Work began earlier this summer on nearly $500 million in development that will ultimately bring three Sandals Resorts International properties to the Ocho Rios region of Jamaica.
Scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2022, a total transformation of Sandals Dunn’s River is the project’s first phase. When refurbishment is complete, the oceanfront resort will be home to a total of 260 guestrooms, including 48 SkyPool suites featuring private, infinity-edge plunge pools. The renovated property will also offer travelers 12 Rondoval Suites, 10 restaurants, nine bars and seven pools.
Phase two will be an entirely newly built property on adjacent oceanfront land that the company is calling Sandals Royal Dunn’s River. According to Gary Sadler, executive vice president of sales and industry relations for Sandals, this resort will target high-end, affluent travelers.
“Sandals Royal Dunn’s River will be considered Jamaica's finest hotel — that is our objective,” Sadler said, noting the $230 million project’s second phase is expected to be complete in 2023. “It will be like what we did in Barbados, where we have Sandals Barbados, and then beside it we have Sandals Royal Barbados. … Common features are shared between the two hotels, but Sandals Royal Dunn’s River and Sandals Dunn’s River are really two separate hotels.”
Sandals has also announced a $250 million renovation at its Beaches Runaway Bay Resort in Ocho Rios. When finished, the overhauled resort will feature 400 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom suites designed with extended families in mind, according to company officials.
Sadler also mentioned that the company’s new Curacao property is slated to open in 2022, and a reopening date has been set for its flagship property in the Bahamas.
“Sandals Royal Bahamian is closed, but we have a reopening date of Jan. 27,” he said. “And that property is going through a complete transformation.”
Luxury accommodations are a major component of Sandals’ recently announced development projects in Jamaica.
Credit: 2021 Sandals Resorts InternationalBusiness in months ahead is looking very good, according to Sadler, who said demand for all Sandals properties in the Caribbean has been strong and appears likely to remain so throughout the rest of this year and into 2022.
“We're seeing an increase in business over 2019,” Sadler said, crediting much of that success to Sandals’ key partnerships with travel advisors. “[Business is] heavily focused at this point in time primarily on the U.S. market because Canada and the U.K., of course, were closed up until recently. … But overall, we're seeing the consumer confidence coming back.”
Destinations with better access have attracted the most bookings, according to Sadler, who offered a few examples.
“Antigua, Jamaica and Saint Lucia, those destinations are seeing the best results, where you have good airlift,” he said.
Sandals has also seen a distinct preference in consumer booking patterns as business has rebounded during recent months.
“All the top-end suites are the ones that go first,” Sadler said. “Every one of the Rondovals, the SkyPool suites, the over-the-water suites, the butler service, the concierge — that is what is going first. … And I think, naturally, it has to do with people wanting their own space.”
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