Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa, one of Cape Verde's leading residential developments, Sal Island
News
The latest construction images from the resort show just how close Tortuga Beach is to final completion. We have successfully completed the initial two phases of the resort ahead of schedule and we’re now completing the apartment buildings with furniture going in. In addition, the hotel and main pool area are also progressing quickly.
Click here to view the latest construction pictures
Cape Verde received 92,000 tourists in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 5.5% against the same period of 2009, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said Thursday in Praia.
Figures from the Survey on Movement of Guests showed that in the first quarter of 2010 almost 5,000 more tourists checked in to Cape Verde’s accommodation units than in the same quarter of 2009.
Sal Island remained the preferred destination of most of the visitors, with 45.8 percent of total entries, followed by Boa vista (27.2 percent), and Santiago.
The United Kingdom remained in top spot in terms of number of overnight stays with 25.2 percent of the total, followed by Germany, France, Italy and Portugal.
The Cape Verdean economy should grow between 4 and 5 percent this year, according to the head of the Banco de Cabo Verde.
Carlos Burgo made his comments on Tuesday (12/05/10) when presenting the half-yearly report on monetary policy in Cape Verde, which has already been submitted to the government and parliament.
The report details evolution of the island country’s economic and financial situation in the last six months and looks ahead to the next half-year. Burgo said a slight increase in prices was also forecast, and that the average inflation rate should be between 1.5 and 2.5 percent.
The Resort Group is committed to delivering on our promises, offering first-class returns for our clients and ensuring our resorts are built to the highest standards.
But don’t just take our word for it, read the testimonial from the first family to stay on the Tortuga Beach Resort.
Dear all at the Resort Group and everyone who is involved in working on Tortuga Beach Resort
We would just like to say a big big thank you to everyone after being the first family to stay on the resort. We spent a whole week in our villa just a couple of days after it was completed, I can’t even begin to describe how we felt as we walked through the door and into the most amazing place you could ever imagine we was lost for words, when they say own your own little piece of paradise they are not joking as these are the only words that could possibly describe it all.
We still can’t come to terms with the fact that it’s all ours, you keep thinking it’s all a dream and you’re going to wake up, its everything we expected and more, within 10 minutes of arriving our children were in the swimming pool in our garden, something they will definitely miss back home. From a dishwasher, to a Hoover to a washing machine, the villa has everything we need. They had thought of everything.
The furniture was also of a much higher standard than we expected it was all beautiful, also all the little extras used to dress the villa just made it that bit more special as these were all so unexpected, we are thrilled with our investment and everyone on site made us feel extremely welcome especially Pedro and the landscape gardeners Jeff and his son, even Mark from Rhooms was most concerned that we liked all the furniture, nothing was too much trouble for all these guys and of course things wouldn’t be the same without Emma and Mark they are a credit to the company, our only regret is that we didn’t invest in more than the 1 villa.
The most prestigious award in the tourism industry goes to Sol Meliá - for the second time!
Sol Meliá has won the Prince Filipe award for the 2nd time. The award is considered the most prestigious and most important within the tourism industry and recognises excellence across a variety of criteria including quality, commitment to innovation and entry into new markets.
Part of the Prince Felipe Business Excellence Awards, the Tourism Award went to Sol Meliá thanks largely to their "continued and intense focus on the implementation of the most modern and innovative features and facilities in its hotels". The Jury for the award also commented on their achievement "in greater brand recognition" and "the most advanced service concepts as well as a commitment to sustainability and social and cultural responsibility".
Having been at the forefront of the tourism industry for 54 years, Sol Meliá last won the award 15 years ago, and become the first Spanish company to win it for a second time.
The award demonstrates the quality of the Sol Meliá group who will manage both the Tortuga and Dunas Beach Resorts.
Despite the difficult trading conditions within the industry over the last 2 years, the jury were impressed with the development of the Sol Meliá brand strategy, as well as the growth in customer registrations with industry leading developments in online sales projects.
