St. Lucia’s Hotel Chocolat has only been opened for roughly a year, but its CEO told Travel Agent on Tuesday that other Caribbean islands have already expressed interest in bringing the cocoa-themed luxury boutique to their destinations.
Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and CEO of the boutique hotel/restaurant, says that several islands, including St. Vincent, Jamaica, Dominica and Grenada, have already reached out to him about expanding his unique culinary-based property.
But Thirwelll maintains that he and his staff of 120 culinary and agriculture experts would like to continue their early success in St. Lucia before it becomes a victim of overly aggressive expansion plans.
“So many hotels go out in a blaze of glory because they are so quick to do too much in a short period of time,” he says. “It didn’t take long for other islands to notice what we have been doing and many of them are interested in having us. But we would like to maintain our standards first. We would like to continue to build upon what we started in St. Lucia before we think about expanding.”
Hotel Chocolat, which opened in 2011, is a boutique property set at The Rabot Estate, a working cocoa estate of the upscale British chocolatier. It has 14 luxury Cocoa Pods and Cocoa Pods Luxe, Club Boucan with an infinity pool, the cocoa-inspired Boucan Restaurant, and Cocoa Juvenate Spa with its exclusive range of wellness therapies.
Visit www.hotelchocolat.co.uk.