Sandals To Add Beaches Property In Jamaica

MIAMI— HOTEL BUSINESS® has learned that Sandals Resorts International is about to start construction on a new property in Jamaica, which will be called the Beaches White House. John Lynch, evp sales worldwide for Sandals, said that the all-inclusive resort will be branded under the company’s Beaches flag, which was launched in 1997 as an extension to its Sandals Resorts brand. At its launch, the Beaches flag was designed to appeal to families; last year, however, the company extended Beaches to include a product that welcomed “adults” only, aged 16 and up. Lynch told HOTEL BUSINESS® that this newest Beaches resort will likely be for those aged 16 and over. The new property will have approximately 400 rooms with “extensive meeting and conference facilities,” said Lynch. It will be located 30 miles west of Negril, in an area that is known as the “bread basket” of Jamaica, thus dubbed because it grows much of the agricultural product that feeds the nation, said Lynch. The new property will be notable in that it will be built in an area that is currently known for small hotels, with room counts of only 10 or 12, he added. “There is also lot of agriculture around there and they have wonderful tours,” said Lynch, noting that the larger size of this new Beaches property, along with its meeting facilities, will bring a new market to the area. Sandals has done well with its Beaches brand. Most recently it opened the Beaches Royal Plantation Golf Resort & Spa, as well as the Beaches Grand Sport at Ciboney. The Beaches Royal Plantation, formerly the Plantation Inn, was a dramatic departure for Sandals in that it is an intimate-sized property of 75 suites, catering to the very high end of the market with 24-hour room service and other upscale amenities. It has been running at an occupancy of about 75% to 80% this summer, said Lynch, who noted that the introduction of the property has helped Sandals evolve further from being known as just an all-inclusive chain for couples. “It has been a gradual process leading up to this,” he said, noting that opening the Sandals Royal Bahamian in the Bahamas helped launch that evolution of high-end Sandals product, and that this latest upscale addition “goes over the edge.” Sandals has a number of other projects underway, including expansions on the drawing board for two of its existing properties— one on St. Lucia, which will be expanded from 170 to 280 rooms, and another on Antigua, which will go from 190 to 300 rooms. Facilities will be expanded to accommodate that growth, said Lynch, noting that as a result, spa facilities and restaurants will be added. “We have the room because we bought additional pieces of land,” he said. Spas have become key to any Sandals development, he said. Of the 17 Sandals properties, eight now have spas, and “we do nothing unless we have a spa now,” said Lynch.