With regards to their continued globalisation, the jury for the award gave high praise to one of Sol Meliá's most prominent characteristics, the company has successfully opened up new markets such as Bali, where it has developed a model of sustainable tourism over a period of 25 years, a highly successful model to be applied to developments in Cape Verde and other emerging markets.
The award was of course received with a great sense of pride and satisfaction amidst the difficult trading conditions, company Vice Chairman, Sebastián Escarrer said "2009 tested our management ability, our capacity to reinvent our model and our values, and we have come out of it much stronger, more innovative, and more committed to sustainability. This prize is a reward for this effort and encourages us to continue to improve".
The award also demonstrates exactly why The Resort Group have partnered with Sol Meliá - not only the biggest resort hotelier in the world, but also the very best.
As the first quarter of 2010 passes by, it has been great news all round for The Resort Group and our clients, and we are exactly where we need to be in terms of delivering on our promises.
Firstly, Tortuga Beach has entered into the completions phase with the handover process now well underway. It's hard to imagine that the ground breaking ceremony happened only 15 months ago. It's a remarkable achievement to be at the completions stage and provides you with a very clear indication of our continued focus and commitment to delivering on our promises.
Tortuga Beach demonstrates how The Resort Group is able to deliver rapid construction progress whilst maintaining high quality standards throughout.
The achievements on Tortuga will of course apply to Dunas Beach as well, where we anticipate a similar demonstration of our ability to make swift construction progress as well as delivering exceptional quality. Whilst a luxurious world-class resort is what Dunas Beach is all about, it's also a first class investment proposition.
In fact, the signs are very good for all clients as sales continue to set new records, enquiries reach new heights and with it price increases are planned in order to reflect the rising demand. All in all this is fantastic news for our existing clients, and so perhaps now is the time to consider further investment? If you wish to add to your portfolio then we recommend our 50% Ownership Option, which represents excellent value should you wish to increase your investment potential. Contact us for more details.
The Resort Group is very much on a high; our developments are taking shape and we move forward with high financial stability and with great confidence of an excellent future for your investment.
Kind Regards,
Rob Jarrett
Chairman
As reported last year, our resort management agreement with Sol Meliá means that exciting changes are taking place at Dunas Beach. These developments and enhancements are set to make it a truly world class tourist destination in its own right.
You'll find the new site plan and details of all the new facilities within the first Your Investment newsletter, including details on the new MELIÁ Gabi Club and Yhi Spa - both delivering the ultimate in luxury and indulgence. Our management partners, Sol Meliá, will of course be operating both the Dunas Beach and Tortuga Resorts once they're completed.
So all of our clients will benefit from Sol Meliá's well-earned reputation for delivering high occupancy rates on their resorts throughout the world.
Inside the newsletter, you'll also see some exciting new images of construction development on the Tortuga Resort site. This is now taking shape and the character of the resort is beginning to shine through. It will be an impressive five-star resort when it's finished and we're right on track to complete this development on time. Naturally, I can personally assure you that the overall build quality of Tortuga will be to the very highest standard and the best on the island.
Last year was full of great achievements and 2010 has started in similar fashion, as we hit the ‘1000 properties sold’ mark during January - a fantastic milestone for us all. So this year promises to be a great one yet again for The Resort Group and all our Clients.
We're working hard to provide high build quality and keep up the construction progress on both of our Dunas Beach and Tortuga developments.
We're also committed to maintaining the highest level of after-sales service for all of our clients. Our UK support staff are here to help and on hand to answer any questions or queries you may have. So as always, please don't hesitate to get in touch should you have any questions regarding your investment.
Kind Regards,
Rob Jarrett
Chairman
2010 promises to be another great year for The Resort Group
Whilst we look back on last year with a great sense of pride and achievement, we are fully focussed on the year ahead as 2010 has the potential to be the best yet for The Resort Group.
