Sandals Resorts International is in advanced discussions to build
a resort in the Riviera Maya. It would be the Jamaica-based company's first
hotel in Mexico and first outside of the Caribbean.
During a recent media presentation in Jamaica, Sandals
chairman and founder Butch Stewart also said that the company is considering
expansion to islands in the Dutch, French and Spanish Caribbean, via new or renovated
properties.
Stewart said he'd "happily go
back to Cuba when the situation changes." Sandals once operated resorts in
the beach resort town of Varadero, but left because the company "couldn’t
sell or improve the properties that carried our name since the government owned
them,” Stewart said.
Sandals has provided no details about the Riviera Maya
resort, including its exact location and when it will open.