Almond Casuarina to Become Couples Resorts' New Couples Barbados

News from Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation that Almond Casuarina Beach Resort, an Almond Resorts property, is now going to be owned by Couples Resorts out of Jamaica. Couples owns very upscale resorts in Jamaica, and having one in Barbados will be great for tourism.

Look out for a fabulous vacation from Bridgetown Travel to "Couples Barbados".

Thursday, 03 January 2013 18:56

The stage is being set for a Jamaican hotel operation to take over one of the Almond’s properties in Barbados.

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Casuarina Beach Club Limited and the Jamaican based Couples Resorts are now locked in negotiations concerning the 280 room property in Barbados.

According to Chairman of the Casuarina Beach Club Limited Anthony King the negotiations are expected to conclude by January 31st.

In a press statement, it was pointed out that during the negotiations the operations of Almond Casuarina Beach Resort will continue normally.

All forward bookings under the Almond Casuarina Beach brand will be honoured up to May 31st 2013.

After that date the resort will be re-branded at which time it will be operated under the Couples Resorts brand.

Source: CBC

Sandals Looking at Purchasing Almond Resorts Barbados

Almond Resorts has been in financial crisis for a long while. They sold off their St. Lucia properties, and last week there was talk of Almond Resorts employees taking pay cuts or purchasing more shares in the company.

However, Butch Stewart, of the famed Jamaica-based Sandals Resorts, has just announced an interested in purchasing Almond Beach Village, located in the northern parish of St. Peter, Barbados, 40 minutes from Grantley Adams International Airport. Sandals has been trying to get into Barbados for years, and actually bought the old Paradise property here some years ago. However, for whatever reason, and people go back and forth between a few different reasons, that deal fell through. Sandals did announce last year that they were looking into purchasing property here and in Grenada, as I posted earlier. 

It is reported that Sandals' engineers are to be on property today at Almond Beach Village to do an evaluation of the property, while Almond Resorts execs will also meet this morning to discuss the fate of all three properties (Almond Beach Village - in St. Peter on the Northwest Coast; Almond Casuarina Beach - in Christ Church on the South Coast; and Almond Beach Club - in St. James on the famed West Coast, also called the Platinum Coast).

I do like the tranquility of Almond Beach Village, and being there is really like being on a quiet vacation, with a lovely beach as the icing on the cake. But if the property is for sale, why not a thriving company like Sandals Resorts or Beaches Resorts? From what I know about Sandals, it would definitely be transformed into a top notch 4-1/2 - 5-star resort. And from what I know about Butch, the man has a keen sense of business acumen and has transformed his company into a thriving enterprise. Also, Almond Resorts is a Trinidadian-owned company, so it would still not be a locally owned property if Sandals were to make that purchase. I do wish that there were a group of Barbadian businessmen with the wherewithal (and I know there are a good few) could get together and keep these properties, that are already on Barbados soil, Barbadian-owned. That does not look like it will happen.

Let's wait and see how things evolve after today's meetings.

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