Coming to Puerto Rico’s capital city of San Juan in 2020’s first quarter is an exciting, technologically advanced, multi-use development called El Distrito. While Puerto Rico is already a prime destination for events and conferences—since no passport or currency exchange is needed for U.S. visitors—the opening of El Distrito is anticipated to mark the advent of a new era for the city.
The 360,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art venue promises to be unlike anything before seen in all of the Caribbean, combining the best in art, music, technology and hospitality.
Still under construction, El Distrito will soon debut as an immersive, multi-sensorial entertainment, dining and retail, hub with world-class gathering spaces and advanced audiovisual capabilities. The territory’s recently instituted, well-funded and professionally staffed destination marketing organization, Discover Puerto Rico, is concentrating its efforts especially on group travel, meetings and conventions, and sees El Distrito as a key element in growing this segment.
Its curated collection of stay-and-play offerings includes:
— A 177-room ALOFT hotel by Marriott
— The Pavilion, a 6,000-spectator performance and events hall, suitable for concerts, live acts, awards ceremonies, corporate events and festivals all year round
— The complex’ centerpiece: a 50,000 square-foot central plaza outfitted with a digital scenery system that’s comprised of over 14,000 square feet of LED screens, including the largest horizontal screens in the Americas
— The District Studios, a dedicated radio and television production studio coordinating all broadcasts across the entire complex
— An exhilarating urban zipline experience, as well as the world’s first permanent augmented-reality zipline experience
— Caribbean Cinemas VIP, a state-of-the-art, eight-screen, premium cineplex
— Puerto Rico’s first multi-purpose day/night disco club, spanning two stories and over 17,000 square feet; plus, outdoor pool spaces reminiscent of Las Vegas’ beach clubs, but with a distinctly Caribbean flavor
— Over 7,000 square feet of business co-working space overlooking the Convention Center
— Specialty retail stores and pop-up shops featuring local artists
— A vast variety of restaurants, bars and lounges
— More attraction-based entertainment options, including virtual-reality arcades, laser tag, bowling, family fun zones and a specialty fitness studio
El Distrito will be centrally located adjacent to the Puerto Rico Convention Center in the heart of the San Juan metro area. It will be highly visible and easily accessible from major state and local highways, and public transportation routes.
The complex site is within a mere ten minutes’ drive from all major San Juan hotels, tourist attractions and major cruise ship terminals, and fifteen minutes from the main airport. With nearly two-thirds of Puerto Rico’s entire population residing within a 45-minute drive, El Distrito is poised to appeal to locals just as strongly as to visitors.
