Monique Hepburn, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU
RECENTLY APPOINTED General Manager at Sandals Whitehouse, Jeremy Jones is confident that his plans to package and sell the 'more traditional side' of Jamaica will guarantee the success of the new property when it opens next February.
The first major resort development in the South Coast region of Jamaica, the property is one of the latest additions to the Sandals Resort chain.
"There is not a lot of tourism development in the area and we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase the south coast," Mr. Jones told Wednesday Business yesterday. "By putting a resort here in Whitehouse, we are putting traditional Jamaica in the spotlight."
Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa lies on a half mile of private white-sand beach, offering views of the Caribbean Sea from each of the resort's 360 rooms. A collection of three European villages, themed Dutch, Italian and French, the resort centres on a traditional piazza and is surrounded by tropical greenery and a landscaped courtyard
Mr. Jones, 43, said the resort's concept is taking on mass appeal as bookings are going very well according to figures out of the chain's Miami reservations offices.
"Sandals has such a strong track record which without a doubt will speak for us," he said. "The bookings have been coming in very strong and we expect the trend to continue as tourism has been doing very well for the last eight months."
SUCCESSES
Having had successes in other resorts such as Swept Away and Sandals Turks and Caicos, Mr. Jones explained that he felt excited coming back to Jamaica to start working at an entirely new resort with a new team.
"We are positioning the resort to be unlike anything else in the Caribbean. Whitehouse represents the effort of Sandals to combine past successes into a new resort," Said Mr. Jones. "It is pretty nice to come back home and get a new resort in a relatively virginal area of the island."
According to Mr. Jones there are not only benefits to be derived for Sandals but for the community as well.
"The quality and standard of life that is going to come to the community will see spin-offs as we expect many cottage industries to emerge. Further the quality of life of the residents will be greatly improved."
He said his experience so far at Whitehouse has been good.
"I go back and forth to the resort twice per week," he noted. "The welcome we have received from the community is actually heart-warming."
