New Sandals brand is in growth mode
The Royal Plantation brand is in an expansion mode, with Royal Plantation Island, Fowl Cay, Exumas the first of several properties planned, according to Adam Stewart, CEO of Sandals Resorts.
Next to come will be the 100-room Royal Plantation, Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos, on a 20-acre site located next door to Beaches Turks and Caicos.
Construction is slated to begin next spring, with the opening 14 months later. The resort, which has been two years in the planning stages, will mark the debut of Sandals' first condominium-hotel project, according to Stewart.
"Basically, we took 25 years of what has worked well for Sandals and we are incorporating it into this property. As the demand for more and more luxury travel increases, we are responding to that demand with Royal Plantation, Grace Bay," Stewart said.
The penthouse alone will be 10,000 square feet.
Following Grace Bay will be Royal Plantation, Bloody Bay in Negril, Jamaica, also a condominium-hotel resort, although no timetable has been set. -- G.N.M.
The newest resort in Sandals' upscale Royal
Plantation product line is not in Jamaica, is not a new-build and
is not a cookie-cutter rendition of anything else out there.
Royal Plantation
Island, Fowl Cay, Exumas is a 50-acre private island sitting smack
in the center of the 140-mile Exuma chain of 365 protected cays and
islands in the Bahamas. Most of the islands are
uninhabited.
On a family fishing
vacation last spring, Gordon "Butch" Stewart, chairman of Sandals
& Beaches Resorts, saw the island, loved it and bought
it.
The previous owners
were an American couple from Virginia who had purchased the island
five years earlier. They built six villas, a main house with a
restaurant and a small dock for fishing boats and settled in as
retirees, renting villas to families, couples and small corporate
groups.
"Finding this
island was a serendipitous encounter," said Jaime Stewart, managing
director of Royal Plantation, Ocho Rios, Jamaica and the daughter
of Butch Stewart. "We'd heard about Fowl Cay, but it wasn't for
sale. Dad had always dreamed of having his own island, but nothing
he'd seen till then had been right. This was right, exactly
right."
She described Fowl
Cay (the name dates back more than 100 years when the local
inhabitants raised chickens as a source of food) as "the kind of
place where you leave your pearls at home. It's detached from the
bustle, it's serene and in the heart of the Bahamian world of
turquoise waters and indescribable beauty."
Although the Royal
Plantation team swung into high gear after the purchase was
finalized, Adam Stewart, Sandals CEO, said that Royal Plantation
Island would "remain an exclusive, all-villa, luxury property that
will embrace the traditions and integrity at the heart of this
region."
He emphasized that
Sandals was "treading lightly."
"Fowl Cay will
never be overdeveloped or bulldozed," Adam Stewart said. "It is a
protected, very special place, and we intend to keep it that way,
but with all the amenities and services of a Royal Plantation
property."
Jaime Stewart,
meanwhile, took "the bones of the villas" and set about tweaking
them so that they adhere to Royal Plantation's five-star
standards.
That translated to
Frette linens, plush towels, personalized butler services, new
furnishings, wooden and padded coat hangers, lounge chairs and golf
carts with the Royal Plantation logo for each villa. A staff of 12
Bahamian locals is being trained on site, and more staff will be
added.
Executive Chef Owen
Bain, previously at Royal Plantation in Jamaica, heads up the
culinary team. The general manager is Steve Huggins, an Australian
who ran the Lady Sandals operation until the yacht was sold
two-and-a-half years ago.
Fowl Cay offered 14
rooms in six villas when the property was purchased in April.
Expansion calls for another 10 to 15 villas, half of which will be
over-the-water structures, according to Adam Stewart.
Three of the new
villas will have four or more bedrooms and baths. The resort will
have a total of 40 bedrooms when construction is
completed.
Other new
facilities will be a spa at one end of the island, a beach
restaurant and a marina for use by resort guests as well as
visiting boaters who can tie up and dine at Fowl Cay's
restaurant.
A full range of
activities for adults and children will be offered.
"As a family
destination, Fowl Cay will offer real living and learning
experiences," Jaime said. "This is a parents' paradise, where their
kids are safe at all times. We'll take them in the Royal Plantation
boat to look for sand dollars, snorkel the reefs, spot sunken
planes, [find] swimming holes and [visit] a working stone
lighthouse."
Adults, meanwhile,
can take a picnic lunch to a deserted island or explore nearby cays
in one of the resort's small boats.
Stewart is aiming
for Green Globe certification of the property; the use of wind as a
source of power for the resort is being studied.
Rates for Royal Plantation Island, Fowl
Cay
Here's a look at
rates for Royal Plantation Island, Fowl Cay. Rates are valid
through Dec. 31.
"
Linden one-bedroom villa: $9,220 per couple per week or $659 per
person, per night ($11,175 and $798, respectively, during the
holiday season of Dec. 22 to Jan. 2).
" Starlight two-bedroom, two-bath
villa: $10,083 per couple per week or $720 per person, per night
($12,038 and $860, respectively, during the holidays).
" Seabreeze two-bedroom, two-bath
villa: $12,633 per week, $451 per person, per night for four guests
($14,588 and $521, respectively, during the holidays).
" Blue Moon three-bedroom,
three-bath villa: $13,495 per week, $482 per person, per night for
four guests ($15,450 and $552, respectively, during the
holidays).
" Sweetwater three-bedroom,
three-bath villa: $16,045 per week, $382 per person, per night for
six guests ($18,000 and $429, respectively, during the
holidays).
Children 5 and
under stay at $500 per night.
To
contact reporter Gay Nagle Myers, send e-mail to [email protected].