Sandy Lane still at the top

Article by Carlos Atwell

SANDY LANE has again recorded another successful year while boasting of maintaining its prestigious international five-diamond status.

Speaking at the annual ceremony for top performing employees at The Spa on Monday night, general manager Randall Wilkie said the St James luxury hotel had many things to be proud of.

“This year we have received many accolades to boast of. We have maintained our AAA five-diamond status for another year, an accomplishment which we still regard as both an honour and a privilege, as only 0.4 per cent of more than 28 000 of hotels reviewed made the cut.”

He also said Sandy Lane had been named No. 1 hotel in Barbados by Travel And Leisure magazine, the World Travel Awards and the United States News And World Report; and a was double winner of Trip Advisor’s 2015 Travellers’ Choice Awards in Top Luxury Hotels and Top Hotels In The Caribbean.

The 2015 awardees helping general manager Randall Wilkie (centre) cut the ceremonial cake.

sandy-lane-awards-2015

Wilkie revealed their occupancy rates were also high and, despite the recession, they were doing better than last year.

“Our occupancy for last year averaged 69 per cent. While our competitors battled with diminishing occupancy figures, Sandy Lane was able to maintain our occupancy. As we stand today, for the month of April we are more than 14 per cent ahead of the same period last year.

“While June is always slower, we are already working with specific plans through our industry partners to cover this period and the low occupancy period of September. With pace ahead of last year, we are confident we will also have a good summer and we are fully booked for the festive season,” he said.

The big winners of the night were Star Of The Year, engineer Jamal Holder, and Coach Of The Year Matthew Gilkes, the assistant golf landscape manager. (CA)