Sandals Resorts is a Jamaican operator of

all-inclusive An all-inclusive resort is a holiday resort that generally includes, in the price of booking a stay, lodging, unlimited food and drinks, entertainment, and other recreational activities. They are often located in warmer regions of the world, parti ...

couples resorts in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. The company is a part of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), which also operates 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 Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and is responsible for development, service standards, training, and day-to-day operations of the resorts. As of 2023, Sandals had 18 resorts: seven in Jamaica, three in

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

, two resorts in

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

and

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, and one resort in

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

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, and Saint Vincent.

Properties

As of 2023, Sandals operated 18 resorts:

Jamaica

* Sandals Dunn’s River in Ocho Rios * Sandals Montego Bay in

* Sandals Negril in Negril * Sandals Ochi in Ocho Rios * Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay * Sandals Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios * Sandals South Coast in

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Saint Lucia

* Sandals Grande St. Lucian in

Gros Islet Gros Islet (English: ''Large Island'') is a community near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia, in the Gros Islet Quarter. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the coun ...

* Sandals Halcyon Beach in Castries * Sandals Regency La Toc in Castries

Bahamas

* Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma (Closed since August 15, 2024 to undergo renovations and rebranding) * Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau

Barbados

* Sandals Barbados in Saint Lawrence Gap * Sandals Royal Barbados in Saint Lawrence Gap

Antigua

* Sandals Grande Antigua in St. John's

Curaçao

* Sandals Royal Curaçao in Santa Barbara

Grenada

* Sandals Grenada in St. George's

Saint Vincent

* Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in Buccament near Kingstown

Leadership

Adam Stewart is the Executive Chairman of SRI. Stewart became Chairman upon the death of his father Gordon "Butch" Stewart, the founder of SRI, on January 4, 2021. Gebhard Rainer was the CEO of SRI till June 2024.

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. 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 SRI. 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.

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 into 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 corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

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, and

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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 an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...

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 as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

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 no ...

and Sandals agreed to a settlement of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

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 Jamaican companies established in 1981