TORONTO — Always a strong market for Sandals Resorts, over the past five years Canada has also been the luxury all-inclusive chain’s most stable market, and both Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart and CEO Adam Stewart said a heartfelt thank-you to travel agents and industry partners at two Toronto events yesterday.

“Our relationship with the travel agent community continues to grow,” said CEO Stewart. “No other company protects travel agents with discounting the way we do.”

Canada has been “an amazing market for us”, he added. The Canadian office is celebrating its 20th year in operation in 2014 and already the year is shaping up to be another positive one from this market.

Sandals will wrap up 2013 with the opening of Sandals LaSource Grenada, set to debut Dec. 12 with an Italian Village with balcony infinity pools, a Pink Gin Village and a low-profile South Seas Village where the Honeymoon One-Bedroom Butler Suite with Private Pool Sanctuary “is a half million dollar room” with 1,250 square feet. Dining options will include the new Butch’s Chophouse, featuring 21-day dry-aged beef flown in from the U.S.

The company is also busy ‘Sandal-izing’ Sandals Barbados (originally Almond Beach Casuarina and, briefly, Couples Barbados), adding five more restaurants (including the chain’s first Indian restaurant) and overhauling all the rooms.

Beaches Barbados (formerly Almond Beach Village) was announced earlier this year as well, and should open in 2016 with all the Beaches favourites when it comes to activities, plus new offerings including a movie theatre and BMX bike tracks. “Beaches Barbados will be a built-from-the-ground-up property that will be the most incredible family resort in the Caribbean. We won’t tell you how much it will cost because you’ll feel sorry for us,” he joked.

“To say that 2013 has been a crazy year would be an understatement,” he added.