The SuperClubs chain of resorts has acquired the Breezes Runaway Bay Hotel, John Issa, executive chairman of the all-inclusive hotel group, said yesterday at a press conference in Kingston.
“We completed the purchase of this resort last month,” said Mr. Issa, to a gathering of local and oversea media at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston. He also disclosed that the resort chain was increasing its presence to Brazil.
SuperClubs has previously leased the Breezes property from a pool of pension find managed by Life of Jamaica (LoJ).
Speaking to The Gleaner last night, Mr. Issa said that SuperClubs decided to acquire the property because “with interest rates where they are, pension funds are not likely to invest”.
The hotelier said the completely acquisition of the property will allow the chain to proceed with its refurbishing plans without interference. The move is similar to those made when SuperClubs acquired Hedonism II, in Negril, and Starfish, Trelawny, last year.
Prior to the LoJ-managed pension fund taking ownership of the Breezes property in the early 1990s, SuperClubs leased the property from the state-operated Urban Development Corporation (UDC) through its subsidiary National Hotels and Properties (NHP). “The property was originally leased from the NHP in 1983,” Mr. Issa told The Gleaner. He explained that the lease continued through the takeover.
Brazilian Developments
Mr. Issa also made mention of two new SuperClubs developments being introduced in Brazil. They are Breezes Cumbuco, a 253-room hotel to be opened 19 miles west of Fortazela, and Starfish Mura Alto, the second affiliate Starfish Resort, the first in Brazil. Starfish Mura Alto is a 16-acre resort featuring 252 room (including 60 cottages) and is located in Recife. It is slated to be opened in late 2004.
A third new Brazilian-based venture is Sonesta Sao Paulo. Mr. Issa aid that it would be the first SuperClubs undertaking “outside the all-inclusive realm”. SuperClubs will manage the 310-room business hotel, which opens this June.
Picture caption: Executive vice-president of SuperClubs, Joey Issa (left), chats with his father, John, the all-inclusive hotel chain’s executive chairman. The occasion was a SuperClubs press conference yesterday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, where the elder Issa highlighted some of the more recent activities undertaken by his organization.
Source: The Gleaner
