by Brian Major
Last updated: 1:30 PM ET, Wed January 7, 2015
PHOTO: Sandals Grande Riviera in Ocho Rios will debut new renovations in February.
Sandals Resorts International announced January 28 as the opening date for the 280-room Sandals Barbados resort. Purchased by Sandals in August 2013, the resort shut down in February for a $65 million renovation of the property's accommodations and the addition of several new restaurants.
The new resort will feature Ocean Village, Crystal Lagoon Village and Caribbean Village wings, plus beachfront butler suite accommodations and swim-up river suites.
Sandals Barbados will also offer 11 dining options including Bayside, a French Brasserie and Kimonos, a Japanese Teppanyaki eatery. Other new restaurants will include Butch's Chophouse, a New York-style steakhouse and Bombay Club, Sandals' first-ever Indian restaurant.
Sandals will also shortly launch construction on a new Beaches Barbados resort on the site of the former Almond Beach Resort in St. Peter, Barbados, say company officials. Construction on another new Beaches resort will also begin this year at Sandals' existing Grand Pineapple Beach Resort in Long Bay, Antigua.
Sandals has also completed upgrades at several of its other Caribbean resorts. Beaches Turks & Caicos features 12 newly renovated two-bedroom suites in its Caribbean Village wing. The luxury butler villa suites feature new furnishings and designs.
The Sandals Grande Riviera in Ocho Rios, Jamaica will undergo renovations through Feb. 1, 2015 including the addition of Tapas on the Riviera, a tapas bar; Le Gourmand, a high-end French restaurant; Vista, a seafood beachside restaurant; The Southern Table, which will feature Southern soul food; Ocean, with cuisine from southern France; Jerk Shack, featuring authentic Jamaican jerk cuisine; and the Rabbit Hole, a new "speakeasy" bar.
In St. Lucia, eight Piton Water's Edge suites at the Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort & Spa have been renovated. Sandals is also building five over-the-water suites on the private island at its Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort & Private Island in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Set to debut in 2015, each 1,400 square-foot villa will feature a glass floor, soaking tub, king-size bed, 65-inch flat-screen televisions, indoor and outdoor showers, exterior dining space and a built-in hammock over the water.
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