Developers unveil plans for Park Hyatt Hotel on old Club Med site

Developers have submitted detailed plans to build a state-of the-art Park Hyatt Hotel in St. George’s.

The proposals — outlining the construction of a 100-room hotel, condominiums and villas on the site of the old Club Med — were handed in to the Department of Planning on Wednesday.

The project, which could go before planners before Christmas, will comprise of almost 40 buildings, including a fitness centre, tennis club, beach club, a spa and restaurants.

A golf course designed by Nick Faldo is one of the centrepieces and will cover almost 6,000 yards.

The planning dossier, which runs to hundreds of pages, states that none of the buildings will be more than three storeys.

Fort Victoria and Fort Albert have been incorporated into the design of the Park Hyatt “community”.

E. Michael Jones, local consultant for the Park Hyatt project, told the Bermuda Sun the project will be attractive to tourists and locals.

He said: “The way the project is designed, with hotels rooms, condos and villas, will allow St. George’s to have a large number of visitors all year round.

“It is not just a seasonal influx that only comes in during summer — the town will get the benefits of year-round residents and customers. It’s a wonderful infrastructure and it is going to be first class.”

All the buildings in the hotel complex will be constructed in line with traditional Bermudian properties.

The colour scheme will be based on the island’s famous pastel palette and will become lighter and less intense the further they are up the hill.

Mr. Jones said: “We have been working very closely with Dr. Ed Harris because this is a UNESCO site and we want it to fit in.

“We want to be genuine to the town but also to what we are trying to build.

“It is something that is traditionally Bermudian but also modern. It has to be tasteful — we don’t want to make it look old because that would be tacky.”

Mr. Jones said the developers are keen to hear the views of locals.

He is also keen to “nurture an open relationship” with the community.

He said: “We want to involve the people of St. George’s with this project.

“We have already met with the Corporation of St. George’s and local MPs and we want to continue to nurture this relationship.

“There are going to be some changes and we want the public to be on board — we want to hear what they have to say.

“We want to be a part of the community and make everyone aware of what our plans are.”