“After meeting with a number of international hotel companies in Chile, we felt that IHG was the ideal fit for this property, given their long-standing track record in the country, as well as throughout Latin America,” said Inmobiliaria Punta Piqueros, S.A.’s Jose Domingo Eluchans Urenda.

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the 140-room oceanfront InterContinental Punta Piqueros will be situated in one of the city’s highest points within the district of Concon, three miles (five kilometers) from downtown Vina del Mar, and seven miles (eleven kilometers) from the renowned port city of Valparaiso, an UNESCO world heritage site. The property will feature a 10,000 square foot resort-style gym and spa with accompanying indoor/outdoor pool and sauna, along with 9,500 square feet (883 square meters) of meeting space, covered parking for 150 vehicles, two restaurants, a lobby bar and wine bar. Construction is underway with an estimated opening date of January 2013.

“Chile is and always has been a strategic market for us,” says Jim Anhut, Chief Development Officer, IHG, Americas. “The opportunity to further our portfolio in Chile through this iconic resort property is an important demonstration of our commitment to growth in the Southern Cone.”

Vina del Mar is Chile's largest and best-known beach resort town. The town offers gorgeous scenery of attractive homes, manicured lawns and golden beaches dotted with colorful surfboards. Vina del Mar is also home to the Vina del Mar International Song Festival, the most important Latin American music festival, drawing nearly 30,000 spectators nightly during the 5-day festivities. Held annually in February since 1960, the festival has booked national and international artists such as Tom Jones, Gloria Gaynor, Nelly Furtado and Daddy Yankee. Vina del Mar is also within close proximity to some of Chile’s most well-known vineyards.

The hotel will be the 10th IHG property in Chile, complementing an existing InterContinental, a Crowne Plaza, a Holiday Inn hotel and six Holiday Inn Express properties. IHG has existing properties within six cities in Chile, this new property in Concon, near Vina del Mar, will be the seventh city.

“This property is ideally suited for the InterContinental brand,” concludes Alvaro Diago, COO, IHG, Latin America and Caribbean. “It meets our brand hallmarks by affording guests a property with the highest international standards, all the while providing the ‘in the know’ access to local venues, which is such an important and appealing component of this brand.”

As the world’s first truly global hotel brand, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has had a continuous presence in Latin America since it was established in Brazil in 1946. There has been no brand in the region with more international appeal. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts strives to provide its guests with an experience that is unique to each destination and prides itself on maintaining uncompromised global standards and respect for the heritage of the communities each hotel calls home.

Currently there are 19 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties Latin America and the Caribbean. The latest InterContinental hotels to open in the region include the InterContinental Mendoza (Argentina) and the InterContinental Maracaibo (Venezuela). The InterContinental Nordelta Buenos Aires (Argentina) will be next, with a scheduled opening of May 2011.

IHG has nearly 200 hotels in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean, and has been serving Latin America for 65 years. IHG has hotels situated in nearly every key market throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.