Since it opened in April 2008, Seven Stars Resort on Grace Bay Beach on Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, has changed owners, switched management, rethought strategies, redesigned culinary venues and repositioned market focus.
All good stuff, but what really matters is the Deck, the resort's beachfront, outdoor bar, recently enlarged so it now can accommodate 180 sunset-celebrating guests in 3,000 square feet of teak, palms, hammocks and lounge chairs on two levels.
"This is important," said Bryan Guillot, head of sales and marketing initiatives at the property. "We've got the best bar on the island, and we pay serious tribute to sundown. Our guests congregate at sunset to socialize, sip and sample tapas as the fire pits are lit, the music plays and the ambience really takes over."
After the sun dips below the horizon, guests can stroll from the Deck to Seven Stars' signature restaurant, Seven, a redesign and an expansion of an earlier venue.
Seven offers three distinct areas, including a bar with high-top table seating, a main dining room and a new indoor/outdoor lounge and terrace featuring a specialty nightcap drink every evening and a martini theme on Sunday nights.
Also new this winter is a beachfront lawn for early morning yoga classes or off-the-sand sunbathing and a wedding chapel for beachside nuptials.
"We were closed for six weeks this fall for property enhancements to the tune of half a million dollars in capital improvements," Guillot said.
"We're forecasting a 30% jump in peak-season business, [and] we have a strong group of owners and great support from the travel agent community," Guillot said.
The resort now is focused on luxury and class, "delivering what our guests expect and meeting and exceeding those expectations," according to Guillot.
Guillot's experience includes working as chief marketing officer of Baha Mar Resorts in Nassau, opening the Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando and working for Westin Hotels and Resorts for 13 years. He joined Seven Stars in April to lead sales and marketing in the U.S. and Canada and to direct the upgrades for the winter season.
The 120-suite property sits on 22 acres midway along the 12-mile expanse of Grace Bay Beach on the island's northeast coast, where its competition includes Grace Bay Club, the Gansevoort and the Regent Palms, with Beaches Turks and Caicos a short stroll farther down the sand.
The ownership change took effect in May 2009, when a group of 100 condominium owners at Seven Stars purchased the resort from the original developer. They appointed a board of directors, which runs the property. The owners' units are placed in the resort's rental pool when not owner-occupied.
Although seven buildings originally were planned (the resort takes its name from the seven stars in the Pleiades constellation), only three beachfront buildings have been built, and there are no plans at present to expand the room count.
"Our business today is highly concentrated," Guillot said. "Seven Stars is a luxury resort with appeal to several market segments, including couples, weddings and families."
Outsized accommodations are a key selling point, ranging from 600 square feet to 4,000 square feet each with a private balcony or wraparound terrace, a kitchen, wine refrigerator, espresso machine and from one to four bedrooms.
Suites have Internet access; the public areas offer WiFi at no charge.
Kids have their own club and special menus in the three restaurants. A private dive concierge will teach kids how to dive as well as arrange customized dive trips for adults.
Other amenities include watersports; a heated, infinity saltwater pool and 12 pool cabanas; a spa; tennis courts; a fitness center; nearby golf; and a wedding gazebo.
"We're offering fam trips this winter and plan a series of agent calls in key U.S. markets," Guillot said.
Bookings through tour operators are on the rise. Greg Thorne, vice president of Inter Island Tours/Cheap Caribbean, reported strong sales since midsummer for the winter season.
The scheduled launch of JetBlue's daily service from New York Kennedy on Feb. 17 and its Saturday seasonal service from Boston on Feb. 19, added to Continental's new nonstop, four-days-a-week service from Newark on Feb. 18, "will help drive visitors to the destination and, in turn, to Seven Stars," Guillot said.
"Ease of air access with accommodations at an intimate luxury property is a winning formula," he said.
Visit www.sevenstarsgracebay.com.