Sandals Resorts is a Jamaican operator of

all-inclusive resorts An all-inclusive resort is a holiday resort that includes at a minimum lodging, three meals daily, soft drinks, most alcoholic drinks, gratuities, and possibly other services in the price. Many also offer sports and non-motorized watersports and ...

for couples in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

. It is a part of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), the parent company of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, Fowl Cay Resort, and several private villas. Founded by Jamaican-born entrepreneur Gordon "Butch" Stewart in 1981, SRI is based in

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, h ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

and is responsible for resort development, service standards, training, and day-to-day operations. Sandals Resorts International has properties throughout the

Caribbean islands Almost all of the Caribbean islands are in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest island is Cuba. Other sizable islands include Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Some of the smaller islands a ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Ameri ...

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, Turks & Caicos,

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pet ...

, Curacao, and

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

with sixteen Sandals Resorts, three Beaches Resorts, one Fowl Cay private island resort, and four villa properties in

Properties

Sandals Resorts properties include: * Sandals Montego Bay * Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort & Private Island * Sandals Ochi Beach Resort (formerly Sandals Grande Riviera Beach & Villa Golf Resort) * Sandals Negril Beach Resort & Spa * Sandals South Coast (formerly Whitehouse European Village & Spa) * Sandals Royal Plantation

Ocho Rios Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in the ...

, Jamaica * Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort * Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort & Spa in St. Lucia * Sandals Halcyon Beach St. Lucia * Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa * Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island * Sandals Emerald Bay

Great Exuma Exuma is a district of The Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands, also called cays. The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi (60 km) in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma, by a small bridge. The capita ...

, Bahamas * Sandals Barbados Resort & Spa * Sandals Grenada Resort & Spa

* Sandals Royal Barbados Resort & Spa * Sandals Royal Curaçao New resorts: * In August 2009, SRI announced the purchase of the former Four Season Great Exuma, which debuted as Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas on January 22, 2010. * In July 2020, SRI announced its entry into St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the acquisition of the former Buccament Bay Resort on the southwest coast of St. Vincent with plans to open as a Beaches Resort. * In December 2020 SRI announced the purchase of the former Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort on the island of Curaçao with plans to open it as a Sandals Royal Curacao in the 4th Quarter 2021. * In May 2021, SRI announced the purchase of three new resorts in Jamaica to become Sandals Dunn's River, Sandals Royal Dunn's River and Beaches Runaway Bay.

Leadership

Adam Stewart is the Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International (SRI). Adam became Chairman upon the death of his father Gordon "Butch" Stewart, the Chairman and Founder of SRI, on January 4, 2021. Gebhard Rainer is the current CEO of Sandals Resorts International.

History

In 1981 Gordon "Butch" Stewart purchased an old hotel (the Bay Roc hotel) on one of Montego Bay's largest beaches, despite having no hotel experience and opened it as Sandals Montego Bay. As of 2007, Gordon "Butch" Stewart controlled what analysts estimate to be a billion dollar, privately owned Jamaican-based empire that includes 25 Caribbean resorts, Appliance Traders Ltd., and ''The Observer'' newspaper. Adam Stewart is the current Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), which owns and operates Caribbean-based Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts. Stewart oversees all areas of SRI operations, which is headquartered in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He has held this position since 2021 upon the death of his father Gordon "Butch" Stewart. Also, in 1984, Sandals launched the Caribbean's first swim-up bar at its Montego Bay Resort in Jamaica. In March 2009, Stewart launched The Sandals Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sandals Resorts International. In August 2009, Adam Stewart was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the family-owned ATL Group comprising the Jamaica Observer and a chain of appliance outlets. Sandals Corporate University (SCU) - a regional adult education program for the 10,000 employees of Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts - was launched in March 2012. Through partnerships with internationally recognized universities, professional organizations, and local education institutions, SCU provides courses on skills such as customer service, leadership, the art of selling, and professional communications. On December 1, 2016, Sandals opened Caribbean’s first overwater villas, at the Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay. In 2021, the resort company celebrated its 40th Anniversary since the opening of its first resort Sandals Montego Bay, in Montego Bay Jamaica. In 2022, Sandals opened its first resort in the Dutch Caribbean, Sandals Royal Curaçao, in June.

Controversies

Policy on gay couples

Due to the laws in the countries in which they operate, the company had a policy dating from 1981 that could not allow same-sex couples from their "couples-only" resorts. The policy was variously stated by characterizing the accommodations as "resort for couples only." In various Caribbean islands, a couple is defined as one female adult and one male adult", "policies require male/female couples only", or "couples of the same gender are not accepted." This policy received a great deal of publicity when stays at their resorts were offered as prizes in various promotions by companies such as

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Mana ...

, and

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

in 1999. Later reports indicated that some resorts also made no accommodations for people with disabilities, prompting the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...

to opine that companies offering Sandals stays as prizes, or otherwise doing business with Sandals resorts, might be the targets of lawsuits. The companies involved promptly severed their relationships with Sandals, stating they were unaware of its discriminatory practices. Adverts for the company were banned from the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

in 2003 after public objections were raised. One possible cause for this policy may have been that homosexuality was illegal in Jamaica. Sandals ended its policy of refusing service to gay couples in August 2004 after further protest.

Corruption allegation settlement

In January 2013, the government of

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and Sandals agreed to a settlement of US$12 million around local corruption allegations, without admission of any liability.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hospitality companies of Jamaica Hotels established in 1981 Hotel chains Hotels in Barbados Hotels in Jamaica Hotels in Nassau, Bahamas Hotels in the Bahamas Jamaican brands Tourism in Antigua and Barbuda Tourism in Grenada Tourism in Saint Lucia