Gorstew, the aggrieved partner in the controversy-hit Sandals Whitehouse Hotel project, appears willing to spare the contractor-general any of its ire, saying only that he was either misled or not shown critical information that would have led him more accurately.

But Gorstew, Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart’s holding company, insists that Contractor-General Greg Christie followed the wrong path in his investigations and ended up citing the wrong hotel as the standard that was used for the design of the Whitehouse project.

That error, says Gorstew, inevitably led Christie to the flawed conclusion that Gorstew bore substantial responsibility for a part of the US$41-million overrun on the project that is at the heart of the dispute that sunk Dr Vin Lawrence in the dramatic events of last week.

Sandals Whitehouse, Stewart’s dream of a major hotel that would be the catalyst for tourism development on Jamaica’s south coast, became mired in controversy after Sandals complained that the developers failed to deliver the property completed and fully functioning when the hotel opened in February last year.

Sandals, which manages the hotel, said it was forced to cut rates and refund hundreds of guests. The company also said the issue damaged its reputation.

Last week, as pressure to clear up the cobwebs surrounding the Whitehouse project reached a crescendo, Lawrence, chairman of the state-run Urban Development Corporation, threw in the towel as head of the UDC and all other state boards which he headed.

The UDC was the main partner in the Whitehouse project, with Gorstew and the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ) which has largely been keeping its head down as the blows flew between Gorstew and UDC and latterly the contractor-general.

In his report to Parliament on the Whitehouse hotel fiasco, Christie accused the UDC of deliberately concealing information from his investigators. But he also suggested culpability on the part of Gorstew, citing as “plausible” the suggestion that “the increased costs of the project and its time overrun were due substantially to the change from the Beaches to a Sandals concept resort”.

“The indications are that the roof construction, partitioning walls, floor, ceiling finishes, windows, doors and rainwater disposals, are all areas of work which showed increases (in cost),” the contractor-general said. He, however, added that he saw value for money.

But in interviews with the Sunday Observer, Gorstew spokespersons found that Christie’s investigative trail had led to the Beaches Negril hotel instead of across the Caribbean Sea to the Beaches Turks & Caicos French Village.

“There are essential, and costly differences between Beaches Negril and Beaches Turks and Caicos,” said Chris Zacca, the deputy chairman of Gorstew.

“Beaches Negril is an overtly laid-back Caribbean resort with wooden features in parts that cost less than the upbeat, sophisticated European Village concept which is the Beaches Turks and Caicos,” added Zacca, who is also deputy chairman of the Jamaica Observer.

Gorstew is contending that the change from a Beaches to a Sandals concept at Whitehouse in Westmoreland actually saved the project money.

The company also suggests that an understanding of the differences between a Sandals hotel and a Beaches concept would clear up the picture somewhat.

“The world-famous Sandals hotels exclusively attract adult couples. For that we have an appropriate design,” said Patrick Lynch, another Gorstew director.

“On the other hand, the Beaches hotels cater to families, meaning that we put in facilities and features that would be utilised by both adults and children. Those features would include some rooms with connecting doors, twin double beds and pull-out sofas that are convertible to beds.

“Because the Sandals hotels do not require interconnecting doors and twin double beds in rooms, only a king size bed, they are less costly to build.

“Beaches would obviously cost more because of higher costs associated with furnishing, dining facilities and amenities for entertainment for both adults and children,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Entertainment for children at Beaches include the internationally popular Sesame Street characters, water slides, nurseries and the like.

Both Zacca and Lynch conceded that in 2001, Gorstew called for changes in the design of Whitehouse from Beaches hotel to Sandals. But they said that prior to the changes, the original Beaches concept had been planned for children upwards of 16 years and adults.

“Therefore, we did not need any changes to the central facilities and there were no changes to the specifications for finishes,” Lynch insisted. He said it was largely a name change that resulted in small adjustments, mainly to do with rearrangement of connecting doors, electrical outlets, lighting fixtures and beds.”

Zacca and Lynch are also directors of Ackendown Newtown, which is jointly owned by the three partners in the hotel project.

Zacca noted that the name change was later signed off on by the UDC. According to Lynch, the project saved somewhere between US$30,000 and US$50,000.

“That, anybody who knows math will tell you, does not add up to overrun,” he said.

Lynch added that had the contractor-general taken his investigations to Gorstew, he could have been provided with all the information that he apparently did not get, before making his report to Parliament.