Published on : Saturday, June 21, 2014
Mexican chain Palace Resorts says it expects to employ about 1,020 persons when it reopens the Jamaica The Grande hotel under its Moon Palace brand in early 2015.
Palace will take ownership of the property on July 7, and the hotel will close for refurbishing on September 1.
The chain, which on Wednesday announced its acquisition of the landmark 730-room Ocho Rios resort from the Hendrickson Group, says it will retain a significant number of employees during the remodelling phase, which starts in September, for extensive renovations and upgrades before opening its doors again as Moon Palace Jamaica Grande.
Reports are that the hotel was valued at US$100 million. It is estimated that the sale price would have been US$85 million to US$90 million.
Neither party to the deal would divulge the investment in the property, which marks Palace’s latest move outside its home market of Mexico.
“Sunset Resorts had several options for the future of this iconic resort, but ultimately put their trust in Palace Resorts because of its solid hospitality expertise and proven track record,” said Ian Kerr, managing director of Sunset Resorts Jamaica, in a joint press release on the sale.
“We felt confident Palace Resorts would respect the hotel’s rich history, its employee culture, and would have the ability to bring a new and exciting brand to Jamaica,” Kerr added.
Kerr said Sunset Resorts will continue to operate the Sunset Montego Bay, the Oasis at Sunset and Sunset at the Palms properties. All reservations currently being held at the Ocho Rios resort will be transferred to a comparable resort.
The deal marks Palace’s entry into the Jamaican market.
“When we designed our strategic five-year growth plan, we listed several destinations as priorities, and Jamaica was at the top of that list,” said Palace’s executive vice- president, Gibran Chapur, who referred to Jamaica as the most important tourism destination in the Caribbean.
“… We found Sunset Jamaica Grande to be the perfect opportunity for us to enter this market,” Chapur said.
About 80 to 100 Jamaica Grande staffers will travel to Mexico for training and “to get to know our company from the inside,” said Palace.
Palace Resorts currently owns and operates seven oceanfront properties in Mexico, including Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort, Cancun’s largest entertainment resort destination.
The Ocho Rios resort will become the second to wear the new ‘Moon Palace’ brand. The first is Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort in Cancun.
Tags: Jamaica Grande hotel, Moon Palace brand
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