Sandals Treads New Ground

You need look no farther than Sandals Resorts’ chairman, Gordon “Butch” Stewart, to quantify the Sandals Resorts brand’s close identification with its home country of Jamaica.

Stewart’s lilting accent and easygoing manner are characteristic of the warm and welcoming Jamaica people.

However, just as Stewart’s folksy charm belies a shrewd business mind that’s not adverse to taking calculated risks, Sandals’ recent expansion of into Barbados and Grenada, two new destinations for the premium all-inclusive brand, represent a daring foray into new territories that while offering unlimited growth opportunities for the Sandals brand, also come with significant challenges.

In Grenada, Sandals will be assuming control of a shuttered property, the former La Source Resort, which closed in October 2012 after its owner, Liberty Club Ltd., a Grenada company headed by developer Leon Taylor fell “on difficult financial times,” according to a statement from Elite Island Resorts, which provided marketing and representation for the property.

Last November Sandals reached an agreement Grenada’s government to re-open the resort as the Sandals La Source Grenada Resort & Spa following a renovation period.

While terms of the agreement were not disclosed, Nazim Burke, Grenada’s finance minister, said the agreement calls for Sandals to expand the former 100-room resort to a 265-room property within the next 10 years.

For its part, Sandals is promising the “most elaborate accommodations to date,” with 231 rooms set within three distinct “villages.”

The Pink Gin Village, named for the beach that adjoins the property, will offer one block of 70 oceanfront rooms, including rooms with direct beach access, and a second block will offer 30 junior suites.  Pink Gin Village guests will have close access to the resort’s white sand beach, and a zero-entry infinity pool.

The resort’s 48-room Italian Village will be located on a cliff overlooking the resort and beach, with two exclusive river pools at the ground level.  The first three floors will feature one-bedroom, split-level suites with spacious bathrooms and Japanese-style soaking tubs.

Located on the resort’s mountainside, the South Seas Village will offer Sandals’ signature Rondoval suites, its millionaire suites, plunge pool suites, plus the resort’s luxury and premium rooms.

Sandals La Source Grenada Resort & Spa will offer nine dining options including what the company bill as “Grenada’s first top-tier steakhouse” to be called Butch’s Chophouse after the Sandals chairman and founder.

“From the announcement of the agreement to where we are now has been a very short period,” Stewart said recently at a gathering with media in New York. “No other company can do what we do, because of we have construction company and expertise that allow us to get these things done efficiently.”

Sandals’ long-rumored expansion into Barbados has been even more auspicious than its Grenada launch. In Barbados, Sandals has not only assumed control of a resort already in operation under another brand, the company again opted to assume control of a shuttered property.

In October Sandals swooped in to purchase the Couples Barbados resort, which Couples had operated since January of 2013 under a lease agreement with Barbados’ government, the owner.

Within weeks, Randy “Randymon” Russell, previously Couples’ senior vice president and chief romance officer and Couples executive most familiar to travel agents, joined Unique Vacations Inc., Sandals’ worldwide representative firm, as senior vice president-social commerce, with responsibility for communicate the Sandals experience to consumers through social media technology.

“No one is better at getting to the essence of relationships and building on those alliances to achieve success internally and externally than Randymon,” said Adam Stewart Sandals’ CEO and 31 year-old son of the founder.

Sandals officials also announced in October an agreement with Barbados’ government to manage a new Beaches Resort to be built on the site of the former Almond Beach Resort in St. Peter’s parish.  

“Barbados and its people are so rich in culture, charm and personality,” said Stewart this fall upon announcing the Barbados agreement. “We have been in discussions to bring our award-winning brands to this country for some time.”

Stewart described the Sandals Barbados property as “one most beautiful properties in the entire island.” The 280-room resort will feature luxury accommodations ranging beachfront suites to rooms situated amongst landscaped tropical gardens.

A recent renovation has added new restaurants to the resort, which now offers seven separate dining experiences.

In addition to the opening of Sandals Barbados, SRI also announced that an agreement has been reached with the Government of the Barbados regarding the building of a brand new Beaches Resort at the site of former Almond Beach Resort in St Peter, Barbados.
“Since it first launched over 16 years ago, Beaches has captured the hearts and minds of holidaymakers everywhere and I can assure you that what we’re planning in Barbados will become one of the most sought after resorts in the entire world,” said Stewart.

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/news/hotels-and-resorts/sandals-treads-new-ground.html