Tashieka Mair, Hospitality Jamaica Writer

THE TELEPHONE operators at Sandals Dunn's River now answer the phone, 'Buonjornio' ­ the Italian word for good morning.

Dunn's River Hotel	Luxury room at Dunn's River.

The resort has added the flavour of Europe to all aspects of the property, and could easily be referred to as the envy of the island's hotel industry.

With a $17 million renaissance, the resort has been renamed Sandals Dunn's River Villaggio Golf Resort & Spa, and is far more beautiful than when it first opened its doors 16 years ago.

Closing for three months and reopening at the start of the
winter tourist season, the operators, Sandals Resorts International, have unveiled a first-class, first-world state-of-the-art facility.

ITALIAN-STYLED RESORT

"It has always been an Italian-styled resort, but the look sort of faded gradually," Louis Grant, general manager of the property told Hospitality Jamaica.

Mr. Grant said that the resort was always branded as the Italian renaissance hotel, so the new look is just an improvement to an already outstanding product. "With the availability of funds we went all out to ensure that Sandals Dunn's River remained the best resort in the Sandals chain," he boasted.

"We have to keep raising the bar to keep ahead of the competition. Each time we refurbish we raise the standards," he added.

He explained that with a 25 per cent rate of repeat guests the improvements to the 250 couples-only resort was a refreshing change for these guests who were probably growing tired of the same meals, entertainment or even the same environment.

"We did not want our return guests to keep seeing the same things all the time. When some of them saw the change they were really excited, and had lots of questions about why we had done all this. It is really rewarding to see their reaction."

"This move is just to differentiate the Sandals properties and to give each one a different theme so that guests could visit all the different properties and have a totally different experience."

PIZZA HUT RESTAURANT

In addition to the renovation, a Pizza Hut restaurant was opened and a number of new decorations including Italian statues were also added to the general features that the resort boast.

The staff who are now sporting newly designed uniforms, had to undergo continuous training in order to properly accommodate the change. The staff also learn from each other as the Italian members impart their knowledge to the Jamaican staff and vice versa.