Above: Sandals Barbados

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The new Sandals Barbados resort received its first guests on Wednesday, the property said.

The 280-room property is the company’s newest resort. It is located in the St Lawrence area of Barbados.

Josef Zellner, who was most recently the general manager at the Sandals Montego Bay, is the new general manager at Sandals Barbados.

“Barbados is a beautiful island that I have already begun to fall in love with,” Zellner said. “I look forward to welcoming more guests to our newest destination and continuing to share our renowned Sandals hospitality.”

The opening represents a relatively quick turnaround for the company, which announced the acquisition of the former Couples Resort in St Lawrence in mid-October.

At the time, Sandals said it would be embarking on a series of improvements to “Sandalize” the resort.

That will continue; Sandals CEO Adam Stewart tweeted on Wednesday that five new restaurants were being planned at the Barbados resort.

Sandals Resorts International is also planning to open a a Beaches Resort at the former Almond Beach Resort in Barbados’ St Peter.

That project will be a new-construction resort.

Sandals is also slated to open its new resort in Grenada next month.