by Brian Major
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Mon February 19, 2024
This article originally
appeared in the February issue of AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe here to receive your free copy each month.
What will Sandals
Resorts International offer romance-seeking couples in 2024? The simplest
answer is more.
This year, the Caribbean-based hospitality leader is
enhancing its focus on premium, all-exclusive vacations with amplified
experiences, specialized amenities and facilities designed to excite and
satisfy couples in love.
Those efforts are driven by none other than Adam Stewart,
the company’s executive chairman, who directed a brand expansion first
implemented by his legendary hotelier father, the late Gordon “Butch” Stewart.
A New Take on Romance
The company’s newest properties “are being presented in a
way that’s just never really been done in the Caribbean before,” Stewart said.
Each resort will offer updated versions of the personalized experiences that
have long defined the Sandals brand.
This year, the brand will make its debut in Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines, its eighth Caribbean
destination.
This follows the company’s launch last year of Sandals
Curacao, its first resort in the southern Caribbean country. The company also
completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the iconic Sandals Dunn’s River
property in 2023.
“Sandals remains true to its core of creating moments for
two people in love,” Stewart said. “It’s just now taking on a new dimension of
execution.”
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sandals’ newest resort in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
will deliver the highest level of hospitality available in Caribbean
destinations, Stewart said. Suites are equipped with open roofs for stargazing,
restaurants offering gourmet cuisine in all-new concepts for the brand, and
bars highlighting authentic Caribbean rum culture.
The property will serve as a showcase for the brand’s
updated elements, Stewart said, in a magnificent natural setting. “Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines truly is the best of the 2023 exotics. It’s within
sight of Saint Lucia [and] we have great airlift coming in,” he said.
The 2017 opening of Argyle International Airport on Saint
Vincent was a game changer for the destination, Stewart noted. The
142-square-mile archipelago consists of Saint Vincent, the main island, and the
Grenadines, a 32-island chain that includes smaller islands like Bequia,
Canouan, Petit Saint Vincent, Palm Island and Mayreau.
Fabulous Features
The property accentuates the island’s natural beauty. “We
developed the resort in a valley with a river that comes through it. It’s
naturally infused with sparkling waterfalls straight from Mother Nature,”
Stewart said. “When you stand on the beach and look to the resort, you don’t
see any man-made structures. The mountains go straight up into the clouds. It’s
as green as it gets. I mean, this is our best work.”
The resort will also incorporate elements intended to bring
couples closer together, Stewart. “There are lots of single-story, private
standalone villas and the rooms are huge. There are media rooms for people to
snuggle with special popcorn menus and reconnect.”
The property will also feature a main beachfront and
two-story overwater bungalows overlooking the private cove.
The resort “will be a living, breathing physical
representation of what we call Sandals 2.0,” Stewart said. “It’s going to blow
everyone's mind. We’ll have innovations we’ve never had before, and this will
be an absolute showpiece.”
Rather than sequester guests within the property, Sandals is
going against the allinclusive archetype by encouraging them to explore the
archipelago, Stewart said. “We’re building Sandals Saint Vincent around day
trips down to Tobago Cays, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Grenadines, and
around the street food, the tours and experiences of the country.”
Sandals Royal Curaçao
Sandals
officials are also celebrating the successful debut of Sandals Royal Curaçao,
representing another new Caribbean destination for the brand. Located on a
stretch of white-sand beach amid mangrove forests, the 399-room resort features
an Aqua Park with six waterslides, 11 restaurants and bars and four outdoor
pools including an infinity pool overlooking the Caribbean Sea.
In January, Stewart toured the property with the resort’s
managers. “I spent the day with them and being with our customers on the
beach,” he said. “I must have talked with 60 to 70 customers. Every single
customer was blown away, and they’re also curious about Curaçao.”
As in St. Vincent, Sandals will offer its Curaçao guests
opportunities to explore the destination. “Few [guests] knew Curaçao before the
brand, and now we have the [self-driving] MINI Cooper [auto] tours that take
travelers out for new experiences,” Stewart said.
Customized Dining Program
The MINI Coopers are linked to the property’s customized
dining program, providing transportation to eateries around the island.
“It’s about authentic, meaningful connections to the people
of the country,” said Stewart. “We have [MINI Cooper vehicles] lined up front
for the hotel in Curaçao available for no charge, you just sign a release and
you go,” he said.
“We give [guests] credits to the best restaurants in the
country; our staff is constantly exploring the best venues on the culinary
scene,” Stewart said. “We rolled [the dining program] out in the Bahamas and
it’s coming right now into Barbados as we speak,” Stewart explained.
The Curaçao property also replicates the sublime natural
environment that distinguishes the company’s properties. “The landscaping has
grown up now and the hotel is hospital-grid clean,” Stewart said. “The services
are flying. Our dream of years ago is coming together beautifully. I left super
happy just seeing how much [guests] love it.”
Sandals Dunns River
Stewart also praised renovations completed last year at the
company’s iconic Jamaican
property, Sandals Dunn’s River.
“Sandals Dunn’s River has been a massive success,” he said.
As with the other properties, the resort’s amenities, facilities and services
have been enhanced to a new standard.
“Every restaurant other than the jerk restaurant is a new
concept. Our rum club is a favorite on the property,” Stewart said. “Our
Rondoval suites have open roofs for stargazing,” Stewart. “Everything we’ve
done is in the Sandals tradition of creating moments for two people.”
Redesigning Destination Weddings
Sandals’ 2024 destination wedding program has been enhanced
with new elements, highlighted by alluring colors and immersive concepts
designed to reflect the Caribbean islands’ magical spirit.
“It all starts with choosing an idyllic wedding locale and
we’re proud to be synonymous with some of the best destination wedding
locations around the world,” said Sandals Director of Wedding and Romance
Marsha-Ann Donaldson-Brown.
Sandals surveyed more than 1,000 newlyweds and brides-to-be,
she said, and found 70 percent prioritized “scenery and location” as the most
important elements of a destination wedding.
In turn, Sandals created new decor concepts “intended to
bring our guests and couples closer to place,” Donaldson-Brown said.
The Curaçao
Desert Blooms collection at Sandals Royal Curaçao features ivory fabrics, cream
florals and green succulents mirroring the island’s flora and color palette.
The Bahamian Seashells concept at Sandals Royal Bahamian
features a bold color palette and ceremony seating configuration shaped like a
conch shell along with other elements representative of Bahamian culture.
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