The long-anticipated redevelopment of Antigua’s once-booming Jolly Beach property officially continued this Wednesday evening with a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Antigua.
The development will include a five-star Nikki Beach Resort & Spa, the brand’s first in the Caribbean, along with a Nikki Beach Club and branded private residences. Ambassador Calvin Ayre, one of Antigua’s largest investors, is leading the luxury initiative.
“Antigua has been good to me,” Ayre remarked at the ceremony. “It is my hope that the economic stimulus from this US$400 million project will help repay this island I love. I want this resort to build awareness of Antigua and bring a wave of high-spending tourists so that everyone who lives here can benefit.”
Once completed, the resort is expected to generate 300 long-term jobs and a similar number of shorter-term construction jobs. The build phase is projected to last 36 months, with an opening set for 2028.
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Prime Minister Gaston Browne lauded the project as a “transformative tourism initiative.” He noted, “This development will be a marquee addition to the island’s growing list of high-end properties, and it will elevate Antigua’s reputation as a luxury destination.”
“We want the Antiguan product to be defined as a luxury destination here in the Caribbean and certainly this development will be a marquee development along with high-end properties that are being constructed or about to be constructed.”
Nikki Beach is celebrated for its chic beach club concept, which blends signature entertainment and music with upscale hospitality. However, the brand’s origin is deeply personal. Co-founder and CEO Lucia Penrod shared that the idea emerged after the tragic death of her husband’s 18-year-old daughter in 1997. What started as a small garden café in her honour grew into an international luxury lifestyle brand. “In December of 1988 we expanded to the beach and Nikki Beach was born. Now, 26 years later, our brand is in 10 different countries with beach clubs, western concepts, hotels, resorts and residences,” Penrod remarked.
The announcement of this partnership follows years of struggle to revive the derelict Jolly Beach property, which closed its doors in March 2020 due to the pandemic. The government had been seeking a solution to salvage the jobs of 500 workers and the once-thriving hotel. Negotiations with various investors faltered, partly due to financial liabilities on the property.
In 2023, a breakthrough came with a two-part agreement involving Ambassador Ayre’s investment in part of the Jolly Beach property and a separate deal with Elite Island Resorts. Elite, headed by Rob Barrett, committed to refurbishing and reopening 386 of the hotel’s 464 rooms. The company will invest US$6 million into the refurbishment and manage the resort for up to five years under a profit-sharing agreement with the government.