FALMOUTH, Trelawny — As part of its global sustainability strategy, RIU Resorts has chosen the 753-room RIU Palace Aquarelle in Trelawny to pilot a solar project which is expected to provide at least a quarter of the energy needed to run the property. This will be the first time this is being done in the Caribbean.

The resort, which will open its doors to guests on May 4, is the seventh RIU property in Jamaica. It is set to utilise 795 solar panels to produce 470,000 KW/h per year.

“We recently launched a new strategy for sustainability, an approach that we call Proudly Committed. Certain pilot programmes are going to be done in various destinations and we have chosen Jamaica for the solar project. So this hotel is one of our first hotels with solar panels where part of the energy needed in the hotel for the operation comes from the solar panels,” regional director of operations at RIU, Frank Sondern told the Jamaica Observer during a guided tour of the property on Thursday.

“It will supply about 25 to 30 per cent of the needs of the hotel,” he added.

He also revealed that the new eco-friendly resort boasts a state-of-the-art sewerage plant to “help with the water treatment”.

“It is the most technologically advanced sewerage plant for our hotel chain in the Caribbean. It will help with the water treatment. The filtration is called ultra-filtration and prevents the passage of any solids, bacteria, pathogens, et cetera. We are going to be able to use all the water for irrigation,” said Sondern.

“Furthermore, we have two heat machines that help with the heating and also with the cooling. In this way, we can save a lot of gas. So there are quite a few new measurements in place in regards to sustainability of the property,” he added.

He also announced that most of the 830 employees have already been recruited for the resort, which is now 90 per cent ready for operation.

“We have completed, to today’s date, about 80 per cent of the hiring process and we do a lot of internal promotion. So we have taken [some workers] from our six [other] properties [in Jamaica],” Sondern told members of the media during a tour of the property on Thursday.

“Our experienced team from the other hotels will help here in the opening and give opportunity to the other staff to rise in the ranks. With maximum capacity we will have about 830 employees in this property,” he added.

Meanwhile, director of RIU sales in Jamaica, Niurka Garcia Linton, disclosed that the Aquarelle has accounted for 27 per cent of the bookings from loyalty sales the hotel recently did over the summer.

“The local market is within the four main markets that today are sending business to this hotel. We recently did a loyalty sale from May to July, and 27 per cent of the arrivals to the local market — even though we had all the properties for sale — are actually coming to RIU Aquarelle. So we are really happy to share with you that we are ready,” Garcia Linton said.

“We are looking to the opportunity for the local market to come and enjoy the product that we have in Jamaica,” she added.

She said the Aquarelle is a five-star, all-inclusive 24-hour resort with a beautiful white bay beach.

“What makes it special is that it is the first hotel of the chain to offer swim-up rooms located on an upper level, offering both privacy and privileged views,” said Garcia Linton.

She noted that the resort will boast six restaurants with cuisine choices including Italian, Asian and Jamaican; six bars and six swimming pools, among other amenities.

In 2021, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, and CEO of RIU Hotels Carmen RIU broke ground for construction of the resort.