Marriott is finally renovating the seven Barbados resorts it bought

Pre-covid, Marriott decided that all-inclusive resorts should be a bigger part of its portfolio.

It believed that many Marriott Bonvoy members were put off from redeeming at luxury hotels, even if they had enough points, due to the high cost of food and drink. The idea was that having luxury all-inclusive resorts would not only be profitable in their own right but would also drive demand across ALL Bonvoy hotels as all-inclusive fans began to accrue points.

Marriott found a very clever way of jumping in. In October 2019, it bought the Stock Market-listed Elegant Hotels Group for just over £100m. With net debt, the enterprise value was around £150m. Despite having most of its assets in Barbados, Elegant was UK based.

Marriott had a cunning plan ….

Elegant Hotels had seven properties on Barbados, six of which were on the more attractive west side on what is called the ‘Platinum Coast’.

The seven hotels had 588 rooms in total.  They are Colony Club, Tamarind, The House, Crystal Cove, Turtle Beach, Waves Hotel & Spa and Treasure Beach.  The beachfront Barbados restaurant Daphne’s was also included in the deal.

Marriott had a plan:

• the hotels would be renovated 

• the hotels would be rebranded under existing Marriott brands, six of them operating on an all-inclusive basis

• the hotels would be re-sold, with Marriott retaining a long-term management contract

It is a clever strategy in theory.  Marriott could make an immediate profit on its expenditure if the hotels were re-sold well (they should be worth more if sold individually, since fewer investors have the appetite for seven assets in the same market) and it retains long-term revenue from the management contract.

There was one snag ….

The downside of the acquisition was that the hotels were not in great shape. The renovations that Marriott planned to fund were desperately needed.

And then, of course, covid happened. Everything ground to halt.

Here we are and it’s 2024 – almost five years since Marriott announced its plans to acquire Elegant Hotels.

At long last, the first renovation is due to be completed.

Treasure Beach by Elegant Hotels, Barbados will be the first to be completed. Bookings are being taken from 30th July. The website is here.

Treasure Beach will become an Autograph Collection hotel. It is an adults-only all-inclusive property.

We also know what will happen to the other hotels:

• The House will join Autograph Collection (refurbishment completes 2024)
• Waves Hotel & Spa will join Autograph Collection (refurbishment completes 2024)
• Tamarind will join Autograph Collection (refurbishment starts mid 2024)
• Turtle Beach will join Tribute Portfolio (refurbishment starts 2025)
• Crystal Cove will join Tribute Portfolio (refurbishment starts 2025)
• Colony Club will join Luxury Collection (this is not all-inclusive, refurbishment starts mid 2024)

This could be a good points deal

Points redemptions for Treasure Beach are now available for August onwards. Remember that no children are allowed.

It is looking like good value. Let’s take a seven night stay from 5th to 12th October.

For points (remember that Marriott does ‘fifth night free’ on redemptions) you need 420,000 Bonvoy points. For cash, you’re paying $3,647 for a refundable rate. This gets you 0.68p per point, well above our target of 0.5p.

The Treasure Beach website is here.

PS.  One thing that always intrigued me about the Elegant Hotels acquisition was the price.  The hotels are all freehold and they are in the best locations in Barbados.  The cost, however, is only £250,000 per room.  Given the exceptionally high cost of property in Barbados, you would assume – if the Government would allow it – there would have been substantially more profit in knocking 4-5 rooms together and creating multi-million $ multi-room beachfront apartments.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)