(Trinidad Guardian) The Radisson Blu Hotel which is strategically located in the heart of downtown Port-of-Spain will not only add to Trinidad’s quality hotel roomstock but will enhance the capital with its alluring structure.
Ashram Ramnarine, group chief executive officer at Radisson Trinidad said the cost of the hotel will be between $175 to $200 million when it is finally completed as Radisson Blu is set to open its doors within the next 12 months. He made the comments on Thursday, during a tour by the media of the approved model suites.
Ramnarine who shared insights about the hotel’s progress thus far said, “We are pleased to announce the approval of our model suites by the Radisson Blu franchise.
These are very exquisite hotel rooms that will give Trinidad and Tobago much-needed exposure and offer the guests a very valued experience.
“The Radisson Blu is a 72-one-and-two-bedroom suite hotel, which includes full laundry and kitchen facilities and caters to a very different type of guests in relation to corporate business, government business, private family destinations of those who want a corporate centre to work in a home away from home environment.
“The theme is having a home away from home where the people of our country can come and indeed those in the Caribbean and other parts can come and experience the warmth, receptivity, and hospitality of our culture and our country with a very high-end product,” Ramnarine explained.
He added that the first floor is going to have a state-of-the-art spa facility with a state-of-the-art fitness centre. Ramnarine was also proud that local content was used in the construction process, stating that from the commencement of construction to present, 100 per cent local contractors were employed, with a total labour force employed of between 800 and 1,000 people over the period.
“When completed we expect to provide full-time employment to approximately 200 staff,” he added.
The superstructure of the hotel was completed in 2018 however, construction began a few years before Ramnarine stated. Upon completion of the superstructure there were some delays for about a year.
In detail the reasons Ramnarine said, “We spent a year in getting the right type of persons for quality design because the Radisson standard has a certain quality design and these are very specific for example, furniture might be manufactured in one country and go to Vietnam to be upholstered with the requisite standards and so on.”
Then there were further delays for two and half years with the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020 which forced the global shipping industry to grind to a halt. Now, everything is on stream and work continues apace.Frances Gonzales, head of operations, South American and the Caribbean for Choice Hotels, who also spoke at the media tour function, said the entity has a lot of plans for the brand.
On August 11, 2022, Choice acquired Radisson Hotels Americas, adding nine brands and approximately 67,000 rooms in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean to its portfolio.
With 22 brands, Choice Hotels has more than 7,500 hotels, and nearly 650,000 rooms, in 46 countries and territories. Speaking on the acquisition, Gonzales said, “This is very exciting for us because this is bringing a new perspective into the company…With this alliance and the purchase of Radisson Hotel Group Americas, it brings them a new level of product like the one that we are seeing (Radisson Blu) to their portfolio,” she said.
Increasing roomstock
Radisson Blu was born from the vision of its executive chairman Issa Nicholas, who has over 50 years’ experience in the hotel industry across the Caribbean. It has a total of 13 floors inclusive of the ground floor.
There are 72 suites located on 11 floors with seven suites on each floor comprising of three single-bedroom and four two-bedroom suites. The one-bedroom suites are approximately 720 square feet while the two-bedroom suites vary from 1,000 to 1,300 square feet. Additionally, the penthouse suites are located on the top floor which also has an infinity pool and patio.
These suites are approximately 2,500 square feet and all suites are outfitted with kitchen and laundry facilities.
T&T’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Randall Mitchell, said with the Radisson Blu coming onboard this will further enhance Trinidad’s roomstock, especially during the Carnival periods when rooms are in high demand in the city.
In October 2020, in his contribution to the 2021 budget debate, Mitchell said the hotel would open in March 2021.
