Grenada’s Kimpton Kawana Bay Breaks Ground on Final Phase
The Kimpton Kawana Bay project in Grenada has broken ground on its final phase, Caribbean Journal Invest has learned.
The final phase of the residential resort includes 12 more suites and studios to the main Kiawah building.
Kawana Bay, set on Grenada’s iconic Grand Anse Beach, is the second Kimpton-branded project in the Caribbean, following the Kimpton Seafire in Grand Cayman, which opened in 2016.
The company also has a project in development on the island of Roatan off the Caribbean coast of Honduras.
Kawana Bay, which is part of Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment program, has sold or reserved 70 percent of its units, developers told Caribbean Journal Invest.
The new units are starting at $220,000.
“These 12 additional suites and studios are the last units for sale in the final phase. The Kiawah building will have spectacular panoramic views of the Caribbean sea, as well as the rainforest mountain range from its prime elevated position,” said Warren Newfield, principal and developer of Kimpton Kawana Bay.
The final resort will be a bit smaller than was originally planned, with a shift to 163 keys down from an original plan for 220.
“The boutique hotel market segment has consistently represented the ‘sweet spot’ in the Caribbean’s hospitality industry for the last two decades,” said Robert MacLellan, Principal at MacLellan & Associates, which is consulting on the project. “Boutique hotels have traded steadily, even during economic downturns, and they have recovered faster than larger resorts, as market conditions improved.
“Their higher room rates and steady occupancy levels provide the best “cushion” between revenue and operating costs to produce consistent levels of profitability. A medium sized boutique hotel – supported by powerful international marketing, reservations and guest loyalty systems – is arguably the best concept for investment in Caribbean resorts,” MacLellan said.
The new design “reduces guest density in public areas and will emphasize the boutique style of the resort, as well as provide for a more personalized service,” the company said.
That’s no doubt a nod to the COVID-19 shift in the travel industry, one that places a higher premium on social distancing.
But the smaller size also means a “achieve a higher occupancy and room rate, the all-important drivers for operating success,” the company said.
Construction on the project relaunched at the end of May, shortly after a lockdown period implemented by the Grenadian government.
Newfield says that, should interest for citizenship by investment programs continue to remain high, the plan is for a second project in Grenada — one that is “currently in planning.”
