PARADISE ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS--At the Caribbean Marketplace being held this week at Atlantis, Sandals Resorts' CEO, Adam Stewart, told Travel Agent that the company is in preliminary planning to build six to eight boutique-style accommodations on its private island located a few miles away from its Royal Caribbean resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The island already features a swim-up bar, a secluded beach and a Thai restaurant. "It is a very difficult place to build, it's tricky," Stewart said. "If we can show people how to build there and build there effectively, then we will put rooms there." There is no time frame for when construction would start, but Stewart said a building plan is imminent.
Stewart also said at the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) event that Sandals will build its first condo-hotel, a 100-room development on Providenciales in Turks and Caicos. The property will operate under Sandals' upscale Royal Plantation brand. Construction is slated to begin at the end of the year or in early 2009, according to Stewart. (JP)