The Jalousie Plantation on St. Lucia, a UNESCO World Heritage site, will be rebranded, repositioned and reopened in 2010 as the Tides Sugar Beach, the Kor Hotel Group's first Caribbean offering under the Tides brand.
The resort, which is set on 325 acres between the towering Pitons on St. Lucia's southwestern coast, will close early next summer for a $100 million upgrade and renovation, according to Roger Myers, the property's owner.
When the Jalousie reopens as the all-inclusive Tides Sugar Beach, it will include 150 villas and guestrooms with private pools; water and land activities; a beach lounge; a fitness center; four restaurants; and a number of personal assistants, much like the private butlers found at several Caribbean resorts.
A wellness program, a signature spa and a design style that fuses Asian, African and Caribbean influences will reflect Kor Hotel Group's trademarks.
The resort dates from the 1900s, when an existing hotel on the same site underwent a $6 million upgrade and was renamed the Jalousie Plantation.
Most of the current accommodations are in private cottages and small villas set into the hillside and surrounded by tropical vegetation. Shuttles and vans crisscross the spread-out, hilly property to transport guests to and from the restaurants and the beach on Caribbean Bay.
Myers said that Jalousie, which had been on the market, attracted "much interest from prestigious resort operators around the world, primarily due to its unique location in a small, beachfront valley between the Pitons."
Kor's other Tides properties include the Tides Riviera Maya on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, the Tides Zihuatanejo on Mexico's west coast and the Tides South Beach in Miami Beach.
Future development includes the Tides Riviera Playa del Carmen on Mexico's Riviera Maya and the Tides Anguilla.
Kor Hotel Group, based in Los Angeles, also operates the Viceroy and Urban Retreat brands.