Topic: Pageant Beach

The construction of a 10-story Grand Hyatt hotel at the site of the former Pageant Beach resort will be partly financed through a bridge loan from a fund managed by Bahamas-based Sterling Global Financial, the company announced last week.

Luxury hotel chain Hyatt is returning to Grand Cayman after announcing a deal to operate the new five-star resort on Seven Mile Beach, expected to open late 2020.

Plans for a 10-story, five-star resort at the site of the old Pageant Beach hotel were approved by the Central Planning Authority Wednesday.

The Central Planning Authority has granted outline approval for the Howard Hospitality Group’s proposed $300 million Pageant Beach hotel, according to minutes from the body’s Sept. 27 meeting.

With two 10-floor towers sporting some 450 rooms, a spa, restaurant, boardwalk, six swimming pools and other amenities, the proposed $300 million Pageant Beach hotel will be a “jewel for the community,” according to project architect Mike Stroh.

Yes, stay-over numbers may stay steady or increase for a while, but eventually, when the only product available is high-end, will that volume of tourists continue to arrive?

The Howard Hospitality Group has submitted plans for its third major Cayman Islands project – a US$285 million five-star hotel and condo development on the southern tip of Seven Mile Beach. Michael Wilkings, CEO of the group, said the development on the old Pageant Beach site would include around 250 hotel rooms.

Two long-vacant parcels in the North Church area – the site of the old Almond Tree restaurant and Treehouse residence, and Pageant Beach – appear headed for redevelopment, possibly as a hotel and “mixed-use.”

The Cayman Islands Cabinet has approved the purchase of property adjacent to Smith Cove public beach for US$5.4 million (CI$4.4 million), Planning Minister Kurt Tibbetts said Wednesday. The price is about US$1.2 million more than a private developer bought the same parcel of land for in 2015.