Sand Acres Hotel no more

After 50 years of welcoming visitors to the island’s south coast, Sand
Acres Hotel is no more.

Demolition has begun on the 38-room property, which said farewell to
its final guests in May 2018.

Owned by veteran hotelier, Gordon Seale since 1986, the hotel was
located on Maxwell Coast Road adjacent to its sister hotel
Bougainvillea Barbados.

Seale confirmed that after extensive consultation with structural
engineers, the buildings were deemed no longer safe to accommodate
guests; and so, the difficult decision had been made to close and have
them removed.

“It really is a very sad day for us as this was where I got my start
in the hotel business. Sand Acres will always be very special to my
family and to our staff, some of whom started with me at Sand Acres
and are still with us over at Bougainvillea, after more than 30
years,” he expressed.

Whilst its accommodation is no more, Sand Acres, home to Siam, a Thai
restaurant, remains. Seale said, “Once we are able to safely operate,
we look forward to reopening Siam, which is just a best kept secret.”

Seale, the Chairman of Bougainvillea and Sugar Bay Barbados, which are
both owned by his family, said that although there are no immediate
plans for a new build, it was on the table in the medium term.

He did not disclose any details, but promised that the new development
would be an excellent addition to his hotel group, Odyssey Collection,
and to the island’s tourism plant.

“We’ve had an unprecedented blow with COVID-19 and it’s going to take
some time, but we will survive this. Things may look a bit different
in the future, but Barbados will be back,” he insisted.