GROS ISLET, St. Lucia -- Although the pace of construction has slowed due to the economy, Starwood Hotels & Resorts is on track to open four hotels in the Caribbean by the end of the year or the first quarter of 2010, according to Graeme Davis, vice president of operations, South Florida & Caribbean.
"The Caribbean hotel market is being challenged right now," Davis said at the Caribbean Marketplace on St. Lucia. “No brands are recession-proof, and everyone is looking for values, but Starwood remains optimistic about future growth in the region.
"Nine years ago Starwood had three properties in the Caribbean, and we were lacking a footprint in the U.S. market regarding vacation options in the region. We now have seven resorts open, four under construction and others are under consideration and in the pipeline."
Currently open are the Westin Aruba, which completed a $22 million renovation last year; the 274-room Westin St. John Resort and Villas on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, which opened 50 new villas in 2008; the Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort & Spa; the Westin Casuarina Resort and Spa in Grand Cayman; the 379-room Westin Resort and Spa in Cancun; the 694-room Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort in Nassau, which completed a $95 million renovation in 2008; and the 107-room Four Points by Sheraton Resort and Casino at Palmas del Mar in Puerto Rico.
Opening in October is the 156-room W Retreat & Spa on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, following a $100 million upgrade and renovation of the former Wyndham Martineau Bay. An 18-hole golf course also is under development and will follow in the next two years.
The 337-room Westin Roco Ki Beach & Golf Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic -- the first property in the Punta Cana area that is not all-inclusive, according to Davis -- will debut in the first quarter of 2010. The 18-hole Faldo Legacy Course already is open.
The first phase of the 469-room Westin Le Paradis Beach, Golf & Marina Resort on St. Lucia will open next year. The property will include 200 hotel rooms and an 18-hole Greg Norman-designed golf course.
"This is an eight-year project that's well underway and ultimately will include villas, condominium units, a 15,000-square-foot spa, seven restaurants, a marina and a marina village with shops and restaurants, conference facilities, tennis, a kids' club, an equestrian center and a helipad," Davis said.
The Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino, the anchor property in the convention center complex in San Juan, will open next year. Once that happens, construction will commence on Starwood's first Aloft hotel in the Caribbean, which will go up next to the Sheraton.