As it enters its second season of operation, Scrub Island Resort is adding some visual variety to the resort’s monotone-colour buildings: $85,000 worth of landscaping.
Dozens of palm trees, hibiscus, ixora and other plants will soon line the front of the resort, Martin Smith, Scrub’s managing director, said Saturday, describing the latest in a series of improvements undertaken since major construction on the hotel and marina facilities was completed last year.
Mr. Smith said hotel staff members are currently readying for the resort to ally itself with Marriott in mid-December. By joining the Autograph Collection, a Marriott brand of independently owned and operated hotels, the resort’s leaders hope to further spread the word about the 230-acre island.
Joe Collier, president of Mainsail Development Group, which owns Scrub, said the affiliation will allow access to Marriott’s “massive” reservation system, rewards programme and resources, while letting the resort retain its individuality.
“You’re able to do all that, but you’re able to be unique. Because there’s lots of travelers out there who don’t want to stay at a cookie-cutter property,” he said.
Installation of a sprinkler system, one of the Autograph Collection’s requirements, is ongoing, Mr. Collier said, and the resort went “live” on the hotel chain’s reservation system in October.
“We’re really excited. Just three weeks on Marriott’s system and we’ve already booked something like 1,500 room nights in three weeks,” he said in early November.
First phase complete
Construction on the first phase of the resort formally finished in August. Facilities consist of 67 hotel rooms and suites, 5,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, and a 60-slip marina.
Construction on 11 planned villas is under way, Mr. Smith said. Future stages of the development call for a spa, bars and an observatory to be built at the top of the island to take advantage of its views, Mr. Smith said.
Construction on Scrub began in 2006, but work stalled the next year after government issued a compliance letter, requiring developers to ramp up environmental protections. The following year, the global economic crisis delayed a $99 million refinancing package. Workers were unpaid for months, labour disputes erupted and work stopped temporarily.
Since it became operational, though, the resort has successfully attracted substantial hotel, conference and marina business, Mr. Smith said.
“We are, and we strive every day to be, boat friendly,” he said. “When they get off the boat we want them to get the same treatment that a hotel guest gets. Because eight guys on a catamaran, they’re going to eat, they’re going to dine. It’s a huge business for us.”