ORANJESTAD, Aruba — The 320-room Ritz-Carlton Aruba on Friday officially opened its doors on Palm Beach, on the island's northwestern coast.
It is Ritz-Carlton’s fifth hotel in the Caribbean. The brand also has two hotels in Puerto Rico and one each in St. Thomas and Grand Cayman.
Helping hotel and government officials cut the ribbon were children in local dress from the Aruba's Children's Chorus.
In his opening remarks, Marriott International Chairman Bill Marriott pledged the hotel's commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
"We applaud Aruba's initiatives in targeting the destination as the green gateway to the region," he said.
Coinciding with the opening of the luxury resort was the announcement of a Marriott International island-wide program to launch an environmental curriculum in Aruba's primary schools and to support the island's efforts in the development of a tourism institute to enable Arubans to enter the hospitality industry.
With the Ritz-Carlton opening, Marriott International now is the largest employer in Aruba with five hotels: Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino, Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, Marriott Aruba Ocean Club, Marriott Aruba Surf Club and the Ritz-Carlton.
More than 90% of the 450 staff at the Ritz-Carlton are Arubans, "a further demonstration of our company's commitment to this island," according to Herve Humler, president and chief operations officer of Ritz-Carlton.
General manager Roberto Grisi reported that forward bookings are strong, with the first wedding to take place in two weeks, the first groups arriving in January and 9,000 group bookings for 2014.
"Ritz-Carlton will be the incentive to push our tourism product even higher," said Otmar Oduber, Aruba’s minister of tourism.
The hotel has four restaurants, the island's largest spa, a 24-hour casino, two pools, private beach cabanas, meeting space, the Ritz Kids Club and the 35-room Club Level on the seventh floor.
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