Carlson Hotels Worldwide, parent company of Radisson Hotels & Resorts, announced that it has acquired full ownership of…
Carlson Hotels Worldwide, parent company of Radisson Hotels & Resorts, announced that it has acquired full ownership of the company-managed Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino from its investment partner Dutchco, a company owned by the Aruban government. Together, the partners completed a two-year, $55 million transformation of the island`s first full-service resort into a flagship four-star resort for the Radisson brand.
The acquisition brings Carlson Hotels Worldwide, and its parent company Carlson Companies, total investment in the resort to over $75 million since 1998.
The investment in this flagship four-star resort supports Radisson`s overall strategy for growth in the Americas with key properties in key destinations and increasing control of the brand product for our guests through increased ownership and management, said Jay S. Witzel, president and chief executive officer of Carlson Hotels Worldwide. This year alone we forecast that we will strategically invest over $70 million for hotel brand assets for our hotel group, added Witzel.
Our partnership with the Aruban government has been a major asset for the hotel during the transformation period and enabled us to achieve our mutual goal to establish the resort as one of the top properties on Aruba and in the Caribbean, said Trudy Rautio, president of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, The Americas. Their knowledge of the region, the destination and the heritage of the property has been invaluable and we count on their continued support.
The resort which has earned a reputation as one of the finest in the Caribbean, is situated on 14 acres of premier oceanfront property, said Rautio. It features 358 elegantly appointed rooms and suites within three towers, a 16,000-square-foot casino, more than 15,000 square feet of meeting facilities and a host of first-class amenities and services to meet the needs of today`s leisure traveler and the conference and incentive travel market.
According to Rautio, the resort`s design and grounds captures the beauty of the Caribbean and the scenic surroundings. The property`s other great natural asset is the resort`s employees who showcase Aruban charm and hospitality for which the hotel has long been known. The hotel will continue under the leadership of General Manager Jeffrey Lesker, a 25-year veteran of the global hospitality industry, who oversaw the resort`s transformation and has extensive experience in the hospitality industry in Aruba, the Caribbean and key destinations in the United States.
Radisson is actively seeking additional investments in existing full-service hotel and resort properties in the top 25-30 major domestic and Caribbean markets that can be repositioned within the Radisson brand.
The Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino features 358 guest accommodations with Colonial West Indian furnishings and rich Caribbean touches, exotic lush tropical landscaping including waterfalls and lagoons, four restaurants and lounges (including Sunset Grille – one of the island`s hottest restaurants, and one of only two AAA 4-Diamond award winners in the Netherlands Antilles), a star-lit domed casino, and a 15,000-square-foot state-of-the-art purpose-built meetings and banquet facility. The guest rooms feature regal four-poster beds, spacious balconies, with teakwood patio furniture, waffled-cotton bathrobes, 27-inch remote-controlled satellite-linked televisions, marble bathrooms with custom-designed ASiRA natural body care amenities, 24-hour room service.
The resort features a fitness center with a full-line of spa services including manicures, pedicures, facials, massages, body wraps and body scrubs. Resort recreational activities include two free-form zero-entry swimming pools, two whirlpools, a full-service PADI dive facility and Watersports Center offering excursions, watercraft and sports rentals, certification and two on-site lighted tennis courts plus tee times at the nearby Robert Trent Jones II-designed Tierra del Sol championship golf course. The resort also offers its own extensive enrichment activities program for all ages, including the Radisson Kids Club Activity Center offering supervised children`s activities.
The hotel was recently named by Travel + Leisure readers in their annual World`s Best Hotels survey as one of the top 25 properties in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas.
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