Barbados: 200-year-old Sam Lord's Castle into a hotel managed by the world’s largest hotel

The redevelopment of the near 200-year-old Sam Lord’s Castle into a hotel managed by the world’s major hotel company will bring with it 3,000 local jobs, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has disclosed.

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony at the 57-acre site in the eastern parish of St. Philip yesterday, he said the new Sam Lord’s Castle Barbados, A Wyndham Grand Resort is as well expected to bring in significant amounts of foreign exchange.

“The macro-economic implications of the project cannot be understated. The hotel will employ in excess of 1,000 persons next completion, and is as well expected to generate approximately 2,000 additional jobs in other sectors of the economy. Foreign exchange earnings to be made by the property are estimated at over US$70 million a year, with a direct contribution to the GDP of US$35 million,” Stuart said.

“The people of St. Philip will gain social and economic benefits from the project. Residents of this parish will be able to earn gain as entrepreneurs, service and produce providers and hotel employees. A number of farmers in the area will presently have an extra market for their produce, and artistes and craftsmen will as well reap a similar benefit.”

The prime minister as well contended that the BDS$450 million (US$275 million) project was a signal that the confidence of the international community in Government’s economic development strategy was being restored.

The development will involve the construction of an upscale resort hotel comprising 350 guest accommodations, 100 vacation ownership units, a destination spa, a conference centre and various services and amenities.

Stuart said it had been designed to utilize the majority sophisticated, national-of-the-art, and environmentally sustainable technologies, which would make it a prototype in the tourism sector. He added that the hotel would specifically target summer business and assist Barbados in its quest to become a authentic year-round destination.

The prime minister told the audience that the commencement of the project, which is being financed by the Chinese, would represent the beginning of a new era in Barbados’ cooperative relationship with the Asian country.

“This project will be the forerunner to even additional projects between the two nations. It will spur cooperative efforts in other areas in and outside of the tourism sector,” he said.

Chinese Ambassador to Barbados Wang Ke said this project was just one of several her country intended to finance.

“We have each reason to expect a promising next of China-Barbados cooperation for mutual benefit,” she said.
Construction is expected to start next year and the keys to the property handed over in 2018. It will be managed by Wyndham Hotel Group.

Sam Lord’s Castle was once a beautiful Georgian mansion, built in 1820 by Samuel Hall Lord. Legend has it that Sam Lord acquired his wealth by plundering ships, which he lured onto the reefs off the coast, by hanging lanterns in the coconut trees. Captains mistook these lights for Bridgetown and wrecked their ships on the reefs.

The property was run as an exquisite hotel for a lot of years but it was subsequently abandoned and again was destroyed by fire in 2010.