The extent of the promise of the Sandals Hotel chain to transform the delivery of hospitality services in Barbados was made clear earlier this week when the company officially opened its latest property, Sandals La Source in Grenada.
After just three months in operation, Sandals La Source was awarded the prestigious Six Star Diamond status by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences of the United States, an achievement that chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart attributed to the hard work of the management and staff of the 225-room property.
In an exclusive interview with the DAILY NATION after the opening ceremony, Stewart said he had never built a hotel that was not better than those that came before it, stressing that the Barbados property would be exceptional. He added that the planning was well under way, but the designs “keep changing”.
The Sandals chain is spending $130 million to upgrade the recently acquired Casuarina Hotel in St Lawrence Gap, Christ Church, and is to build an ultra-modern state-of-the-art Beaches Resort on the sprawling site of what is now Almond Beach Village in Heywoods, St Peter. (RRM)
