Mandarin Oriental opened its first Caribbean property in Canouan in St. Vincent and The Grenadines.
Mandarin Oriental, Canouan is on the Godahl beachfront near the Caribbean's largest natural living coral reef. The property originally operated as the Pink Sands Club, Canouan before undergoing a complete rebranding.
The hotel has 26 suites and seven three- and four-bedroom Patio Villas and shares the site with a spa, four restaurants and a bar. The hotel is near a Fazio-designed 18-hole golf course, Shell Beach, a yacht marina along with Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada by plane.
Mandarin Oriental will also manage a block of new Residences at Mandarin Oriental near the hotel. Construction on the project is expected to be completed by 2020.
The opening follows Mandarin Oriental's agreement to manage the Mandarin Oriental, Grand Cayman, which is slated to open in 2021. The site of the 100-room beachfront resort will also have 89 branded Residences at Mandarin Oriental.
Alternative investment company Melkonian Capital Management is the new hotel’s project owner while New York-based RAL Development Services will be the development partner. They will construct the hotel and residences on a 67-acre site at St. James Point on the southern shore of the island.
In Asia-Pacific, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam will get its own Mandarin Oriental hotel a year earlier in 2020. The Mandarin Oriental Saigon will have 227 guestrooms and suites once construction is complete.
The new Mandarin Oriental will be part of the commercial building Union Square Saigon, which is currently undergoing renovations. The hotel is being developed on the top floors of the mixed-use complex, which will also have international retail outlets. The Union Square Company property is near the Saigon Opera House, the People's Committee Building and city landmarks along with dining and shopping areas.