MONTEGO BAY, St James

UK visitors aren’t likely to get homesick if they happen to be vacationing at Sandals Royal, which officially opened an authentic British pub, earlier this week at a cost of $25 million.

“It is an attestment to our commitment to our guests. We have had three of them in the chain so far – Sandals Grand, St Lucia, Sandals, Antigua and Sandals, Bahamas – and it has been a phenomenal concept especially for the resorts with a higher British clientelle. So we decided to try one in Jamaica and it has been fantastic so far,” an elated Sandals CEO, Adam Stewart, noted after cutting the ribbon to signal the official opening of the pub.

Added Stewart: “We get almost 50 per cent of our guests at this hotel from England”.

Stewart said the concept of an English-flavoured tavern as an added attraction to the Sandals chain, is the brainchild of his father, Gordon ‘Butch’ – chairman of Sandals – who adopted it after enjoying a true pub experience on one of his visits to England.

“… there was nothing quite like it so we decided to bring it to the Caribbean and it is a kind of thing that somebody from across the Atlantic and never expect to see.”

Noting that Sandals had “no immediate plans” to establish another pub in Jamaica soon, the young Stewart hinted that ” by the looks of the smiles on the guests’ faces we will have to introduce it in a few more of our resorts here”.

A British couple, Roy and Pauline Cottam who were visiting Sandals Royal for the tenth time, gave the pub their seal of approval.

“We were first through the doors. It is very authentic. I think it is fantastic. It is just what we would visit very regular at home and I think they have done a very good job, it is like going to a pub at home the guys (waiters) they bare working very hard they are doing very well. It makes you feel at home. We are home again we would say, a delighted Roy Cotham revealed between sips of beer.

Six screens are installed around the pub beaming past cricket Test matches featuring the all times greats of the game. A library offering a wide variety of literature also features in the pub.

The menu sports ” everything you would see in a British pub”: fish and chips; steak and kidney pies; etc.

Said an upbeat Englishman, Jeremy Mutton, general manager at Sandals Royal:

” It is authentic as it gets. You are listening to the beat of the Beatles but we have inspired the team to add maybe a bit of a Jamaican flair and entertainment to the evening. So traditional English menu, pub menu and like I said the actual decor does not get more English and that is coming from an Englishman.”

“It is adding yet another dining experience to what you could get at Sandals. One of the reasons why people come to Sandals Resorts is the dining experience,” he added.