Some of your favourite Caribbean resorts are sporting new names focused on their locations.
Sandals Resorts International announced the name changes on Wednesday. Executive VP Gary Sadler posted on social media that the company wanted to put "the destinations front and center!"
"Same beautiful resorts. Same Caribbean hospitality. Just a new way of identifying the places your clients love."
Get out your post-it pad! Here's the list of names, from the old to the new:
- Sandals Royal Bahamian → Sandals Bahamas Nassau
- Sandals Grande Antigua → Sandals Antigua
- Sandals Royal Curaçao → Sandals Curaçao
- Sandals Montego Bay → Sandals Jamaica Montego Bay
- Sandals South Coast → Sandals Jamaica South Coast
- Sandals Royal Caribbean → Sandals Jamaica Caribbean Cay
- Sandals Ochi Beach Resort → Sandals Jamaica Ocho Rios
- Sandals Grande St. Lucian → Sandals St. Lucia Grand Bay
- Sandals Regency La Toc → Sandals St. Lucia La Toc
- Sandals Saint Vincent & the Grenadines → Sandals St. Vincent
- Beaches Negril → Beaches Jamaica Negril
The new names include three in Jamaica that are undergoing renovations after significant damage from Hurricane Melissa. Sandals Jamaica South Coast, Sandals Jamaica Caribbean Cay and Sandals Jamaica Montego Bay are all scheduled to reopen in December.
Following the severe storm, the company decided to go beyond simply repairing three damaged resorts in Jamaica. Instead, it launched the US$200-million "Sandals 2.0" initiative, which Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman at Sandals, described as a chance to "dream bigger."
“The opportunity to completely reimagine three resorts at this scale, with full focus and without compromising the guest experience, is extraordinarily rare," he told Open Jaw in March.
“We spent time walking the properties, speaking with our team and thinking about our guests. At a pivotal moment, it became clear: we shouldn’t simply restore what was there. We should dream bigger."
The overhaul includes redesigned arrival experiences, brand-new room categories, expanded dining, reimagined pools and upgraded social spaces.
The company said the overhaul will touch nearly every part of the guest experience while “preserving the sense of place and unmistakable spirit” of the resorts.
