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The Grace Bay Club in Turks and Caicos made a major announcement Tuesday at a New York City event, but Travel Agent already got the scoop. The well-known, luxury brand will undergo a major expansion, including new properties in the Caribbean and its first-ever in Central America.
During a sit down Tuesday with Grace Bay Club representatives, Mark Durliat, CEO and developer for the Grace Bay Club, told Travel Agent the company will begin an expansion that will call for a maximum of 10 additional properties in the next 10 years. It will build two new properties adjacent to the existing Grace Bay Club, which comprises the Hotel at Grace Bay Club, the Villas at Grace Bay Club and the soon-to-open The Estate at Grace Bay Club. Those new properties will begin groundbreaking in about one year, with completion expected in about three years.
Furthermore, Grace Bay Club is in preliminary discussions with two spots in the Dominican Republic and three areas in Costa Rica. Durliat wouldn’t divulge exactly where the locations will be in those destinations. Nikheel Advani, managing director for the Grace Bay Club who was instrumental in seven successful Ritz-Carlton projects, told us that Grace Bay Club is also serious about purchasing an existing property in Costa Rica. If all goes well with that project, Durliat says perhaps Panama and other Latin America destinations, such as Argentina and Belize, could be targeted.
Grace Bay Club is also looking into expanding in the Caribbean outside of Turks and Caicos for the first time. He says Eastern Caribbean destinations such as Antigua, St. Lucia and Grenada are all being targeted. Although he wouldn’t tell us which one, he did confirm that negotiations are already under way with one of those three destinations.
Visit www.gracebayclub.com.