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RESORTS IN THE CARIBBEAN RISE

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Source: Travel Weekly 

The pace of hotel and resort construction in the Caribbean for properties slated to launch in 2020 and beyond is quite robust these days.

The region is welcoming a diverse collection of resorts from boutiques to behemoths, from all-inclusives to condo/hotels and villas, and from independent properties to luxury chains.

Coupled with the comeback of properties damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, the lodging inventory appears to be on a growth spurt.

Hotel rooms in the Caribbean region currently number approximately 255,000, according to Frank Comito, CEO and director general of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).

“RevPar has increased slightly in the past two years, in part due to the addition of more than 20,000 new hotel rooms and a steady increase in investment upgrades by many existing hotels,” Comito said. He anticipated that although 2019 will end up with hotel occupancies down slightly for the year, the average daily rate should increase between 6% and 8% and RevPar should rise around 5% to 6%.

Looking at the  upcoming peak winter season, Comito forecast “a similar performance as we’ve seen in the last half of 2019, with occupancy rates remaining the same or slightly declining while ADR and RevPar hold steady or increase slightly.”

Here’s a look ahead to the pipeline for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020 and beyond.

Dominican Republic

Club Med Miches Playa Esmeralda on the northeastern coast is the company’s first new Caribbean resort in 25 years. The 335-room property will feature four boutique villages with themes of romance, adventure and wellness. It opens in December.

The 228-room Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma Cap Cana will the introduction of the Margaritaville brand to the DR and the second Karisma property in the destination. It plans to open its doors in 2021.

Antigua

The Waldorf Astoria Antigua on the island’s southeast coast will have 95 rooms, 25 villas, a spa and waterside dining venues. Opening is winter of 2022.

Aruba

The 600-room Secrets Baby Beach will be the first Secrets Resorts & Spas-branded property on the island. Opening is slated for the fourth quarter of 2021.

The 208-suite Radisson Blu Hotel and Residence Aruba will open next spring, marking the debut of the brand on the island.

Bahamas

Margaritaville at The Pointe in Nassau, a $250 million development, will include a 150-room resort and 150 oceanfront residences as well as a marina, private beach, water park, spa, movie theater and kids’ club. It plans a June 1 opening.

Port St. George, a $500 million luxury mixed-use project on Long Island in the Out Islands, will include a five-star hotel and spa. It plans to open in 2024.

Belize

The 35-room beachfront Alaia Belize in San Pedro Town in Ambergris Caye, part of a residential development, will be the first Marriott-branded  resort in Belize and a member of its Autograph Collection. Slated to open in December 2020.

Bermuda

The 111-room Bermudiana Beach Resort, part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection, is set to open in 2020.

The Azura Boutique Hotel and Residences will debut in the first quarter of 2020.

The St. Regis Hotel George Town has a projected opening date of April 2021.

British Virgin Islands

Rosewood Little Dix Bay will reopen on Jan. 6 with 80 new rooms, suites and villas.

Bitter End Yacht Club will debut new marina facilities during the upcoming winter season. Later in 2020 Bitter End will introduce a beachfront restaurant and bar, event space and a provisioning market. Accommodations and hospitality amenities will follow.

Norman Island plans three 20-30 room hotels, boat slips, a spa and an observatory in 2020.

Valley Trunk Estate on Virgin Gorda will open eight villa suites on Dec. 1.

Necker Island, Richard Branson’s private island, continues to rebuild with completion set for next summer.

Cayman Islands

The Mandarin Oriental with 100 rooms and 89 residences is located in Bodden Town on Grand Cayman’s south coast. It’s slated to debut in 2021.

The 351-room Grand Hyatt Grand Cayman Hotel & Residencies along Seven Mile Beach is also slated for 2021.
The 80-room beachfront property on the edge of George Town that will be part of Hilton’s Curio Collection. It plans to open in 2021, too.

Curacao

Dreams Curacao Resort, Spa and Casino will open on Dec. 15.

Corendon Beach Resort Curacao is on the site of the former Holiday Beach complex near Willemstad harbor. It plans to open its first phase of 400 rooms in Q1 2020. Its second phase of 400 rooms is planned for 2021.

Dominica

The island will welcome the 128-room Anichi Resort & Spa, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection near Portsmouth on the northwest coast, next month.

The 28-room Rosalie Bay Eco-Resort reopens in February, after a year-and-a-half of rebuilding and refurbishing following the hurricanes.

On the further horizon is the Sanctuary Rainforest Eco Resort and Spa in the rainforest of Roseau Valley on the island’s west coast.

Grenada

The all-inclusive 269-suite Royalton Grenada Resort and Spa will be Royalton’s first in the destination and is a renovation and expansion of the Starfish Resort, formerly the Grenadian by Rex Resorts. The opening date is March 1.

Six Senses La Sagresse will debut in southeastern Grenada in 2022.

Jamaica

H10 Hotels’ 500-room, all-inclusive Ocean Coral Spring in Trelawny will open on Dec. 1.

The adults-only Ocean Eden Bay, also a 500-room, all-inclusive H10 property, has a June opening date.

Puerto Rico

El Conquistador, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, will reopen in the fall of 2020 as will the adjacent Las Casitas Villas.
St. Barts. Three new four-bedroom villas will debut at The Christopher next month.

Hotel Barriere Le Carl Gustaf will have 24 rooms, including 13 junior cottages, suites, a loft, villa accommodations and a private six-bedroom home. It will open on Feb. 1.

St. Lucia

Cabot Saint Lucia, a planned resort community on Point Hardy at the northern tip of the island, will have a 50-room hotel, hillside townhomes, an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, beach club and dining venues. The golf course opening is targeted for 2021. Real estate sales are scheduled to launch this fall with the first phase set to be completed in Q4 2021.

St. Maarten

The 450-room Planet Hollywood on the site of the former Sonesta Great Bay Resort, is slated to launch in 2021.

St. Martin

AMResorts’ 350-room, adults-only Secrets St. Martin, on the site of the former Riu Palace in Anse Marcel, has set an opening date of Feb. 1.

Turks and Caicos

Andaz, a hotel and residence development, will be located on five acres at the western end of Grace Bay Beach. as the first Andaz Residences in the Caribbean. The resort will have two buildings, one with a 59-room hotel and the other with 74 residences, as well as four restaurants and bars, a wellness facility, a garden yoga studio and a spa. Opening is scheduled for 2021.

Rock House is a Grace Bay Resorts’ residential resort development on the north coast of Providenciales, featuring 41 cottages and four hillside homes with a 100-foot-long pool set on a 25-foot-high limestone cliff. It is opening in 2021.

U.S. Virgin Islands

The revamped Frenchman’s Reef Marriott Resort & Spa, formerly known as the Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort and shuttered since Hurricane Irma, reopens with 384 guestrooms in 2020.

The adjacent 97-room property will be the new Noni Beach, the first Marriott Autograph Collection hotel in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Aimbridge Hospitality will operate both properties.