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

Re-construction Munoz Holdings invested $15 million in the restoration and development of the original Casa Sauri property and development of the hotel's modern 5-story tower.Concluyen tres años de espera: Abre sus puertas el Ramada Ponce Plaza. Carmen Cila Rodríguez. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 27, Issue 1335. 1 July 2009. Page 7. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

Expansion

In August 2011, hotel owners announced plans to enlarge the hotel with the addition of a casino, a large conference room, a second restaurant, and 150 additional parking spaces. The plans called for the development of the property immediately to the south of the current historic Casa Saurí, a property which also faces Plaza Muñoz Rivera. The new casino would boast 9,500 square feet of space, and the new conference rooms would be able to accommodate 200 people in a space of 6,000 square feet.Encaminan expansión en Hotel Ramada. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 10 August 2011. Year 29. Issue 1445. Page 4. Retrieved 19 December 2011. The planned parking garage opened two years later, in 2013.Apuestan a bandera hotelera ponceña. Reinaldo Millán and Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014. The casino opened in February 2013, together with the 4-story, 200-car parking garage.Estrenan expansión en Ramada Ponce. Reinaldo Millán. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 27 February 2013. Year 31. Issue 1526. Page 4. Retrieved 27 February 2013.

See also

History of the Autonomous City of Ponce List of hotels in Puerto Rico List of casinos in Puerto Rico

References

External links Photo of Casa Sauri (now (2020), Ponce Plaza Hotel & Casino) during the 1910s when it housed Liceo Ponceño, Puerto Rico's first girls-only school. Liceo Ponceño occupied the structure until the 1950s. (See Luis Fortuño Janeiro. Album Histórico de Ponce (1692-1963). Page 374. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963.) Retrieved 11 July 2020.)