Sandals to enter corporate market

Sandals plans to enter the corporate market for the first time with Sandals City, reports the Jamaica Observer.

The hotel will be built in Kingston, and marks a departure from the group’s traditional all-inclusive leisure concept.

Sandals chairman Butch Stewart told the newspaper that Sandals City will have conference and banquet rooms, plus a spa, racquetball, tennis courts and a gym.

Sandals City will be in a prime location in the heart of town and will go head-to-head with Kingston’s other business hotels.

The only other brand name hotel based in the capital is Hilton.

According to the report, the hotel is in the planning stages and there is no opening date set.

Observers feel that now is a good time to start building a new business hotel as by the time it is completed the economy should be picking up.

Stewart added: “We’ve always managed to expand regardless of the prevailing economic climate.”

In the past two years the group has developed the Mediterranean Village, a-188-family suites expansion in Antigua; and added the Italian Village to Beaches Turks & Caicos with an extra 180 suites.

And last month it acquired the Four Seasons in Great Exuma, Bahamas (pictured, above), which will be renamed Sandals Emerald Bay.