Holiday Inn Express to Build a Hotel in Costa Rica

Holiday Inn Express, the U.S. megabuck hotel chain, will ante up $10 million to build a new lodging facility and a shopping mall along Costa Rica´s North Pacific Coast, Joaquin Gamboa, of Fe y Esperanza Co., announced today.

The 120-room Del Llano Hotel will cover a total surface of 52,000 square meters and will feature a conference hall seating up to 600 people. The shopping mall, for its part, will total 4,320 square meters for 37 stores and a parking lot for 240 vehicles. The two additions will generate some 400 full-time jobs.

"There´s a 400-room shortfall in Guanacaste and the place is stripped of halls and conference rooms where people may huddle and talk about business," Mr. Gamboa pointed out.