Sandals Resorts International (SRI) has unveiled a number of enhancements to a variety of its Luxury Included® resorts this upcoming season.

In order to stay ahead of the curve, SRI has recently undertaken large scale renovation projects at several of its resorts which are part of a $500 million investment plan to expand and enhance the company’s offerings in the Caribbean over the coming decade.

“Innovation is essential to staying relevant” said Gordon “Butch” Stewart, Founder and Chairman of Sandals Resorts International. “We have restlessly pursued exceeding guest expectations and as we move forward we will continue to invest in our products and our people.”

Below is an overview of the sensational renovations and updates to Luxury Included® resort properties, which guests can experience first-hand in 2012: 

The Bahamas

Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island:  This royal retreat will offer an entirely new experience, as all 144 rooms in the Manor Block will experience a complete transformation both inside and out.  Featuring a lighter, contemporary look, the rooms and suites in the newly-renamed “Balmoral Tower” will include travertine-style oversized rectangle tiling instead of carpet, mahogany entertainment units with a 42 inch plasma television, bar area and refrigerator, neutral draperies with open-weave sheers, and gorgeous large-scale area rugs featuring teal, charcoal and amber accents.  The renovated bathrooms will include contemporary stained mahogany his and her vanities with porcelain basins and Carrera marble tops, backlit mirrors, and white beveled subway tiles with blue, cream and amber glass accent tiles in the showers.  The most exciting feature is sure to be the large balconies being added to 42 of the ocean view rooms in the Balmoral Tower.  An additional five ground-floor rooms will now become walk-out rooms, providing direct access onto the newly-finished white concrete pool deck, which incorporates local fauna and conch shells.  Beachfront fire pits and an expanded lounge area will complete the Balmoral Tower’s new look.  An additional daytime bar on the pier plus an upgrade to the famed Gordon’s restaurant will enhance the gastronomic experience at Sandals Royal Bahamian, while the Royal Villas will feature newly designed landscaping. These renovations are expected to be complete by early 2012.

Jamaica

Sandals Montego Bay:  The first Sandals Resort gives guests even more to love now with upgraded common areas and enhanced dining outlets. A new beach bar means your favorite beverage is never far away, all while delivering a contemporary Jamaican look, including a local cut stone façade, large baskets as lighting, and subtle column lighting.  The resort’s new Pizzeria and grill entices with local woods, glass tiles, and natural stones.  Proving to be one of the most popular additions, a new cut stone deck with resin wicker lounge furniture, oversized chaise lounges and a romantic fire pit offers the perfect post-dinner relaxation spot. Guests will soon have another lounge area to enjoy too, set right on the beach, next to the Piano Bar.  An additional lounge deck will also be added on the beach in front of the Almond Building.  Eleven Deluxe Oceanside rooms will be upgraded with soft furnishings featuring light aqua and beige upholstery, white draperies and white mat lasse bedding.

Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort & Private Island: On the exotic offshore Sandals Island, guests will soon be able to enjoy a new lounge and fire pit area on the beach facing the lush Jamaican landscape.  The resort’s Royal Beachfront suites in the Balmoral building will soon feature upgraded bathrooms with new marble walls, floors, and counter tops, stained mahogany vanities, and backlit mirrors. The property’s Red Lane® Spa fitness center has also been renovated, with brand new Life Fitness equipment to ensure a quality workout with the comforts of personal TVs, an iPod docking station and Nike+ technology.

Sandals Grande Riviera Beach & Villa Golf Resort:  Following a $60 million upgrade project, the newest resort in Jamaica and the largest resort in the portfolio now features three resorts in one with the Riviera Great House, Riviera Villas and the Riviera Seaside. At the brand-new Riviera Beach Club, guests can experience poolside butler service, a grotto pool, fire pits, expansive lounge areas and over-the-sand decks and much more. The Riviera Seaside offers barefoot sophistication with chic cocktail lounges, outdoor decks and stunning ocean views from almost every location, including seven restaurants.  With a total of 15 new and redesigned restaurants, in-room upgrades with suites now offering Plasma TVs and iPod docking stations, as well as newly outfitted bathrooms, are sure to impress the most discerning guests.  The resort’s Red Lane® Spa also received a new facelift with updated porcelain tiled floors, a new color scheme, natural Indonesian paneling and coral stone coping around the spa’s central plunge pools.

Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa: Already known for being one of Jamaica’s most sheltered escapes, the secluded Sandals Whitehouse resort in Westmoreland, Jamaica will soon offer even more ways to sneak away together, with three new outdoor lounge areas.  The first, located on the resort’s expansive deck outside of Bayside restaurant, will include several sectional lounges and vertical fire pits, while the second area will feature three decks set right over the beach with individual fire pits for romantic evenings under the stars.  The third lounge area will be built near Neptune’s and offer beautiful views of the sea and the Jamaican mountains beyond. Eleanor’s restaurant will receive a whole new look, with upgraded upholstery and draperies featuring deep royal blues and copper accents.  Oversized historical photographs of Jamaica will decorate the walls, transporting guests to the island’s heyday.  Giuseppe’s Restaurant will also be upgraded, with new fabrics for the restaurant’s banquets, chair covers and draperies, and large tapestries on the walls.  Café de Paris will become an even more popular destination, as the patisserie adds a new outdoor lounge area with loveseats, Carrera marble-topped bistro tables, and cantilevered Tucci umbrellas.  The resort’s accommodations are also seeing upgrades, as the top two categories of suites – the One Bedroom Penthouse Honeymoon Beachfront Suite and the One Bedroom Walkout Honeymoon Beachfront Suite – will see new soft furnishings, an upgraded entertainment unit in the suite’s parlor that includes a 42 inch plasma television and bar area, new draperies in the bedrooms and fresh paint.  Couples can expect to enjoy these new features by early 2012.

