Adam Stewart Shares Details of Beaches' Five-Year, Billion Dollar Expansion Plans

This past weekend, amid a gathering of celebrities, dignitaries and global media and a blockbuster beach party capped by fireworks and musical performances, Beaches Turks & Caicos celebrated the opening of its new $150 million Treasure Beach Village.

The all-suite village brings a new level of glam and luxury to the nearly 30-year-old resort on the shores of famed Grace Bay Beach, offering upscale accommodations that emphasize high-end design and furnishings, custom artwork and butler service meant to anticipate a guest's every need. 

The new village at the popular resort is worth taking special note of, not only because of the level of luxury it provides, but also because it represents the first example of what Beaches Executive Chairman Adam Stewart told TravelPulse is the brand's new 2.0 product. Meaning it represents the latest evolution of Beaches resorts and will serve as the blueprint for nearly $1 billion worth of development on the horizon. 

During an interview with TravelPulse in his Chairman's Suite at the new Treasure Beach Village, Stewart talked about the brand's evolution and what's to come for Beaches resorts in the years ahead. 

Beaches Executive Chairman Adam Stewart walking the pink carpet at the grand opening of Treasure Beach Village. (Photo Credit: Photo by Mia Taylor)

A New Standard for Beaches Resorts

This weekend's opening of Treasure Beach Village marks the first chapter of what Stewart said will be a nearly $1 billion investment in the future of the Beaches brand as it evolves into a new 2.0 product phase. As part of that effort, the same level of exclusive luxury, style and design that was brought to life at the new 101-key whitewashed, sandcastle-themed Treasure Beach Village will be applied to Beaches locations across the Caribbean region.

"This is a new standard for Beaches," Stewart explained. "It starts here in Turks and Caicos with Treasure Beach Village and there's more to come over the next five years. We've already broken ground in Barbados and we're on cusp of breaking ground on Beaches Exuma, Bahamas and behind that is Beaches Runaway Bay Jamaica and then Beaches St. Vincent." 

Over the next five to six years, there will be a total of five new Beaches properties, which translates to roughly one resort per year. It's a construction pace that Stewart said is intentional to prevent rushing the resorts to completion too quickly.

More importantly, each of these new properties will feature Treasure Beach Village's level of luxury styling and elevated design as "the minimum standard."  

"So, when you come here and you see this and feel this," Stewart continued, "This is the future of the Beaches brand."

The living room in the Crystal Sky Villa at the newly opened Treasure Beach Village. (Photo Credit: Courtesy Beaches Resorts)

What does that mean exactly? As Stewart explains it, every element of the newly opened village, which is made up of expansive, multi-bedroom suites and villas (some nearing 3,000 square feet), was constructed to be physically a different, more luxurious level than previous Beaches offerings. 

The design of each suite includes separate sleeping spaces for parents and kids, bunk and trundle options for young visitors and spacious living areas where families can spread out. Some of the larger suites even include expansive outdoor spaces, up to 650 square feet of deck space, where families and multi-gen visitors can grill and enjoy meals together.

"These decks overlook the beach and the sunset and it's kind of magical," continues Stewart.

Butler service is also a core feature at Treasure Beach Village, elevating the elite, luxury experience even further. There's also a different feel as you move around the new village, one that's more distinguished overall, offering space, privacy, and a slightly more low-key, unhurried vibe, while still providing access to all the activity and action that's available at the other villages throughout the Turks & Caicos resort.

The 15,000-square-foot lagoon-style pool at Treasure Beach Village (Photo Credit: Courtesy Beaches Resorts)

At the center of this new space is a 15,000-square-foot lagoon-style pool with three whirlpools, a waterslide and private cabanas. Sitting at the edge of the pool area are two new dining concepts, including an upscale chophouse.

"I think it's fair to say there is nothing quite like this in the family experience anywhere in the Caribbean," says Stewart.

Resort Transformations

In addition to the entirely new properties Stewart mentioned, there will also be overhauls of existing Beaches resorts in the Caribbean, including Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean, both of which are being completely transformed and will receive the 2.0 treatment applied to Treasure Beach Village. 

"There will be brand new rooms and suites, unbelievable new pools and unbelievable new restaurants," says Stewart, adding that the properties will be totally unrecognizable to the travel advisor community when the renovation work is complete. 

"We are blowing these hotels to pieces to take them to another level," Stewart adds.

Treasure Beach Village offers four-bedroom beachfront villas. (Photo Credit: Courtesy Beaches Resorts)

Thoughtful, Less-Intensive Development 

It's worth noting that as Beaches navigates this new development, it will do so in a manner that Stewart says has long differentiated the brand from its competitors.

During our interview, he explained that there "is something very different fundamentally" to the way Sandals and Beaches develops its resorts. Most Caribbean hoteliers, Stewart points out, will build to the full capacity they're approved for by the local government, maxing out their room capacity.

That, however, is not the approach Sandals and Beaches have followed. Instead, the company has consistently opted to build less-dense resorts with fewer rooms on the land it has available, to give guests space and create a less crowded, higher-quality overall feel. 

"You feel when you're at Beaches Turks and Caicos. The hotel can be completely occupied but it feels empty," Stewart explains. 

In the case of Treasure Beach Village, adopting a lower-density approach of just 101 rooms resulted in a property that ultimately cost more than $1 million per key. But Stewart describes that expense as "the cost of delivering a product at this level."

"I think the proposition of what specifically Sandals and Beaches brings by being the least dense hospitality business in the Caribbean, brings a level of quality and luxury to what guests feel. And how you feel is really important to the experience," he adds.

Ultimately, says Stewart, the brand has come a long way since its early days. And its customers have consistently followed along for that journey and evolution.

"What we find is that the more we lean into creating quality and memorable guest experiences, and intimate moments, the more customers lean into us," he concludes.

 

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