Sandals Resorts International said Monday it would invest at least US$12 million to upgrade a 500-acre property acquired in the Bahamas.

Sandals, which is now run by CEO Adam Stewart, son of founder Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, is buying the high-end Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma at Emerald Bay for an undisclosed sum.

The property will reopen for business January 2010, after the repair programme.

It will be rebranded under the Sandals name, a regional chain that is based in Jamaica.

Sandals is prohibited from disclosing the purchase price by a nondisclosure agreement, but Adam Stewart said the original developers invested more than US$300 million in the property, which first opened in 2003 and includes 183 suites, an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman and a 133-slip marina.

"We are acquiring one of the most spectacular pieces of real estate in the Caribbean," he said.

Other upgrades

Stewart told The Associated Press his company plans a number of upgrades, including outdoor cabanas for spa treatments, an authentic British pub, a piano bar and a new half-acre pool that will be three times the size of the existing one. They also will build a retail arcade to replace the casino.

The acquisition comes as tourism struggles in the region. Atlanta-based PKF Hospitality Research reported this month that Caribbean hotels had an average drop in profits of 16 per cent in 2008 and projected "further profit deterioration" this year amid steep discounts and special offers.

Sandals Emerald Bay, as the property will be known, is the company's 14th resort and the third in the Bahamas, an Atlantic island chain southeast of Florida.

- AP