Caribbean Resorts Emerge ‘Unscathed’ After Hurricane Beryl

With Hurricane Beryl, now a Category 2 storm, barreling its way across the Yucatan Peninsula and toward Northern Mexico, parts of the Caribbean are picking up the pieces, with several resorts breathing a sigh of relief that damage was kept to a minimum.

The Cayman Islands was spared a direct hit, with Beryl passing about 50 miles south of Grand Cayman Island. Though power was knocked out for several thousand residences, there were no reports of serious damage.

Nicola Madden-Greig, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), praised Jamaican resorts’ preparedness response during the storm. 

“Jamaica was spared the worst of the hurricane and we have now returned to regular business operations,” she said. “We have no reports of any guests being injured during the passage of the storm, and the majority of the hotels and the tourism industry in general have emerged unscathed.” 

Sandals Resorts International reported that all its guests and team members across all affected islands are safe and unhurt, though some Jamaican properties are currently operating on backup power generators.

“Our resorts in the storm’s path throughout Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Grenada remain open, where guests are already enjoying many of the resort amenities as we work to get back to normal,” Sandals Resorts International said in a message to the media.

“We are incredibly fortunate as the majority of work over the next few days involves addressing damage to trees and landscaping, returning outdoor furniture and supplies to common resort areas and bringing the full resort experience back online.”

Sandals also thanked its guests and travel advisor partners for “their many contributions during the past few days. Their understanding and collaboration has been invaluable as we implemented various changes at each resort to prepare and ensure everyone’s safety.”

The resort also expressed “immense praise and thanks” for its team members for their “commitment, focus, and hard work” even at a time “when their own families and communities were at risk…”

The Sandals Foundation has set up a “Disaster Relief” initiative with 100% of every dollar going directly to the organization’s Caribbean Emergency Response Efforts.

RIU Hotels & Resorts also reported that its Caribbean properties are operational following Beryl.

“We are glad to report that all of our customers and staff are safe. Our hotels did not suffer any damages other than landscaping and some minor details due to the heavy rain and wind,” a RIU spokesperson told TMR. “In the upcoming days we will be working to return the hotels back to normal operation, in the meantime our staff is doing an extraordinary effort to keep our mutual customers comfortable with the services we currently have available.”