WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

Nicaragua Grupo Mariana Hotel

In a big step forward for Nicaragua development, Grupo Mariana today announced a deal with Wyndham Worldwide to build an anchor hotel for the company's large-scale coastal project.

The long-discussed Seaside Mariana Spa & Golf Resort is a 923-acre development on the Pacific Coast, including a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course and a mile of beachfront. With hundreds of condos, villas and home sites for sale, the project is easily one of Nicaragua's most ambitious projects, geared toward an international audience.


But the lack of a brand name anchor hotel has been a noticeably missing link, especially in the wake of skepticism toward Nicaragua's long-term market stability.

Wyndham's name brings a new level of credibility to the development. The international chain says it will help develop a 330-room hotel, including a casino. "With the crucial infrastructure phase at Seaside Mariana already in motion, the addition of the Wyndham Alliance provides multiple avenues for putting further capital into the exciting Central American property market," Grupo Mariana said in a statement.

Seaside Mariana still needs to clear some environmental permitting issues, according to the project's Web site. But the Wyndham name should provide the project a major boost, assuring both buyers and investors that the project can pass a litmus test from an international chain.

"This alliance enables our group to focus on its primary objective of creating world-class, luxury developments in Nicaragua," Grupo Mariana chairman Kevin Fleming said in a statement. "This will inevitably create a boost in momentum that will get us through the development phases quicker and result in even better results for our investors."

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