Above: Antigua PM Baldwin Spencer and Sandals Chairman Butch Stewart
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The government of Antigua has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sandals Resorts International to open a Beaches resort in the country.
The Beaches Long Bay resort will entail the conversion of the existing Grand Pineapple Resort property at Long Bay.
Antigua Prime Minister Dr Baldwin Spencer and Sandals Chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart signed the multimillion-dollar agreement during a pre-budget consultation at the Sandals Grande resort. Sandals CEO Adam Stewart confirmed the deal on Twitter.
“We inked an agreement, which has been a long time coming,” Stewart said. “I believe that this is the beginning and start of a lot of good things to come.”
Above: the Grand Pineapple resort on Long Bay
The move will triple the employment of the Pineapple property, according to Finance Minister Harold Lovell.
The Beaches Long Bay property will have its own ice-skating rink, rock-climbing facility and 125 family suites, among other amenities.
The project comes under the umbrella of the new Tourism and Business Special Incentives Act 2013, according to Lovell.
Sandals has been on a major expansion push of late, with a new Sandals in Barbados, another set to debut this month in Grenada and an agreement signed to build a Beaches resort in Barbados.