Construction on both our Cape Verde resorts continues with real intensity this year, as we remain on schedule with Tortuga and take some large steps forward with Dunas Beach. Whilst we continue to press ahead, the quality of build and finish remains at the very highest standard and is the most important element when delivering world-class resorts.
The big news of last year was undoubtedly signing full resort management contracts with Sol Melia. That is of huge significance to all existing and future clients of The Resort Group, as it means both our resorts will be in the expert hands of the largest resort hotelier in the world.
To put that into context, Sol Melia are three times larger than the current largest operator on Cape Verde, which means our clients can be very confident of high occupancy rates (current best on Island is 95%), and therefore can look forward to both a substantial and sustainable level of return.
More great news for 2010, is a refreshed look across all of our marketing, we want to restyle our look to offer a much more colourful, informative and hopefully inspiring view of our developments, as well as any other news and information that is of interest to our Clients.
We will be sending you a new Client magazine in early February to replace the current newsletter, plus we’ll also be redesigning our The Resort Group website, which is also scheduled for launch in February. That is in addition to the revamped look for Dunas Beach Resort, with a new brochures and website to showcase the luxurious enhancements made to the Resort. We’ll be sending a new Dunas Beach Resort brochure out to all our clients as soon as they’re available.
As ever, there is plenty going on at The Resort Group and much to look forward to, our support team are on hand as always and we’re here to help whenever you have a question or query relating to your investment.
Kind Regards,
Rob Jarrett
Chairman
In this month's message we have lots of exciting news to share with you as significant progress has been made in all areas for The Resort Group PLC. I am sure that you will find this edition a very interesting read.
Let me begin by advising all of our clients on Dunas Beach Resort that construction started on Monday 26th October. This was followed by the 'laying of the first stone' where we ceremoniously broke ground on 13th November.
Golden shovels were used by myself and His Excellency, Minister of State, in what was the largest resort launch in 2009 in the whole of Cape Verde.
The event was attended by many of our existing Dunas Beach clients and staff from The Resort Group along with many other dignitaries.
It was a fantastic occasion for all who attended, and once all formal speeches surrounding our development success and our invested interest in Cape Verde had been conducted to all key dignitaries, we all enjoyed a great evening of celebrations that continued well into the small hours.
Unbelievably this was not the premier event for The Resort Group during November. This was in fact the signing of operator agreements with the largest resort hotel group on the planet Sol Meliá! After some 14 months of discussions and many enhancements to both Dunas and Tortuga resorts, we are delighted to announce that both Tortuga and Dunas will be managed by Sol Meliá under their 'MELIÁ' brand. This is their five star European rated brand that will be the first of its kind and quality on the whole of Cape Verde.
This represents a magnificent result for all clients on Dunas and Tortuga Beach Resorts as the alliance with such a world renowned hotelier alone has been known in the past to give 25% capital growth to property under its management.
We cannot emphasise how special this partnership is for all of our Dunas and Tortuga clients, in my recent meetings with some of the key personnel of Sol Meliá, they made no secret in commenting that they see Cape Verde as one of their most exciting new destinations. This really is a momentous announcement for everyone involved!
We have included the official press release which can be found on Sol Meliá's website at www.solmelia.com for your information further on in this newsletter.
We announced the commencement of construction on Tortuga only 9 months ago and it is clear to see that once we start construction we seriously get down to work! We have attached a few recent images of Tortuga Beach Resort photographed from the air to show you an aerial view of the Resort and I hope you will be as pleased as I am to see just how far we have come in a relatively short space of time.
I am so impressed with Grupo San Jose and the speed at which the Resort has been taking shape, even more so of the quality and workmanship of both the exterior and interior fit out.
The same construction company is being used on Dunas Beach Resort and we trust you will share in our confidence that construction is indeed in very safe hands given the results so far.
Hopefully all the above will demonstrate that we at The Resort Group PLC really 'do what we say we are going to do.'
