WESTERN BUREAU:
Ravaged by flood rains which made river beds in sections of its property, the 420-room five-Star Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall was forced to close its doors yesterday, relocating its guests to hotels as far away as Ocho Rios, St. Ann.
The closure of the hotel was confirmed by president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Godfrey Dyer. He sympathised with the resort, saying that the situation was unfortunate but cautioned, "Proper engineering needs to be done so that the water can be controlled or diverted."
He said up to the end of April, the resort was running high occupancy. "It's the second time they are having this problem. " I hope corrective measures are taken so there won't be a third," said Dyer.
The resort was reporting a 95 per cent occupancy level when torrential rainfall on Wednes-day afternoon created havoc causing severe damage to the hotel's electrical and telephone lines. One of its four restaurants was also flooded out, while its car park was covered in mud and debris.
Lack of proper infrastructure, including drainage in the area has been blamed for the problems being experienced by the resort and many other properties along the stretch dubbed 'The Golden Corridor'.
