When Playa Hotels & Resorts acquired the resort property, it was an underperforming 3 star resort hotel with an outstanding location (20 minutes from Punta Cana International Airport) and an excellent beach, but not much else of value. The owners and the resort operators decided it was time to do something.

It was a radical and risky move,  to completely turn the hotel upside down and re-open in less than 7 months as a solid five star All-Inclusive Resort. With no time for drawings and permits, LHDI/ TLDI moved to the project site and helped execute a dramatic turnaround in time for a high season opening in late 2008. It was tumultuous and pressure packed; every day unpleasant surprises seemed to come to light, and at one time during the construction the main building roof actually caught fire and completely burned down! Somehow, the team kept it all together, and the contractor stayed cool and composed.

Works included completely refurbishing all 500 hotel rooms, constructing a new amenity building with 4 restaurants, re-building and redesigning the lobby and buffet, construction of a new convention center, and the construction of two new spectacular swimming pools. One of the most dramatic changes to the project occurred in the lobby and at the sense of arrival. Originally designed as an internally focused and hot/ humid lobby space, the new lobby is opened to a wide  45 degree grand pathway that leads the guests out to the main pools and on to the beach, activating the new restaurants and tropical ponds along the way.