Bogota, Colombia, is rising fast as a Latin American meetings destination. The capital city has undergone a revitalization in past years and looks forward to a bright future with an assortment of hotels and meetings venues recently opened or coming soon. Some of the city’s latest developments were on display during the recent Zona MICE conference in downtown Bogota. Here are five that are creating the most buzz.
Agora Convention Center
The big news out of Bogota is the new roughly 700,000-sf Agora Convention Center. The gleaming five-story center will be the largest in Colombia upon its completion in April 2017, and one of the largest in Latin America. Boasting no center columns, the building is sheathed in glass, allowing for natural lighting in both main hall and meeting rooms alike. It’s also highly energy efficient, with a massive rainwater collection system and natural cooling and heat ventilation.
Convention Center Hotel and Complex
Surrounding Agora will be a 200-acre convention and business zone that is part of a grand citywide urban development program known as Project INNOBO. After Agora is complete, an adjacent 411-room major brand hotel is expected to open by mid 2018. The campus-like area will also include retail shops and cafés, green space, and a walking bridge to the existing Corferias convention center, which will undergo a major renovation of its own following the opening of Agora.
Grand Hyatt
Another major hotel project in the works is the Grand Hyatt Hotel, a first for Colombia and one of three in Latin America. The 14-story new build located in the Ciudad Empresarial district not far from the Agora Convention Center will feature 373 guest rooms, restaurants, spa, fitness center, club lounge, and meeting and conference space for up to 1,300. It’s on schedule to open in late 2017.
Four Seasons
Bogota now has two new Four Seasons hotels. In late 2015, the 62-room Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota opened after taking over the historic Casa Medina, originally opened in 1946, which incorporates pieces of demolished colonial convents. The second 64-room Four Seasons Hotel Bogota opened in April, 2016, in the former Hotel Charleston, and includes high-end Japanese restaurant Kuru.
Metro Project
Bogota is a major Latin American city without a metro. But that’s about to change with the first line of the Bogota Metro under plans, which will feature 27 stations along its 17-mile route and is estimated to begin construction in 2018 with a completion date of 2021. The new transportation plan will also allow convention-goers easier access to the city’s tourist and historic districts.
