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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
TOP LEFT: Sandals Resorts CEO Adam Stewart; TOP RIGHT: The Royal Bahamas Defence Force Band;
BOTTOM LEFT: Andrew Holness, left, Prime Minister of Jamaica, meets with Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie, centre, and Sandals founder and Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart prior to the official re-opening of Sandals Royal Bahamian November 18 in Nassau.; BOTTOM RIGHT: DPM Philip Brave Davis.
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Nassau, Bahamas - In what is likely to set the standard for a resort party, more than 400 invited guests and hundreds of hotel visitors ate, drank, danced and mingled with Prime Ministers from two countries and leaders from the global travel industry as they celebrated the grand re-opening of Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island on November 18.
The event that stretched among pubs and restaurants, two vast pool decks and glowing fires with live entertainment was a calliope of colour and character. Speeches touted Sandals Foundation’s donations of more than $27 million in seven years in the Caribbean and lauded Sandals achievements – 20 properties in seven countries,
14,000 employees. Speaker after speaker credited Sandals founder Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart for his vision, shaping a resort brand that Bahamian Deputy Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis’ reflected his “singular commitment to exceeding customer’s needs through rigid standards of quality for service and innovation.”
And it was that word – innovation – that has undergirded and guided the Sandals success story, Butch Stewart himself confessing that when he first wanted to add luxury to all-inclusive, there were those who had their doubts. But 35 years after the Sandals brand was born, the same year son Adam Stewart arrived on the scene, the elder Stewart’s vision has not only taken hold. It is the only resort brand that has made the Fortune 500 list five years running, Stewart said.
Now, the younger Stewart, who serves as Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sandals Resorts International, says the combination of beach, romance, luxury, fine dining and extraordinary service clearly marks Sandals around the Caribbean and in The Bahamas. Those who came to see the newly-renovated hotel following a multi-million-dollar makeover that forced it to close its doors for 10 weeks found themselves joining those who used the occasion to applaud the man who created the Sandals brand.
The popular Bahamian band Visage
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Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, called Stewart the “guru of Caribbean tourism.”
Obie Wilchcombe, Bahamas Minister of Tourism, said Sandals was the most recognized brand in the Caribbean and thanked Stewart for investing so deeply in The Bahamas and for operating its training facility, Sandals Corporate University.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister who delivered remarks on behalf of Prime Minister Perry Christie who had to leave partway through the ceremony to fly to another event, Stewart has perfected the art of risk excellence.
“Thirty-five years ago, in the face of warnings of the financial ruin for prospective investors in the Caribbean hotel industry, Jamaica’s Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart took the risk anyway,” said Davis. “Butch invested in one hotel in Montego Bay and took risk after risk, growing the now world renowned brand at breakneck pace to include 20 properties today.”
Davis did not reveal the ups and downs that Butch Stewart endured because he took a risk. There were tough times, especially at the start, but Stewart battled on, zeroing in on the winning recipe for romance. He understood that it involved the sea, a beach, fine dining and over-the-top service in an all-inclusive luxurious environment, a pampering atmosphere couples would crave.
Service has remained a cornerstone of the Sandals brand.
“Anyone who has been trained by Sandals can get a job anywhere in the world,” said Butch Stewart, who has consistently insisted on training the Sandals way – hire for attitude, teach the skills. Stewart himself was the one who cast light on the reason for the celebration as he looked around at the lavish event that included all Bahamian talent and tributes to local culture in the culinary, performing and visual arts.
Performances included the Royal Bahamas Defense Force Band, Valley Boys Junkanoo rush-out, Visage, fire dancers, live artists and a feast for hundreds.
“This hotel, Sandals Royal Bahamian,” he said, looking over a crowd that numbered more than 1,000, “has never looked more beautiful than it does tonight.”
Sandals Resorts CEO Adam Stewart is flanked by Sandals Royal Bahamian staff and entertainers
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