Sandals Town Hall Maps Jamaica Reopening After Melissa

Sandals Resorts International executive chairman Adam Stewart has used a November 13 town hall with more than 2,900 travel advisors to draw a clearer map for Jamaica's tourism recovery after Hurricane Melissa, confirming phased reopening dates for the brand's eight Jamaican resorts and highlighting what is already back on line for visitors. His message, delivered less than three weeks after the Category 5 storm hit the island on October 28, 2025, mixed reassurance about Jamaica's resilience with a candid admission that some of Sandals' most popular properties will stay closed well into 2026 for repairs and upgrades.

In practical terms, the town hall confirms that Ocho Rios and Negril will anchor Sandals' early restart in Jamaica from December 6, 2025, while Montego Bay and the south coast remain a construction zone until at least May 30, 2026.

Sandals Resorts And Jamaica's Recovery Timeline

Stewart told advisors that five properties, Sandals Dunn's River, Sandals Ocho Rios, Sandals Royal Plantation, Sandals Negril, and Beaches Negril, will reopen on December 6, 2025. Company statements and partner summaries confirm that all five have passed safety and readiness checks and could technically have reopened earlier, but Sandals opted for a single date to give staff time to recover and to simplify inventory planning across channels.

The picture is very different along the northwest and southwest coasts, where Hurricane Melissa's eyewall and storm surge did the worst damage. Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Royal Caribbean, and Sandals South Coast all sustained heavier impacts and are now slated to remain closed until at least May 30, 2026, while interiors, mechanical systems, and some overwater suites are stripped back and rebuilt.

Stewart has framed the downtime as an opportunity to push the resorts to what he calls a "2.0 level," citing interior damage at Sandals Royal Caribbean's overwater bungalows and air conditioning systems, plus kitchen and roofing fixes at Sandals South Coast, that will now dovetail with design upgrades that were already on the wish list. He also stressed that no guests or staff were injured during Hurricane Melissa and that employees are receiving full pay and benefits during the closure period, a key point for advisors who worry about the human cost in destination.

Operationally, guests who were booked into any closed Sandals or Beaches resort in Jamaica for dates before reopening are being contacted and offered moves to other Sandals properties in the Caribbean or to later travel dates, generally with original land rates honored, in line with the company's published Jamaica advisory. Travelers who prefer not to keep their trip can request a land refund, with air penalties handled under airline rules.

Stewart used the town hall to thank travel advisors for staying loyal to the brand and to Jamaica, stressing that advisors always have other products they can sell, but that Sandals intends to "stand by" them and "get your inventory back, better than it was before." He also publicly thanked the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for rapid relief aid and airlift support. That diplomatic tone fits with his broader message that Jamaica's tourism rebound will depend on both repeat guests and the trade partners who steer them.

Latest Developments On The Ground

The town hall did not take place in a vacuum. By mid November, Jamaica's major international airports, including Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, and Ian Fleming International Airport near Ocho Rios, had all reopened for commercial traffic after initial damage assessments, although Sangster continues to operate with some gates out of service while terminal repairs continue.

Government and tourism officials are still working toward a goal of having the wider tourism sector broadly back to normal by around December 15, 2025, the traditional start of peak season. Larger hotel chains and all inclusive brands like Sandals are widely expected to hit that target more easily than independent hotels and small guesthouses, especially in heavily impacted parishes in the northwest and southwest of the island.

Cruise patterns are already showing how uneven the restart can be. Ocho Rios welcomed its first post storm cruise calls on November 11, when Holland America Line's Zuiderdam and MSC Cruises' MSC Divina both called in the same day. At the same time, coverage from cruise outlets and local reports confirm that the cruise ports at Falmouth and Montego Bay remain closed or severely constrained, which is why some lines, including Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International, continue to reroute Western Caribbean itineraries away from those ports.

Stewart told advisors that major attractions such as Dunn's River Falls are already open, and that large parts of Jamaica's tourism belt are welcoming visitors again, even as government crews continue to clear roads and restore utilities in more severely affected communities. That matches reporting that highlights Negril and parts of Ocho Rios as relatively less damaged, while areas between Falmouth and Montego Bay saw heavier infrastructure impacts.

In the town hall and at last week's CruiseWorld conference in Florida, Stewart leaned heavily into a message about Jamaican unity and resilience, saying he had never seen the country more unified and that police and community leaders were maintaining order as recovery continues.

