The Rise and Fall of a Dream: Brock Pierce’s W Hotel Adventure
On sun-drenched days in 2022, the cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce delighted in taking his friends on sailing excursions to the enchanting island of Vieques, located approximately 75 miles from his residence in Puerto Rico. Mr. Pierce was eager to showcase a property he held dear, which he referred to as “the most important passion in my life”: a once-glamorous beachside resort that he had acquired for over $15 million.
In its prime, the resort—a former W Hotel—boasted an impressive 6,000-square-foot spa, dining experiences curated by a Michelin-starred chef, and breathtaking ocean views; it was a vital source of employment for the local tourism sector in Vieques. However, the resort faced a tragic turn of events in 2017 when it sustained substantial damage from Hurricane Maria, leading to its closure. Undeterred, Mr. Pierce envisioned reopening the resort, intending to use his cryptocurrency wealth to rejuvenate both the stunning property and the local economy.
A former child actor, Mr. Pierce possessed a flair for theatrics. During his trips to Vieques, he would anchor his luxurious, Italian-made yacht at a local harbor and then guide his guests to the gates of the shuttered W Hotel, traversing a beach where wild horses roamed freely. “This was my massive personal bet,” Mr. Pierce reflected recently. “This was where my heart was.”
Yet, beneath the surface of Mr. Pierce’s opulent displays lay a less glamorous reality. Like many other ambitious projects he initiated in Puerto Rico, the revival of the hotel became entangled in unpaid bills and legal disputes. In the fall of the previous year, Mr. Pierce lost the W Hotel in a contentious dispute with another investor. The hotel remains closed, its windows shattered, and its floors marred by mold and horse dung. A luxurious $17,000 lounge chair, designed by a renowned Spanish architect, now sits abandoned, gathering dust in the empty atrium.
Ultimately, Mr. Pierce’s aspiration to revive the W Hotel in Vieques has yet to come to fruition, leaving a trail of dreams unfulfilled.
