Hilton Hotels Corporation has entered into a franchise license agreement to build the Hilton Bonaire Resort and Spa, a planned upscale, full-service resort on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire.Part of the Kingdom of Holland, Bonaire is the most eastern of the Leeward Islands, located 50 miles north of Venezuela and offers visitors year-round sunshine, low annual rainfall, warm aquarium-clear waters and is known for its longstanding commitment to preserving and protecting the environment both above and below the water, as it was the first Netherlands Antilles Island to establish a national park.

The Hilton Bonaire Resort and Spa will be built on a canal system in southern Kralendijk, Bonaire’s quaint capital city located just north of the Flamingo International Airport. The navigable canals offer a peaceful and romantic environment, creating the perfect setting for the property. Construction on the 144-room resort will begin this summer and is expected to open in July of 2010.

The resort will offer 132 elegant rooms, 12 lavishly appointed suites and will feature luxury amenities including the rooftop Azul Fitness Center & Spa, a world-class dive facility, two restaurants and a variety of shops. The project is owned and being developed by Azul Management Bonaire, Inc.

“We are excited to welcome Hilton Hotels to Bonaire, whose world-class brand name will further enhance our tourism product and offer the Island a significant amount of exposure in the international market place” said Mr. Ramoncito Booi, Senior Advisor to the Government of Bonaire and former Commissioner of Tourism.  “Hilton’s motto of Be Hospitable is a clear reflection of the Bonairean attitude towards tourism and our ‘once a visitor, always a friend’ approach.”
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