Sandals Resorts’ Adam Stewart Reflects on Jamaica’s Pride in TravelPulse Interview

by Brian Major
Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Thu April 16, 2026

Earlier this month, Sandals Resorts welcomed the Today show’s Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones to Sandals Dunn’s River in partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board, bringing the island’s culture, music, cuisine and natural beauty to millions of viewers nationwide with a clear message: Jamaica is open, vibrant and ready to welcome visitors.

For Sandals, the moment was deeply personal. As a brand born in Jamaica, the decision to help bring Today to the island following Hurricane Melissa reflected a long-standing commitment to showing up for home, not just in moments of celebration, but in moments that matter most. It’s also a recognition that Jamaica’s story is bigger than any one brand. When the island rises, so do the communities, partners and people who make tourism possible.

TravelPulse spoke with Adam Stewart, Sandals’ executive chairman, to gain insight into how he keeps Jamaica top of mind and why moments like this play a role in shaping the country’s tourism future.

TravelPulse (TP): How did it feel to have the Today show visit your resort as a representative of Jamaica?

Adam Stewart (AS): Of course we were at Sandals Dunn’s River being the undoubtable best all-inclusive resort in Jamaica and I would argue the best resort in Jamaica, period. It was a wonderful place to host it. Tons of love, tons of positive energy. It was just wonderful. It exceeded all our expectations, and it was what Jamaica needed.

TP: What messages did you seek to deliver about Jamaica?

AS: The Caribbean is close to home. And it’s safe. Jamaica is a country brand that continues to soar in terms of its economic prosperity. Crime in Jamaica is down 40 percent, it’s at its lowest levels in more than 30 years. Jamaica gets more vibrant, more peaceful, more beautiful. It’s kind of like a bush at your house - you have to prune it, sometimes you have to cut it back, then it blossoms again – that’s what’s happening with Jamaica.

TP: How can visitors appreciate Jamaica’s natural beauty?

AS: Just this weekend I was in the east, and we were all sitting in the water - we were in Port Antonio. There were 20 of us sitting in the water looking back at how green and lush and colorful Port Antonio is - you know the river comes right down into the ocean with crystal clear waters with this green backdrop. I know it sounds like I’m selling Jamaica, but Jamaica is just looking amazing. And the best way to showcase it is to let people see it for themselves.

So between the Today show, between the big travel advisor event we had in December, and all the travel agents brought through, and our past guests, our message has been come back to Jamaica and see it for yourself.

TP: What are you doing to restore your Jamaican resorts?

AS: So Sandals MoBay, our first Sandals, Sandals Royal Caribbean, our second Sandals and Sandals South Coast being the first Sandals we built from the ground up, those three hotels got hit by the hurricane. They didn’t need to be closed as long as we closed them, but we closed them first and foremost to give the staff a month off. And from there, we looked at the resorts and said, how do we not waste this crisis? And we are spending $200 million on these three hotels. We’re doing Sandals 2.0, which is a total transformation, similar to what we did with Dunn’s River. They’re going to be remarkable with new restaurants, we’re putting in Sandals Royal Caribbean a linear pool, like Sandals St. Vincent which was a brand first, and a beach club.

And the gastronomy is a huge part of it because the gastronomy at Sandals is moving to the next level. It doesn’t feel like a traditional all-inclusive. It feels very authentic. We’re adding new rooms and suites to bring those resorts to the next level. We’re re-opening in November and December .

TP: How will the renovations transform the resorts?

AS: Sandals MoBay gave birth to the Sandals brand and it gave us flight and we made sure that what we’re bringing back to market will out-perform anything that’s in our concept. When you walked into Sandals Royal Caribbean you walked into a 1970’s style lobby and finding the ocean you had to go through a maze to get to it. So we just demolished the whole centerline building which was room blocks. You’re now going to arrive and just like St. Vincent you’re going to be looking straight down to the ocean.

The Sandals collection in Jamaica is going to be dangerously competitive and we’re excited about it. So we’re ahead of everyone, we’re doing far more work with the evolution of the physical product.

TP: Going back to Hurricane Melissa, how did the company respond?

AS: We kept 100 percent of our staff on payroll for the entire time. We kept all of the medical benefits. We deployed all of our loyal team members who are waiting for their beloved Sandals MoBay, Royal Caribbean and South Coast to re-open across the Caribbean. We have them working on new projects, some renovations we’re doing. We have 2,000 staff that we’ve kept on payroll that we’ve employed to work on the future of Sandals.

TP: What else did you do?

AS: We told 100 percent of our customers they could stay with us as long as they needed to after the hurricane. We chartered a Dreamliner and got those who couldn’t get on flights out. We flew in several 737s full of aid. We gave our company hangar so the relief planes could fly in and land and work with military helicopters that went to the communities. We housed the police, the military, the ministry of health. We housed the power company at Sandals South Coast for two months, all free of cost. So Sandals in no small way played this passive role. But that’s what its all about. Butch Stewart taught us you have to be the ultimate corporate citizen. You have to take care of those who take care of you. Every company says we have the best team and we do the most. But put Sandals toe to toe beside anybody and I promise you we’ll win every day when it comes to taking care of our communities.

TP: What are your thoughts about Jamaica?

AS: My Jamaican passport says Caricom community. This is where we live, where we’re from. My kids are now seventh generation Jamaican. We really believe this is our little ecosystem to protect and preserve. I went to the resorts after the hurricane to thank our team members for taking care of our customers. And they were thanking the leadership teams and the head office. This little ecosystem of everyone looking out for everyone in times of need. To me that’s the magic of the Caribbean archipelago. It’s one community of nature and love. Our public and private sector could have been a Harvard Business Review docuseries. The public and private sectors working hand in hand to fix our challenge. I think Sandals came out of it as the absolute Rolls Royce of the industry.

My father always said, “Out of bad comes good.” This was the perfect situation. We have three resorts that will be better than they could have been had the hurricane not come. The travel advisor support has been over the moon; I’ve had probably 200 DMs in my social media saying they can’t wait to see it. The enthusiasm of our staff, of travel advisors, of airline executives to have product at this level and what we’re going to do coming back to take care of our our visitors – it feels pretty good. :

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