A new 77-unit, 189 bedroom condominium hotel project in the Colliers area of East End is set to launch its sales campaign next month.
The site of The Island Resort and Residences, a new 77-unit, 189 bedroom condominium hotel project in the Colliers area of East End. Photo: Alan Markoff |
Called The Island Resort and Residences, the project will adopt the condo-tel concept where units are sold to individual owners and then rented out to hotel guests. Owners can also use their units, but they will be restricted in how often they can use it.
The Island will have all the amenities of a five-star luxury resort hotel, including restaurants, several outdoor bars, a spa, tennis court, waterfalls and a massive swimming pool that will be unlike anything currently in the Cayman Islands.
Local architect Brian Eccles of DDL Studio, which has been appointed as the architects, designers and quantity surveyors for the project, said the developer wants to create a luxurious resort with a lot of character.
‘They want it to be very lavish, with splendour, artistry and fixtures and furnishings commensurate with five-star design,’ he said. ‘The penthouse suites are to reflect the absolute pinnacle of luxury.’
Mr. Eccles said the resort will have a colonial Spanish look.
DDL will work along with Miami-based architect Raphael Amuchastegui, who previously worked on the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.
Mr. Eccles said Mr. Amuchastegui will be a good fit to assist DDL with the design of the resort.
‘The Spanish theme is very, very easy for him to capture because of his Spanish background,’ he said.
The sales of the condominium units will dictate when the construction on the resort starts.
Kim Lund of Re/Max, which has been appointed at the exclusive sales agents for the project, said he’s confident sales will allow for commencement of construction in 2007.
‘We’re hoping by the end of next summer sales will be sufficient to start construction,’ he said. ‘That’s the timeline we’re working towards.’
Unit prices will start at $795,000, but most will be priced at more than $1 million, Mr. Lund said.
The condominiums will range in size from two-bedroom units at about 2,000 square feet, to four or five bedroom units about 4,000 square feet, Mr. Eccles said.
The units will have lock-out features, which will allow rooms to be rented out separately from one another, with some configured like suites and others configured like typical hotel rooms.
The condo-tel concept, which has also been used at Residences of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, is a popular offering, Mr. Lund said.
‘Basically, what it does is give the owner the right to use the unit for vacations, and then it’s rented out the rest of the time.
Under the condo-tel concept, owners can only use their units for six to eight weeks a year, and usually only three weeks during the high season.
Mr. Eccles said the developers have already established a Cayman company called Caribbean Island Development Ltd. and have obtained a hotel licence.
Mr. Lund pointed out that the developers already have a track record, having developed four other resorts in Belize.
‘These are serious players who already have their funding in place,’ he said. ‘They’re experienced, career developers. This is not a one-off thing for them.’
Mr. Eccles said the developers chose Cayman after having looked a several other jurisdictions in the Caribbean.
‘They think Cayman is a very good place to do business,’ he said.
Mr. Eccles said the developers chose East End as the site for the project even before the Minister of Tourism announced his Go East tourism initiative earlier this year.
‘They identified East End as the place they wanted to be,’ Mr. Eccles said. ‘They thought Seven Mile Beach was too congested.’
Regardless, Mr. Eccles said the project being in East End gives the Minister of Tourism exactly what he wants.
The Island will be located in the Spotter’s Bay area, at the end of the road with same name off the Queen’s Highway. The hotel will have about 800 feet along the beach, and the pool will extend some 500 along the beach.
With the Island project, the scheduled Mandarin Oriental Hotel, along the expanding Morritt’s Tortuga Club and the Royal Reef Resort already in the area, Mr. Lund thinks East End is reaching a ‘critical mass’ of development which might spur even more development in the east.
‘I’m already working with some people looking to develop a golf course resort or something else out there,’ he said. ‘We’re finally seeing a lot of interest in the area.’
After the Island launches its sales efforts next month, a cocktail reception will be held at the Hyatt Regency rooftop on 7 December to formally launch the project.
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