US$100-m investment; Sandals to begin Dragon Bay reconstruction this year

SANDALS Resorts International says it will this year begin reconstruction of the old Dragon Bay hotel in Portland, Jamaica transforming it into a 157-suite six-star boutique family resort at a cost of US$100 million.
“That will be our 12th hotel investment in Jamaica,” Sandals Deputy Chairman and CEO Adam Stewart told guests attending last Friday’s groundbreaking of a US$50-million hotel and BMW/MINI complex in St Andrew, spearheaded by Sandals, ATL, Marriott International and BMW.
“It’s not going to be a Beaches or Sandals. It’s going to be a brand new brand,” said Stewart, whose father Gordon is the founder and chairman of Sandals and Beaches Resorts and the ATL Group, which includes this newspaper.
“This has been a lifelong dream for my dad in particular,” said the younger Stewart whose father yesterday praised him for “doing a great, great job in leading the [ATL Group’s] motor car division”.