One of the Caribbean’s most hotly-anticipated hotel projects is making progress: the Paradise Found project by Robert De Niro in Barbuda.
The project, which was recently approved by Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Ambassador Gilbert Boustany, is slated to begin construction in early 2017, the government told Caribbean Journal.
De Niro along with Australian billionaire James Packer have purchased 859 acres in Barbuda that include the 251 acres of the former K-Club resort, as well as 137 acres and 167 acres, respectively of buffer land. (When the project was first announced at the end of 2014, De Niro was named a special economic envoy for Antigua and Barbuda.)
The pair will spend more than $250 million developing the project on Barbuda, which has a population of less than 2,000 people and remains largely undeveloped.
Among the approved plans for the resort project are a dedicated airport that will service private jets and helicopters; a main resort with 50 villas and cottages, each with a private pool, and six overwater villas planned, all using LEED eco-friendly technology.
There will be a superyacht marina built with 12 water moorings, as well as a main jetty dock and individual docks at each villa.
The project will be building a Princess Diana Beach Anchorage with six water moorings, set at the beach named for Princess Diana, one of the former K-Club’s most famous guests. It also calls for an on-site casino, although this is still pending approval by the government.
As part of the wider plan, the developers will be adding a donkey sanctuary in Barbuda, removing condemned buildings and refurbishing a former government house into a museum.
Hotel guests who arrive in Antigua will use the VIP lounge and Fast Track at the newly-redeveloped VC Bird International Airport with a dedicated helicopter service.
Caribbean Journal recently took a helicopter trip to Barbuda to check out the project using local firm Caribbean Helicopters.
Here’s what the site looks like right now:
