Sandy Lane Hotel prepares for reopening

Barbados’ iconic Sandy Lane Hotel is set to reopen its door next month after several months of closure due to the novel coronavirus’ (COVID-19) impact on global tourism and trade.

The  West Coast’ luxury property’s return from November 1, also signals an important step in the resurgence of the tourism industry in Barbados as the island continues to receive kudos from international bodies for its management of the pandemic.

Sandy Lane now joins the list of other well-known properties that have announced their reopening including the Sandals Resorts, St Peter’s Bay Resort, Port Ferdinand Yacht and Beach Club Residences, Marriott, Hilton Barbados, The Crane Resort, Radisson Aquatica and Bougainvillea.

Sandy Lane, which has been operating in Barbados since 1962 and is a famous vacation spot for the world’s rich and famous, also confirmed it used the downtime to undertake “extensive restoration” of all its 115 suites and penthouses, in addition to the hotel’s villa to “ensure that they are in pristine condition” and ready to welcome guests.

The hotel has not indicated how many or what percentage of its staff will be re-engaged when it reopens next month. Thousands of tourism workers have been on the breadline since late March.

Earlier this year Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Senator Rudy Grant said the island’s tourism sector had been badly bruised by the impact of COVID-19, resulting in the closure of nearly 90 per cent of hotels and tourism-related properties.

Grant indicated that the BHTA was working closely with the Ministry of Tourism to facilitate training for workers at all levels in the industry to ensure the island’s tourism product continues to be good value for money.

Stressing that the BHTA recognised that the current climate was a very challenging one, Grant said it was clear there was going to be a long, hard road to recovery, but that rebuilding was possible through the collaboration of stakeholders and partners.

“We continue to work on behalf of our members, we continue to be optimistic that though the recovery will be one that is slow and one that is not expected to immediately get back to the level where we were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re confident that we can see a resurgence in business and that we can put the measures in place to take advantage of any opportunities that may exist once the country reopens.” (IMC1)