Joyce Destang wasn’t a educated hotelier. Or an accountant. However three a long time in the past, Joyce Destang and her husband gathered up “each penny that they had,” and took an opportunity on a plot of land within the Rodney Bay space. It started with 45 rooms and a dream.
Now, 30 years later, the Bay Gardens resorts portfolio is without doubt one of the Caribbean’s largest hospitality success tales, with a rising portfolio, a stellar status and enduring deal with the local people.
At present, the lodge is stewarded by Destang’s son, Sanovnik, a former Caribbean Hotelier of the Yr winner and the present president of the Caribbean Lodge and Tourism Affiliation.
The portfolio has grown to incorporate 5 completely different properties, from the traditional Bay Gardens to the Bay Gardens Seashore Resort to the Water’s Edge Villas. One other property will probably be debuting later this 12 months.
Bay Gardens has turn into greater than only a lodge model; it’s turn into part of the material of Saint Lucia, a residing tourism enterprise that’s on the core of what the sustainability motion is de facto all about.
That’s as a result of, at its core, the St Lucian-owned property is all about the local people. The truth is, to have fun the large birthday, the lodge launched the brand new Bay Gardens Neighborhood Fund, a charitable initiative targeted on empowering youth, sustainability and preserving the island’s cultural heritage. A lot of motels use the “sustainability” buzz phrase. Right here, it’s an actual factor.
“We’re turning thirty—now not youngsters or younger adults, however a full-grown enterprise,” Destang advised Caribbean Journal. And we don’t plan on going into our ‘soiled thirties’ quietly! This 12 months will convey a number of firsts for Bay Gardens, and maybe probably the most anticipated is the opening of Sapphire Sands Villas, which guarantees to convey a brand new wave of luxurious to the BG model—at a degree we’ve not seen earlier than.”
Certainly, we not too long ago known as Sapphire Sands one of the crucial anticipated openings of 2025, with a residential resort idea that’s one of many hottest traits in journey proper now.
We’ve stayed on the firm’s resorts a number of occasions, and we’ve all the time been impressed not simply by the extent of hospitality however the dedication to authenticity. Certainly, one in every of Destang’s coolest improvements was the “dine-around” all-inclusive idea, which let visitors staying on the AI plan truly exit and luxuriate in native eating places as a part of their bundle. It was a program that despatched shockwaves thorough the trade when it first debuted, however now it’s spawned a variety of related packages throughout the Caribbean, in a welcome growth for the impression of all-inclusive.
“Essentially the most rewarding a part of this journey hasn’t simply been our enlargement or improved enterprise efficiency, however reasonably the event of our individuals and the impression we proceed to have on the group,” Destang mentioned.
The resort will probably be holding a year-long calendar of occasions to “delight and interact visitors” as a part of the birthday celebrations. That can embody flash gross sales, particular offers and cultural showcases, with the gross sales beginning on teh finish of each month.
It’s an inspiring Saint Lucian story, because the island’s Tourism Minister, Ernest Hilaire, acknowledges.
And it’s an instance of true sustainability — when tourism and hospitality embed themselves in a spot, and plant deep roots.
“When on the lookout for an instance of profitable native possession, one ought to look no additional than the Destang household.” Hilaire mentioned.
For extra, go to Bay Gardens.
Are you planning a visit to the Bay Gardens? You’ll find costs on the firm’s Bay Gardens lodge for as little as $183 per evening proper now. The Bay Gardens Seashore resort, set on Reduit Seashore (our favourite lodge on the island), has charges at $271 per evening.
