Yes, you read that right. An oldie but a goodie...

Curious what if anything is going on with the property since it was "supposedly" purchased by a European (???) hotel chain.

Aruba Bound! ~ Hoosier Kitties ~ Our-Cruises ~ Blogging to Aruba
Back to paradise Trip #18

So far, nothing is going on. Here are pictures from 3 weeks ago.

Pictures of Bushiri Hotel

3 1/2 weeks in Aruba Dec. 16, '08 - Jan. 9, '09
Aruba since 1985

As of last week, it didn't seem that Sol Melia had begun anything on the site. Taxi driver said they have begun work on moving the shipping port and the traffic detour heading into town is related to the mall and other development that will be part of the Bushiri/Sol Melia master plan.
Walt

"Vacation is what you make of it, take from it and what you leave behind."

i loved the bushiri........................many yrs ago it was the be all and end all (at least for me)

my son and i learned to skateboard there
it was the mid-late 1990s and kevin met up with a group of kids from venezuela that taught us both to skateboard. kevin learned better than i.

i did love that resort, location but mostly the people/staff.

Kevin @ USS Constitution at his commissioning from Midshipman to Ensign 6/20/08

Bushiri was our first vacation on Aruba many, many years ago. Had a great time there.

Found this info:
http://prensa.solmelia.com/en/view_object.html?obj=84,c,3262
"Press releases:
SOL MELIÁ AND THE GRUPO TRUSAM TO CREATE A LUXURY RESORT IN ARUBA
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• The companies have been awarded the concession by the island government
• The Caribbean island is an ideal location for a Meliá resort scheduled to open in 2008
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Palma de Mallorca, 01-02-2007.
The joint offer presented by the Spanish development company Trusam and Majorcan hotel chain Sol Meliá has been selected by the island government of Aruba to develop a new luxury resort on the island. The project presented comprises the construction of a Meliá hotel, a casino, a spa, a beach club, several restaurants, and other luxury services on the land occupied by the old Hotel Bushiri which will become the new centre of Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba.

The new hotel will be built on a piece of land which spreads over almost 40,000 square metres right alongside an unbroken stretch of 330 metres of beach and together with a major project for which the government proposes a marina, residential area and large shopping and leisure complex. Alongside this development the terminal for cruise liners will also be extended.

This will be the first hotel for the two companies in the Happy Isle, a Caribbean location which receives more than 800,000 visitors each year seeking exclusivity, luxury and superior quality services. It will be incorporated into an area known as the “Longest Linear Park in the Caribbean”, one of the most important infrastructure projects of the Aruba government and along the Boulevard Smith, the main street in Oranjestad, capital of the Caribbean island.

This hotel in Aruba is the first of several projects that Sol Meliá and the Grupo Trusam aim to develop in both Spain and the Caribbean."


Then today http://www.amigoe.com/english/:
Fire in Bushiri Hotel
ORANJESTAD – Fire broke out in the Bushiri Hotel at the L.G. Smith Boulevard, which has been unoccupied for a long time. It were passers-by that noticed the smoke coming from the upper floors and called the fire department and police, who arrived fast and had the fire under control soon. Five rooms had water- and smoke damage.

This is the second time in a short period of time that fire broke out in the much deteriorated building. Not even security guards that were put in to guard the place, could prevent breaking ins. The government doesn’t want to say what the future of the hotel is going to be. Six years of negotiation have up till now not delivered more than a few ‘interested’ investors. "

Anyone's guess is as good as mine ...

Aruba Bound! ~ Hoosier Kitties ~ Our-Cruises ~ Blogging to Aruba
Back to paradise Trip #18