An outbreak of COVID-19, annoying customers and a public quarrel with the local government.
For a chain of resorts that promises “a carefree vacation,” Sandals Resorts seems to be plagued by them.
Earlier this week, the Barbados Ministry of Health classified the Sandals Barbados Resort and Spa as an official “quarantine hotel,” one of the few places newcomers to the island can stay while waiting for the results. two negative PCR tests needed to move the island freely. In a statement, the ministry cited several “verified allegations” of breaches of the COVID-19 protocol at the all-inclusive 280-room resort and warned it would take “similar action” against any other property that did not comply with the rules. island and regulations. He also announced the arrest of three tourists suspected of violating quarantine rules.
Hours later, the Jamaica-based hotel chain fired with a statement of its own, claiming it had been blinded by the government announcement. The resort claimed it had rejected all allegations of protocol violations in writing and requested a meeting with the health ministry and was “surprised” to learn of the removal from the list in the local press.
“We hope that the Minister of Tourism, the Minister of Health and the Chief Medical Officer, who have not yet been to our hotel to see the protocols in place, can prioritize a visit to do so,” the resort said in an unusual way. . acerbic statement a Barbados today.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, a Sandals spokesman said its Barbados resorts have an “exemplary history in the industry” and claimed the allegations against them were unproven. (The health ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but issued a press release apologizing for insinuating that tourists dodging quarantine were related in some way to Sandals. They were not).
It was not the first time the hotel chain had fought with local government officials. Two weeks earlier, the health ministry of Grenada, a Caribbean island of 111,000 people, announced an outbreak of 26 cases originating at Sandals Resort. In a few days, the number of active cases reached 44, doubling the total number of cases on the island since the start of the pandemic. The ministry considered the situation a “health emergency” and quickly enacted a 10-person limit at all meetings, as well as a ban on eating indoors and, in the following days, a curfew at 10 p.m. hours.
Although Sandals initially promised to cooperate with local health authorities, he has since come out swinging against government officials. In an open letter published by several local outlets, Sandals Grenada CEO Peter Fraser described the reports linking the outbreak to its resort as “completely untested” and expressed his “great disappointment” at the government officials for not correcting them.
Days later, the vice president of the Sandals group, Adam Stewart, announced the closure of the Granada complex until February 3, blaming the decision not for the outbreak but for the government’s own indecision.
“As the government begins to change and is unsure of how they will proceed with their own protocols and tourist entry requirements, we must wait for them to finalize a plan so we can talk professionally about how this will affect our customers, our operation and our staff, ”Stewart said.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, the Sandals spokesman claimed that initial reports of an outbreak in Sandals had been “proven inaccurate”. The spokesman cited a second round of PCR testing that resulted in zero positive cases among its 432 employees and claimed that some of the initial test results were false positive. The Granada Ministry of Public Health did not return several requests for comment.
The feeling among the locals seemed favorable to the chain. A columnist of The new one today accused the government of turning Sandals into a “sacrificial lamb” in its ploy to reopen tourism and accused them of “press[ing] a panic button while the investigation is pending and not yet completed. ”Left-leaning members of the National Democratic National Congress claimed the government had allowed Sandals to evade security protocols and called for his resignation. immediate involvement of the two ministers directly involved.
However, customers directed their anger directly at the chain. During the days surrounding the outbreak, negative reviews began to arrive at locations in Bermuda and Granada, and guests accused the resorts of selling them rooms they did not deliver. An angry customer wrote to TripAdvisor that she had paid $ 4,000 for a 4-night stay at the pool, only to move into a “small, dimly lit room” with no air conditioning and no warning. “I’m all for keeping people safe, but be honest with the service you offer and don’t take money for something you can’t provide. That’s less than the quality of a 1-star motel room at the price of 5 stars. “
A man, who asked to be identified only as Jim, told The Daily Beast that he had booked a room at the Granada resort on December 14, but received no notification of the outbreak that had been announced on previous day. Instead, he received a frantic email two days later telling him to contact the resort “immediately.” He said the hotel told him he would no longer accept new visitors and that the best they could offer him was credit for another location or a 50% refund. (The hotel changed its tune after Jim posted a specially reduced TripAdvisor review).
A Sandals guest, Mike, who also asked to be referred to by name only, said he had initially booked his honeymoon at the Grenada resort, but that he moved to Barbados when the Granada property was closed. . Upon arrival at the airport, he said that public health officials told him that he and his wife had done the wrong test and that they would have to quarantine the hotel property until they could get new ones. tests. However, when they arrived in Sandals, the resort staff informed them that they would be limited not only to the hotel property, but to their room, a much smaller accommodation with no ocean or beach views. the pool. After spending less than 24 hours completely isolated, Mike and his wife decided to pack up and leave.
The most frustrating of the whole experience, Mike said, was the conflicting information about the complex and the government.
“We didn’t know, do we believe the government people or do we believe Sandals?” He said. “I understand, they have rules to follow, [but] my wife and I said, “That’s not worth the money we spent to be here.”
In a statement, a Sandals spokesman said the company is proud to have the highest rate of return in the industry and noted that more than 90% of Sandals Barbados and Sandals Grenada guests share positive reviews on TripAdvisor.
Jim, after further reflection, admitted that “it was probably a stupid idea, first of all, to imagine that I could really run away.” He said he and his wife, who works in the medical field, had planned to reschedule the holidays after the vaccine. But I wouldn’t book it with Sandals.
“I think it was an absolutely ridiculous way to handle this,” he said in a phone interview. “It would have been very easy to offer and process a refund in advance. I would not have felt negative about it. I am now convinced that I will never book a trip with them.”