The Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino, announced a photo competition
The Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino, fondly known as La Grande Dame of Palm Beach will be undergoing a seasonal renovations during the upcoming off-season and as part of that undertaking, will be commissioning new artwork to complement the elegant rooms and the freshly designed public spaces.
In view of the resort’s rich heritage and authentic Aruban roots management is presently searching archives and photo albums for old historical images of the hotel in the early days, anything dated before the Millennium, to be digitalized, and then artfully and proudly displayed throughout the property.
Amateur photographer and professional photographers are hereby invited to participate, in an open competition, for the rarest, most evocative pictures, with or without people, of the resort since its opening day, in July of 1959.
Aruba’s first luxury resort, now flagged under the Hilton Worldwide brand was constructed between 1956 and 1959, with 120 rooms, employing 160 locals. It was designed by that era’s most avant-garde American architect, Morris Lapidus, who also designed the Eden Roc and the Fontainebleau hotels in Miami.
Lapidus came to Aruba as a guest of the island’s government and picked a prime location for his dream hotel, on pristine Palm Beach. From that moment on, the hotel continuously played an important social and economic role in the life of the island, serving as the backdrop for many celebrations of a lifetime, from private weddings, to public parties, entertaining royalties and most significantly through the decades, remaining the employer of choice within the island’s burgeoning hospitality industry.
At the eve of a major renovation, the competition announced by management calls for an extensive search of private and public archives, rewarding finders with a wealth of prizes.
“Please bring us your photographs,” says General Manager Olivier Maumaire, “and we’ll treat them with utmost respect. They will be cleaned up and restored, digitalized and artistically treated to become our cherished works of art. “
The resort’s PR and Marketing Manager Nunette Maduro accepted the task of curating the treasures, making sure photographs are also returned to their owners, once processed. “The resort is accepting photos, negatives, slides, newspaper clippings, even poor copies,” Maduro reiterates,“ they will all be brought back to life by the resort’s graphic designers, and adorn our walls for many years to come.”
Prizes for the winners of the competition include weekend stays, eforea spa treatments and dinner invitations to the Sunset Grille restaurant. The general public is encouraged to respond before March 15th, in order to be included in competition.