Riu's Tropical Bay Resort in Jamaica Under Renovation
To Reopen as Riu Palace Tropical Bay in December
NEGRIL, Jamaica, October 30, 2008. Riu Tropical Bay, soon to be renamed Riu Palace Tropical Bay, located in Negril, Jamaica is undergoing a complete renovation. The beachfront resort, which opened in 2001, will reopen on December 5, 2008 after a four-month renovation. Riu Palace Tropical Bay will offer 400 guestrooms, 24-hour all-inclusive food and beverages, 24-hour room service, and new themed restaurants. Riu Hotels & Resorts is investing $25 million in the remake of Riu Palace Tropical Bay.
"Riu Tropical Bay, our first resort in Jamaica, has been very successful," stated Mr. Luis Riu, CEO of Riu Hotels & Resorts, "We felt that a full-upgrade to a Riu Palace would complete our range of product lines in Jamaica to ensure continued success and customer satisfaction. The North American market, our primary market for our Caribbean hotels, has responded very positively to our Riu Palace resorts, which is our luxury line of all-inclusive hotels. Responding to our clients desires is what makes us successful and what keeps our repeat customer rate so high."
The major changes that the resort is undergoing to meet the Riu Palace standards include:
o All of the rooms will be completely refurbished - new linens, new flooring, new hardware, new furnishings
o Rooms are now Junior Suites
o Rooms will feature plasma flat screen TV, laptop size safe, peep-hole, hydro-massage tub, shower and a king size bed or canopy bed
o Addition of 24-hour room service
o Addition of two new a la carte restaurants: "Krystal", featuring fusion cuisine in a contemporary dining room and "Little Italy" offering Italian favorites.
Riu Palace Tropical Bay, offering 24-hour all-inclusive food and beverages, will offer in total five restaurants including the main restaurant "Negril"; an open-air steak house "Bloody Bay"; "Hakuchi", offering Japanese d'ecor and menu; as well as the two new a la carte restaurants, "Little Italy" and "Krystal".
Riu offers four resorts (2,357 rooms) in Jamaica; Riu Montego Bay, Riu Ocho Rios, Riu Negril and Riu Palace Tropical Bay. Riu has created more than 2000 jobs, as well as many indirect jobs, in Jamaica.
Riu invests every year an estimated US $45 million in maintaining and updating its hotels to meet the high Riu quality standards. In addition to Riu Palace Tropical Bay, the resort chain is investing approximately US $15 million in the complete renovation of Riu Tequila in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Both resorts closed for renovations on August 20, 2008 and both will reopen in December 2008.
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