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RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
vacation industry review
APRIL – JUNE 2015
SIMPSON BAY RESORT
& MARINA
By Catherine Lackner
Founded in 1982, Pelican Resort Club was one of the earliest time-
share resorts in the Caribbean. By 1997, when Sutton’s management
company, Royal Resorts Caribbean, was called in to evaluate it, the
resort had fallen into deep disrepair. Through years of struggle, finan-
cial reversals, and even a traumatic bankruptcy sale, Royal Resorts
Caribbean persevered in its efforts to revitalize the property. Finally,
with a new developer on board, the company embarked on a top-to-
bottom makeover in 2012. With a price tag of US$24 million, of which
US$18 million has already been spent, the renovation is transforming
the complex now known as Simpson Bay Resort & Marina into one of
the Caribbean’s finest.
‘A Long, Sad Story’
Pelican Resort’s fortunes waxed and waned until it came under
receivership in November 1996. A nudge from the American Resort
Development Association (ARDA) prompted Sutton to get involved in a
rescue effort in January 1997. “A senior operative at ARDA asked us to
please go and take a look at it,” Sutton explains. By then, Royal Resorts
had achieved an enviable reputation for building and managing exquisite
properties in Mexico, and Sutton and six of his staff agreed to check out
the resort and make recommendations, pro bono.
A Caribbean
Jewel Restored
In a timeshare career that spans nearly 40
years, Richard D. Sutton has racked up a
mountain of achievements, but ask him what
makes him proudest, and he’ll likely name
the turnaround he is steering at Simpson
Bay Resort & Marina in St. Maarten.