Analysis

For travel advisors, the November 13 town hall essentially locks in a two phase Sandals Jamaica roadmap that can be used for inventory planning, marketing, and client counseling through summer 2026. Phase one, starting December 6, 2025, clusters Sandals capacity around Ocho Rios and Negril, which dovetails with the early reopening of the Ocho Rios cruise port and relatively lighter damage reports from Negril's hotel strip. Phase two, from May 30, 2026, brings back the higher density, airport adjacent resorts around Montego Bay and the more secluded Sandals South Coast.

From a traveler's point of view, that means couples and families who want a Sandals or Beaches vacation in Jamaica this winter should expect reduced choice near Montego Bay but robust options in Ocho Rios and Negril, along with a destination that is still working through infrastructure bottlenecks in some parishes. That makes flights into Kingston or Ocho Rios, combined with transfers to open resort corridors, an attractive workaround while Sangster International continues to manage partial terminal capacity and while some west end road work continues.

Background

Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica in late October as one of the strongest Atlantic storms on record, with sustained winds reported around 185 miles per hour and extensive flooding across the northwest and southwest of the island. Official tallies now put the national death toll above 30, with hundreds of thousands of residents losing power and dozens of communities temporarily cut off as roads, bridges, and communications failed. Tourism, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of Jamaica's gross domestic product and employs about 175,000 people, has been a central focus of the recovery effort.

Against that backdrop, Sandals' decision to keep some resorts closed longer than strictly necessary is partly an operational move and partly a social one. Stewart has said the choice gives staff in hard hit communities time to stabilize their homes and families before returning to peak season workloads, while the company uses the closure window to repair, remodel, and in some cases reimagine resort spaces that were already due for upgrades.

The Sandals Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm, has committed more than $ 1,000,000.00 (USD) in hurricane relief funding and is coordinating with government and nongovernmental partners on both emergency support and longer term projects, including repairing and rebuilding schools in rural areas so that children can return to class. That kind of visible investment matters for travel advisors and guests who want reassurance that their vacation spending contributes to recovery rather than simply drawing resources away from local needs.

For travelers deciding whether to keep or book trips, the risk calculation is now less about the storm itself and more about the knock on effects. Power and water service are still being stabilized in some communities, and smaller properties without the cash reserves of a multinational brand may struggle to reopen as quickly as Sandals or other chains. That argues for a conservative approach to routing, insurance, and excursion planning over the next several months.

If you are booked at a Sandals or Beaches resort in Jamaica for dates before your specific property's reopening, the safest move is to respond promptly to outreach from Sandals or your travel advisor, confirm whether you are being moved to another resort or date, and check that your air tickets, transfers, and insurance all match the new plan. Travelers booking new trips should favor flexible fares, policies that allow no fee changes, and coverage that includes trip interruption and delay, especially if they are connecting through still busy hubs on the way to Jamaica.

Final Thoughts

The November 13 town hall was as much about mood as mechanics. Stewart used the platform to remind advisors that he lives and works in Jamaica, that he is a sixth generation Jamaican, and that he sees more unity in the country than ever before as people dig out from Hurricane Melissa. At the same time, he and his team gave the trade something concrete to work with, clear reopening dates, a transparent explanation of why some properties will stay closed until late May, and a reassurance that Sandals will keep staff on payroll and guests protected while rebuilding.

For the wider destination, the road to the government's mid December normalization goal will not be perfectly smooth. Cruise calls will remain lopsided toward Ocho Rios until Falmouth and Montego Bay are ready, and not every small hotel or attraction will hit the same timeline. Still, with all international airports open, major attractions operating, and a flagship brand like Sandals signaling confidence through investment and clear communication, the town hall underscores that Jamaica's tourism engine is already turning back on, even if some of its most famous resorts are still behind construction fences.

Sources

• Sandals Executive Chairman Adam Stewart, Jamaica Is Going To Be OK
• Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts Announce Plans to Welcome Guests Back to Five Resorts Across Jamaica
• Sandals Resorts' Jamaica Reopening Dates
• Sandals Jamaica Advisory and Hurricane Update
• Jamaica Rushes To Prepare for Peak Tourism Season as It Digs Out From Hurricane Melissa
• Jamaica Welcomes First Cruise Guests Since Hurricane Melissa