Beaches Negril Resort & Spa:  Guests will now experience upgrades resort-wide, including an enhanced Red Lane® Spa fitness center with all new Life Fitness aerobic equipment, upgraded locker rooms and new outdoor whirlpool. In guest rooms, a refreshing look will be aesthetically pleasing for the entire family, as 225 rooms will receive all new soft furnishings and furniture, full bath renovations including new soaking tubs, natural-colored marble vanities and upgraded tiling,  plus a new armoire for 42 inch plasma televisions. The resort’s poolside and seaside restrooms will soon have a natural contemporary look, with wood paneling, individual basins and oversize tiles.  New furniture and awnings throughout the resort’s public spaces will offer families additional areas to relax together, while the pool bar will feature new stone countertop.  These enhancements will be complete by early 2012.

Beaches Boscobel Resort & Golf Club:  Travelers this season will be reintroduced to Beaches Boscobel with a whole new look. With $14 million in upgrades invested in the 223-room resort, guests will be treated to expanded restaurants, brand-new entertainment areas and updated guest rooms and suites.  Perhaps the most visible change for returning guests, Beaches Boscobel’s main pool area welcomed extensive developments including expanded pool decks, additional pool-side lounge areas and an upgraded observation deck ideal for wedding ceremonies and private dining.  The resort’s main stage has also been updated with the latest technology equipment, making an even bigger splash during the popular Sesame Street stage shows and interactive productions. The resort’s restaurants including Bayside, Arizona’s and Eleanor’s have adopted new soft furnishings and expansions, including the addition of new bars and al fresco dining terraces overlooking the resort. Upgraded rooms and suites now feature new mahogany furniture, updated soft goods and in-room décor and top-of-the-line plasma TVs. 

Turks & Caicos

Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa:  The resort’s Presidential Two Bedroom suites will be receiving new soft furnishing upgrades in their parlors, to include new drapes, upholstery and pillows in a beige and coral motif.  Deluxe, Premium & Grande Luxe rooms in the Caribbean Village will also receive a soft furnishings upgrade, with new white mate lasse bedding, matching pillow shams, fresh paint, new palm-themed rugs, upgraded artwork, a custom eight foot mahogany entertainment unit with 42 inch plasma television, microwave and refrigerator, and added trundle beds or sleeper chairs. All rooms and suites within the French and Italian Villages will all receive new rugs, and all guest rooms will feature a personal Xbox® 360 game console.  The exterior of the French Village restaurant row will receive a facelift, with new windows & doors, fresh paint and all new table tops and white Tucci umbrellas.  These new upgrades will be unveiled by January 2012.

Antigua

Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa:  One of the most unique and exotic accommodations offered at Sandals Resorts are the Rondoval Suites, where guests reside in luxurious round villas with conical roofs that feature personal patios, private plunge pools or instant access to the beach, and, best of all, an attentive butler.  At Sandals Grande Antigua, eight exquisite Rondoval suites, which include seven beachfront and one garden-view, are being upgraded to provide guests with larger, luxurious bathrooms, complete with mounted rain showers and new vanities, plus flat screen plasma TVs and writing desks. The latest updates to Sandals Grande Antigua will be finished in early 2012.

Sandals Resorts also has a very special expansion project currently in the works in Saint Lucia. Below is a sneak-peak of the first and only-of-their-kind suites in the Caribbean:

Saint Lucia

Sandals Grande Saint Lucian Spa & Beach Resort:  Sandals Resorts is preparing to begin construction on sixteen magnificent over-the-water suites in autumn of 2012.  These suites, which will be the first-of-their-kind in the Caribbean, are set to begin welcoming guests in 2013, and will help further introduce guests to the next level of the Sandals Resorts Luxury Included® vacation experience.  Sure to be a sensation, the over-the-water suites are primed to turn an already extraordinary suite into a magical environment.  Guests will be awed by these new suites that will be perched on a deck hovering over the sparkling sea.  To further showcase the natural beauty that envelopes guests in the Caribbean, the suites will feature see-through glass floors, over-the-water hammocks, outdoor showers and whirlpools, and lights right in the sea to offer prime night viewing of sea life.  Every over-the-water suite will be outfitted with the plushest materials, offering comfort and luxury to the extreme.  These exclusive suites will also include butler service, courtesy of Sandals Resorts’ exclusive partnership with the Guild of Professional English Butlers.

As with all Luxury Included® Vacations, guests of the newly upgraded Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts will experience the finest beaches of the Caribbean, with unprecedented luxurious amenities that include deluxe accommodations, premium brand wine and spirits including wines by Beringer Vineyards and El Dorado Rum, international a la carte culinary delights, land and water sports including SCUBA for certified divers, airport transfers and all resort taxes and fees.