Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 22, 2017 – All the brand-name hotels that are operating in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis were attracted by the investment policies of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) and St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) administrations.
St. Kitts and Nevis’ first brand-name hotel was the Holiday Inn (St. Kitts), followed by the Four Seasons Resort (Nevis); the St. Kitts Marriott (St. Kitts), Marriott Residences (St. Kitts) and the Park Hyatt St. Kitts at Christophe Harbour (St. Kitts).
The Holiday Inn at Fort Thomas was attracted to St. Kitts in the late 1960’s by the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party administration of the Right Excellent Sir Robert L. Bradshaw as Premier. It closed years after and re-opened operating as the Fort Thomas Hotel until that too was closed.
The Four Seasons Resort Nevis was attracted to that island by the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) administration of the Right Excellent Sir Simeon Daniel as Premier.
The Four Seasons Resort Nevis opened its doors on February 15, 1991 and since then has provided unique and authentic Caribbean experiences to generations of visitors to the 36 square mile paradise island.
After 791 days of closure that resulted from the fierce winds and awe-inspiring rainfall of Hurricane Omar in 2008, the Four Seasons Resort, Nevis, fully staffed and completely refurbished, officially reopened its doors for business on December 15, 2010 with Premier of Nevis, Hon. Joseph Walcott Parry, assisting in cutting the ribbon.
On November 3, 2000, a signing ceremony was held involving St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas; Mr. Vincent Morton, Chairman of the Frigate Bay Development Corporation (FBDC) and Mr. Vic De Zen, a Canadian-Italian developer for the construction of the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino at Frigate Bay.
On February 22, 2003, Marriott International announced a soft opening the St. Kitts Marriott Resort – a five-story 471-room hotel and casino.
The five-story main building has 237 guestrooms. Between the main building and the beach, a series of three-story garden houses, surround the swimming pools, house an additional 234 rooms.
In 2011, four buildings previously used by the St. Kitts Marriott Resort to house expatriate staff were converted to Marriott Residences with 86 units.
In July 12, 2012, Prime Minister Douglas, accompanied by Minister of Tourism, Sen. the Hon. Richard “Ricky” Skerritt, met and held follow-up discussions with Senior Vice President of Hyatt, Mr. Pat McCuddeen; Mr. Mohammed Asaria, Vice Chairman, Range Developments and Munaf Ali, CEO of Range Developments.
At the launching of the Park Hyatt St. Kitts attended by some 500 persons, Prime Minister Douglas and Range Development signed the necessary agreements for the construction of the multi-million resort.
In June 2013, the ground breaking ceremony was held and the Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour opened officially on November 1, 2017.
The Park Hyatt St. Kitts has 126 rooms, and is located within Christophe Harbour.
Two other name-brand hotels projects attracted to St. Kitts by the Denzil Douglas administration and still under construction are the Ramada and Koi – which will be the company’s first hotel worldwide.
Construction of the Embassy Suites, another name-brand hotel, has stalled.
Other hotel and condominium projects constructed under the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party administration of former Prime Minister Douglas via the Citizenship by Investment programme, include Christophe Harbour, Christophe Harbour Marina, Koi Sales Office, Silver Reef Resort and Residences, St. Kitts Castle, Ocean Edge, Rendezvous, T-Lofts, Kittitian Hill and Imperial Bay Golf & Beach Residences.