St. Kitts Getting New Golf Resort


It’s expected that the opening of the largest resort hotel in the Eastern Caribbean will be bringing hundreds of new jobs and thousands of tourists. When finished, the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino near Basseterre will contain 648 rooms, more than doubling the number of hotel rooms on the island of St. Kitts.

“The Marriott sets the stage to take the economy to a significantly higher level,” said St. Kitts Tourism Minister Dwyer Astaphan. “It brings a major hotel flag and is the largest hotel in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. As a five-star hotel, it opens all kinds of possibilities.”

A grand opening for the hotel is planned for summer 2003. The hotel will be augmented by an existing 35,000-square-foot casino, which is now staffed by 500 workers. Also planned are six restaurants, two lounges, a nightclub, spa and an 18-hole course, which is now under construction.

The facility, which is owned by a group of Canadian investors and managed by Marriott, dominates the coastline on Frigate Bay. Officials are expecting the new hotel and golf resort will attract more airlines.