MONTEGO BAY — Amaterra Jamaica Group has entered into a hotel management operator agreement with Marriott International for a new all-inclusive resort in Jamaica.
The 800-room flagship development will be located 40 kilometres east of Montego Bay airport on the island’s north coast and is set on three kilometres of white sand beach.
Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020 and be completed in 2022.
In August 2019 U.S.-based hotel giant Marriott International announced it planned to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in all-inclusive resort product. The hotel company’s portfolio currently includes more than 7,200 properties under 30 brands in 134 countries and territories. So far more than 2,000 rooms are in the works for five new all-inclusive resorts, in the D.R. and Mexico. Today’s announcement about the new Jamaica all-inclusive resort adds 800 rooms to that total.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett oversaw the signing of the deal, along with Industry Minister, Audley Shaw, JAMPRO President Diane Edwards and Jampro Board Directors Delano Seiveright and Ian Levy.
Amaterra Jamaica Group is billed as the architects of Jamaica’s largest integrated tourism real estate development.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett noted that the development forms a key part of the “largest expansion of hotel room stock in Jamaica’s history, representing the most powerful week in investment developments for the tourism industry, with Marriott’s entry being a major step in the right direction.”
Added Keith Russell, Chairman, Amaterra Group: “The Amaterra Group is excited to welcome Marriott International as our Hotel Management Operator. The Marriott brand is internationally renowned and well respected and we couldn’t be happier to have them on board and be one of their first all-inclusive properties globally. This is a great step not only for Amaterra but also the Jamaican tourism industry and we look forward to partnering with Marriott’s other iconic brands as we go forward.”
And Laurent de Kousemaeker, Chief Development Officer for Marriott International in the Caribbean and Latin America, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Amaterra on this exciting project. Jamaica is a key destination for our new All-Inclusive brand extensions. We are pleased to start off with a flagship Marriott All-Inclusive resort project and confident that Amaterra has the vision to bring it to life on the island.”
This will be Marriott’s first all-inclusive resort in Jamaica, however the hotel company already has two properties on the island: the AC Hotel Kingston, and the Courtyard Kingston.
Sandals Resorts International partners with Marriott International to manage the AC Hotel Kingston. Back in September 2019 news outlets including Bloomberg carried reports that if Sandals Resorts International was up for sale, it could be worth US$4.5 billion.
