Accor's luxury Sofitel brand is to open its first property in Uruguay, a 116-room hotel, casino and spa in the country's capital Montevideo.
Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco and Spa is due to open in 2011, and will be housed within an historic building formerly known as the Casino Carrasco Hotel.
The hotel will be Sofitel's ninth property in South America, and will feature a 450-seat conference centre, outdoor and indoor swimming pools and a fitness centre, as well as fine dining restaurant 1921 (the year when the original hotel was completed), and a 515sqm spa.
The property faces the beach on the coast of Rio de la Plata and is around 30 minutes from the city's international airport. The announcement follows the opening last year of the Sofitel Reserva Cardales near Buenos Aires.
For more information visit sofitel.com.
Report by Mark Caswell