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verano
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Sometimes the universe circles back. An anime fan I’d met over a decade ago reached out with an entirely new world: a luxury hotel group being built in Puerto Rico. That conversation became Verano Hotel Group (VHG) — a portfolio of boutique properties designed to redefine the island’s hospitality experience for global travelers seeking intimacy, culture, and craft.
The first hotel, located in San Juan’s business district, is currently under construction. What exists today is scaffolding, sunlight, and anticipation. What’s coming is a space that blends colonial architecture with contemporary luxury — a hotel that greets you with a drink, not a desk.
OPERATION + CREATIVE STRATEGY + BRAND IDENTITY + INVESTOR MATERIALS + HOSPITALITY DESIGN (IN PROGRESS)
THE CONCEPT
Create a brand that balances Puerto Rican heritage with quiet, international luxury — a tone sophisticated enough for investors yet relaxed enough for guests walking in from the cobblestone streets.
THE BUILD
We built the Verano identity around warmth, openness, and the art of arrival. 'Verano' means summer, but not the season — the state of being: long afternoons, honey light, slow conversations.
We leaned into that mood through a palette of sun-worn oranges, tobacco leather, and bronze, paired with soft typography that feels timeless, not touristic.
Architecturally, the design partners in Puerto Rico reimagined the existing 1950s office building into a breezy modern structure.
At street level, you’ll walk straight into the bar, where check-in and cocktail meet — a deliberate break from formality. Across the hall: the restaurant. Upstairs: sanctuary.
Current construction scaffolding carries banners that announce what’s coming — visual proof that the building is mid-transformation, not decay.
A hotel that greets you with a drink, not a desk.
The stationery suite, invitations, and event materials introduce the color and material language — rich oranges, warm leathers, textured stock. Each hotel room will echo that palette: orange-brown leather accents, pale limestone, and brushed metal fixtures. The tone is sun-soaked and sophisticated, not shouty.
Earlier this year, we hosted an intimate investor event inside the active construction site. Guests received the Verano coin as their key to the evening — proof of concept for the guest experience itself: physical, human, personal.
We created a cohesive suite of investor and marketing collateral:
Investor Booklet: A tactile introduction to the VHG vision, blending architectural imagery with lifestyle photography and market insights.
Deck Slides: Structured around story rather than statistics — inviting potential partners to feel the brand before they fund it.
Double-Sided Coin: A small, heavy token redeemable for a cocktail at the hotel bar — both a memento and a metaphor: investment as invitation.
REFLECTION
The Verano project is still in development, but its foundation is already laid — in concrete, and in tone. What began as a friendship at an anime convention has evolved into a brand that fuses architecture, hospitality, and emotional design.
When the first Verano property opens, it won’t just introduce a hotel; it will reintroduce Puerto Rico as a state of mind.