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Bombs and Environmental Concerns Aside, The $60 million Wyndham Martineau Bay Resort & Spa Set to Open on Puerto Rico Island of Vieques
By Nancy San Martin, The Miami Herald
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 

Feb. 13, 2003 - After years of raucous protests over bombing exercises that brought international attention to Puerto Rico's small island of Vieques, a luxury resort is hoping to attract vacationers to enjoy the coral reef-laden beaches. 

The 156-room Wyndham Martineau Bay Resort & Spa is scheduled to open Feb. 24 -- two years after construction was completed. 

"This is magnificent, a dream come true for all those involved in the project," said Ricardo Valles, project manager. "Anyone who comes here will feel at home." The U.S. Navy's pledge to abandon its Vieques bombing range by May 1 contributed to the decision, hotel owners said. 

"The Navy's leaving. The horizon seems to be less cloudy," said Roberto Cacho, a majority owner. 

But even as islanders welcome job and economic opportunities, worries remain over the new hotel and its impact on the environment. 

"We support sustainable economic development," said Robert Rabin of the Committee for the Rescue & Development of Vieques, which adamantly opposed the bombing exercises. "This is not a sustainable economic development, but we are very much in favor of any project to help alleviate the economic situation." The $60 million resort is planned on 42 acres along virgin beach on the north shore. It offers two restaurants, tennis courts and a poolside bar. Room rates will be more than $200 during the high season. 

"We've been waiting anxiously for this," said Carlos Negron, planning director for Puerto Rico's tourism bureau. "It will generate money that will stay in Vieques." Vieques, with its limited tourism, has only small hotels and inns. 

The island is a nesting ground for sea turtles. It also is home to a bioluminescent bay that is considered to be among the world's most spectacular. At night, the water takes on a galaxy-like effect. 

The four-star Martineau will more than double the number of rooms now available for visitors. 

The exclusive development surrounded by high cement walls has its critics. 

"It's not the type of tourism I support because it's not ecotourism. It's expensive tourism," said Juan R. Fernandez, commissioner of Vieques. 

Still, the potential job market is important for a municipality of 9,300 with an unemployment rate as high as 45 percent. 

At least 200 people are expected to be hired, making Martineau Vieques' largest private employer. Most will fill housekeeping and maintenance posts. 

The Navy had used Vieques as its main Atlantic Coast training range for more than 50 years. However, last month, Navy officials announced that it would no longer need the 900-acre range near the eastern tip of Vieques. 

Bombing ranges in Florida and North Carolina will serve as alternative training sites to Vieques. Several other locations in the United States also were certified as "equivalent or superior" to Vieques and could be used for exercises. 

Island residents who oppose the Navy's presence blame bombing exercises for health and environmental problems. Anti-Navy sentiment intensified after an April 1999 bombing accident that killed a civilian security guard at the range. 

Fernandez and others concerned about the environment said they will keep a wary eye on resort activities and would oppose any further development that is not "ecologically sound." Negron said islanders need not worry. 

"We know that if the environment in Vieques is hurt, it's like cutting off its life." 

Information from the Associated Press was used to supplement this report. 

-----To see more of The Miami Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald.com. 

(c) 2003, The Miami Herald. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. WYN, 


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