Hanover awaits Fiesta

Claudia Gardner,Hospitality Jamaica Writer

Hanover:

WHILE RESIDENTS of Hanover await the construction of what is expected to be the largest hotel in the parish and the island, parish officials have not had the opportunity to meet with or have discussions with the developers, Spanish hotel chain Fiesta Hotels and Resorts.

"I understand that later this year they will be breaking ground, but I have not been officially advised, since we have not had any meetings with them," said Mayor of Lucea and chairman of the Hanover Parish Council Lester Crooks.

The Hanover Chamber of Commerce President, Anthony Marks, made the same statements. "We have not had any information out of Fiesta, nor have we met with them."

He said the chamber was instrumental in doing the groundwork in getting the hotel into the parish. "We were the ones who approached the Spanish Hoteliers RIU, to get them to initiate some form of discussions. RIU recommended the area to Fiesta, and the chamber even made contact with the land owner," Mr. Marks said.

NO APPLICATION TO COUNCIL

A picturesque view f Point, hanover

Secretary/manager of the Hanover Parish Council, Alfred Graham, told Hospitality Jamaica that the council had not yet received applications for the construction of the hotel.

"Nothing has come to the Hanover Parish Council for development approval as yet," Mr Graham said, noting that this was a legal requirement.

In late 2004, the Fiesta Hotels and Resorts sealed a land deal with Montego Bay hotelier John Sinclair for the construction of the hotel. The hotel chain plans to construct a five-star all inclusive hotel, to be named Jamaica Palladium on 200 acres of land at Point Estate in Lucea.

Fiesta Hotels and Resorts is based in Ibiza, Spain, and owns 41 luxury hotels worldwide.

In the 1990s, the group expanded to the Caribbean where they opened luxury hotels in Playo Bovario, as well as another in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.