Above: the Sunset Jamaica Grande

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Palace Resorts has acquired the Sunset Jamaica Grande resort in Ocho Rios Jamaica, with plans to debut the property as a Palace-branded resort in 2015.

The Sunset Jamaica Grande will close on Sep. 1 for “extensive renovations and upgrades,” before opening as the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande in “early 2015,” the company said in a release.

It will be the first Palace Resorts property outside of Mexico.

“When we designed our strategic five-year growth plan, we listed several destinations as priorities, and Jamaica was at the top of that list,” said Gibran Chapur, executive vice president for Palace Resorts. “We believe Jamaica is the most important tourism destination in the Caribbean, and we found Sunset Jamaica Grande to be the perfect opportunity for us to enter this market.”

Ian Kerr, managing director of Sunset Resorts Jamaica, said that while the company had “several options” for the future of the property, it was “confident Palace Resorts would respect the hotel’s rich history, its employee culture, and would have the ability to bring a new and exciting brand to Jamaica.”

Palace Resorts currently owns and operates seven properties in Mexico.

The new Jamaica resort has 730 guestrooms and suites on a 17-acre stretch of private beach in Ocho Rios.