Posted by: Editor on Dec 07, 2006 – 12:09 PM
newsandinfo  San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, with 40 properties in the U.S. and Canada, is breaking into the Caribbean market for the first time with Royal Island, a private island retreat in the Bahamas, scheduled to open in 2009.
 
Royal Island, accessible via boat or helicopter, is approximately 190 miles east of Miami near Harbor Island and Eleuthera in the Out Islands of the Bahamas.

The property developer is Dallas-based Cypress Equities, an affiliate of Staubach Retail, a global real estate firm founded by NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach.
 
Kimpton will manage and operate the upscale resort, which when fully developed, will include single-family estates, an 80-room boutique hotel, a spa, restaurants, a village center of retail shops, and the first Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in the Caribbean, featuring an 18-hole golf course.
 
In addition, a natural deep-water marina, expected to hold up to 300 slips, will accommodate yachts up to 200 feet long.
 
“Royal Island is the ideal location for our first Caribbean project,” said Mike Depatie, Kimpton president and CEO. “This overseas project is a unique opportunity to introduce our signature style in partnership with a respected developer.”
 
Cypress Equities purchased Royal Island in May. Construction is to begin in phases in early 2007.
 
By Gay Nagle Myers
travelweekly.com