Kind Regards,
Rob Jarrett
Meliá Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa is currently under construction and will be fully operational in 2011.
Meliá Dunas Beach Resort construction commenced with the ground breaking ceremony this month and is planned to open in 2012.
Palma de Majorca, 18 November 09– Sol Meliá has reached an agreement with The Resort Group PLC to manage two new 5-Star Hotel Resorts on the Island of Sal, Cape Verde, under the MELIÁ brand. Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 tropical islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 1,000 km south of the Canary Islands and 450 km west of Senegal. With a currency fixed to the Euro, politically very stable, fantastic beaches and year-round sunshine, Cape Verde is fast becoming one of the world’s most exciting tourist hot spots.
The two beach-front Resorts are located on the Island of Sal which enjoys beautiful white sandy beaches and an international airport with direct flights from around the world.
Meliá Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa and Meliá Dunas Beach Resort will provide combined condo-hotel accommodation of around 1,000 units. These will be a mixture of Hotel Suites and also privately owned Villas and Apartments located within the Resorts that will form part of the hotel rental itinerary under a condo-hotel arrangement.
Facilities and amenities for guests will be everything expected and demanded from the 5-Star Meliá brand. The guest experience across the two Resorts will be served by some 13 restaurants & eateries, 12 bars, swimming pools, convention and function suites, entertainment, kids club, sports facilities, shops and the impeccable service offered by Meliá in all of its hotels.
The Meliá Experience also includes state-of-the-art Gymnasiums and luxury Spas on each Resort, that will provide wellbeing and complete relaxation of the body and soul to the clients , under the Sol Melia’ s luxury Spa brand, Yhi Spa.
Sol Meliá has over 50 years experience and is the largest resort hotel company in the world. It is the largest hotel group in Spain, the sixth largest in Europe and number fifteen in the world ranking, currently operating more than 300 hotels in 28 countries and employs 34,000 people worldwide. With regard to this agreement, Sol Melia’s CEO and Vice Chairman, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, firmly believes that “our Meliá Brand will add a great deal of value to the whole development, which has potential to become a hotel-destination in itself”.
The Resort Group has previously been involved in Andalucía, Spain with Casares del Sol, and also in the ultra-luxurious Trump International Hotel & Tower in Toronto. They
entered the Cape Verde Tourism and Real Estate market in late 2006 and are now fully committed for the long term, and actively looking for further opportunities.
Chairman, Rob Jarrett, says; “The Resort Group is absolutely delighted and very proud to have Sol Meliá operate Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa and Dunas Beach Resort. I am particularly thrilled that the Hotels will be the luxurious 5-Star MELIA brand. I genuinely believe that the quality of the Resorts combined with the experience; huge reservation capacity and very high standards of Sol Meliá will be a truly winning proposition for everyone concerned, especially the people of Cape Verde itself. I would also like to thank all the Authorities in Cape Verde who have been a pleasure to work with and also the people of Sal who have welcomed us so warmly. I give my assurance and that of everyone at The Resort Group, that we will do everything in our power to deliver Resorts to be proud of, lasting employment and substantial economic benefits.”
About Sol Meliá
Sol Meliá was founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and is the world’s leading resort hotel chain, as well as Spain’s leading hotel chain in both the business and leisure markets. It currently has more than 300 hotels in 28 countries on 4 continents. The brands operated by the company are Gran Meliá, Meliá, ME, Innside, Tryp, Sol, Paradisus and Sol Meliá Vacation Club.
Sol Meliá is the only travel company included in the exclusive “Footse4Good Ibex” Spanish stock market index, and is the third company in Spain to generate the greatest degree of confidence and is ranked within the top three hotel chains as far as Corporate Reputation is concerned. The company currently employs more than 34,000 people worldwide with staff from over 80 different countries. The company fully respects equal rights and balance in its contracting of male and female staff and 10% of its workforce is made up of immigrants.
