Sandals Resorts International and the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday signed an agreement for construction of a $500 billion 500 room Sandals Beaches Resort at Mt Wynne.
The signing ceremony took place at Sandals Resort in Buccament.
Addressing the ceremony, Regional Managing Director of Sandals Resorts, Eastern Caribbean, Winston Anderson said the new resort will be one of the first resorts of its type in the Eastern Caribbean and will no doubt be a game changer, not only for the company, but for St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the entire Caribbean region.
Anderson said that Beaches itself is probably the greatest testimony of success of what is done at Sandals. “After all, when you create an environment for people in love, when you create an environment of harmony, then you expect certain things to happen. And when this happens, you suddenly find yourself having to cater not just for people in love, but those plus one or two,” he said.
Anderson said that, clearly, with the advent of beaches, it means that they are doing something right. Indeed, those of you know, the Beaches Resorts are for the entire family – kids, teens, toddlers, grandmas, grandpas, uncles, aunties.
“This amazing brand allow us to deliver the excellence of an all-inclusive Sandals vacation to the entire family. For me, this is a very, very special and proud moment, as I was given the honor and the privilege to be part of this initial journey of Sandals into St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” Anderson said.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Central Leeward MP Orando Brewster said a resort in Central Leeward is not only brick and mortar, but a resort that “would help to build beyond the infrastructure.”
“For those of us who know Central Leeward, we will know that this constituency has over the years try in the different avenues to develop, whether it’s in the agriculture sector, whether it’s in small scale tourism. But having a Sandals Beaches in this neck of the woods, will not only change the game as it relates to construction, but this will touch many lives and livelihoods.
“This resort will create legacy, because it is the first of its kind anywhere in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. But how did we arrive here? That is the question that is most fundamental. And I can tell you this, we arrived at this point because of one word, it’s called vision,” Brewster said.
Minister of Tourism Carlos James said Sandals’ decision to build Beaches St Vincent and the Grenadines “demonstrates the confidence” that a global tourism hospitality company such as Sandals has in this country.
James said that at the recent State of the Tourism Industry Conference in this country, the message shared to the Vincentian public was to have confidence in their own product.
“Those who are investing in this space, those who are coming into our tourism build-out, have confidence in your product.
“And if companies such as Sandals, by their show of demonstration of goodwill, have the establishment of Sandals here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, right in Buccament, and then moved to have in Mt Wynne, private Mt Wynne, a Beaches in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, I must join, all of us must join and commend them for taking this bold initiative in investing in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“What we have seen, at least in my time as Minister of Tourism, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is a full transformation of our tourism product. I’m supported by a hard-working team within the Cabinet, the leadership of our Prime Minister, who had the vision to build out the Argyle International Airport.
“And when he started that project, he said, we are going to build it, and the investment will come. We supported that initiative. And the relationship that we have built across St. Vincent and the Grenadines, built also regionally, internationally, with hotel chains, the airlines, marketing teams, we have seen St. Vincent and the Grenadines in our tourism space taken off and transforming,” James said.
Sandals’ executive Chairman, Adam Stewart, in his remarks said this country has been an incredible experience for the Sandals organization. He said the vision started many years ago with his father, Butch Stewart, and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. And he and Camillo Gonsalves had the great fortune of taking to the next level.
“I was saying to the Prime Minister earlier, and you can measure performance in many metrics, the big hotel world usually gives a hotel somewhere between three or four years to what they call stabilize. For the team members to gain their confidence, for the financial, you know, for the incoming revenue, for the relationships between the farmers and the fishers, they gave it three plus years.
“Sandals St. Vincent and the Grenadines stabilized within one year. It sits in the top three of two dozen of the best resorts in the Caribbean in performance of booking pace, net promoter score, customer feedback, which means the people, everybody in this country – farmers, fishers, tour providers, pastors and priests that officiate our weddings, the government, immigration, customs, you name it,” he said.
Stewart said every single facet of this society has welcomed his company and he and his company and employees owe this country an incredible debt of gratitude, noting the genuine partnership, the business friendly environment, the agility to respond because life will throw us challenges every day.”
Prime Minister Gonsalves spoke of the importance of building the international airport to development of tourism and attracting Sandals.
Gonsalves thanked Adam Stewart and Sandals for working with his government to bring about what he is hoping will be the best Beaches resort.
“I’m hoping that this one would be the jewel in the Beaches crown,” Gonsalves said.
Gonsalves also said this partnership started between Butch Stewart and himself, and then Sandals and the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Then a closeness developed between Adam and Camillo and others, including and Carlos James.
He said he and Butch first met in the late 1990s. At that time Butch actually was interested in doing a small hotel in Canouan but for several rasons it did not happen under the administration of Sir James Mitchell.
He said that on the 30th anniversary of Caricom, in 2003, at Rose Hall, Montego Bay, he went on a cruise us on a cruise Butch and former Jamaican Prime Minister PJ Patterson had organized.
“And we stood on the vessel. We spoke a lot about the Caribbean, and about the need for us to build modern, competitive, many-sided, post-colonial economies, which were local, and national, and regional, and global,” Gonsalves said.
“With each of those words pregnant with real meaning. And he said to me, I will come to St. Vincent and the Grenadines when you build the International Airport. I said, when we will build the airport, and after we have built it, you and I will talk about coming.”
