Starwood has opened its first St Regis hotel in the Caribbean, at Bahia Beach in Puerto Rico.

The resort, which includes a golf course designed by the Robert Trent Jones II firm, is located on a former coconut plantation, between the lush El Yunque rainforest and the Espiritu Santo River. The resort is the Caribbean’s first certified Gold Audubon Signature Sanctuary.

Designed by architectural firm Hill Glazier, the resort has 139 guest rooms, including 35 suites with private terraces offering ocean views as well as 25 private St Regis Estate Homes. Buildings have been designed in a low rise plantation style to harmonise with their surroundings. The resort’s ‘green team,’ composed of an ecologist, two agronomists, and a landscape architect, cultivates native and indigenous plants to protect the natural vegetation of the resort’s lowland coastal and forest areas. As part of its commitment to environmentally sustainable development, the resort has created a 2.4-acre plant nursery and garden, which will provide fresh produce and herbs for use throughout the entire resort.

The RTJ2 golf course preceded the rest of the resort, and has been open since 2008. It is operated by Troon Golf.