Sod soon to be turned for 150+ room AC Marriott, Sheraton hotels – Pres Ali

…new hotels coming will add over 500 rooms, drive economic demand

New, brand-name hotels are springing up all over Guyana, with the sod expected to be turned soon for the AC Marriott hotel in Ogle and the Sheraton Hotel in Providence that will together add over 300 rooms to Guyana’s hospitality industry.
President Dr Irfaan Ali made the revelation while attending the sod-turning of another hotel – the Blue Bridge Hotel Incorporated located in Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, on Monday.

According to the President, these and other hotels will together be able to cater to the growing demand for rooms, brought on by the growth in tourism and the productive sectors.
“As I speak to you now, the Aidan hotel is under construction. And that is 150 rooms. The Airport Marriott is under construction in Timehri. That is 150 rooms. The new SleepIn on Brickdam is under construction. And that is 195 rooms. The new Pegasus will be launched soon. That is 100 new rooms,” President Ali said.
“Later this week, we’ll turn the sod for the AC Marriott hotel in Ogle. Another 150 rooms. We’ll also turn the sod for the four-point Sheraton Hotel. That’s more than 150 rooms. And here today, we’re turning the sod for Blue Ridge hotel, for the first phase of 150 rooms.”
According to President Ali, these new hotels will drive demand in Guyana’s economy in the next two to three years, for labourers, aggregates, maintenance personnel, and fuel. And this does not even include Government infrastructure. According to Ali, this will drive demand for greater infrastructure.
“With all these hotels, the country must be able to build an infrastructure to support the hotels. Not only from a corporate perspective, that is executives coming in, but from a broad mechanism, a broad platform that will support these investments.”
“From a human resource perspective, we’ve already started and our aim is to train 6000 Guyanese in the hospitality industry, ready to take up these jobs,” Ali also told the gathering at the sod turning.
It was only last month that Marriott International, in collaboration with H-Towers Incorporated and other international partners, signed an agreement that will bring the Sheraton Hotels & Resorts brand to Georgetown, Guyana, by 2025.
The agreement is between Marriott, H-Towers (a Guyanese-owned company), and its US-based partners, The Triwest Financial Group, Inc and Black Pearl Holding Co. The project is expected to include a 200-room Sheraton Hotel and 224 residences, marking the brand´s debut in the market.
Given Guyana’s growing demand for accommodation for visitors, the project came to life when the Government of Guyana, through its GO-Invest office, launched an Expression of Interest (EOI) in 2021 for hotel developers.
The project includes a residential component, and 224 residences will be housed in the second tower, connecting with the hotel via a sky bridge. Construction for the two towers is slated to begin at the end of the year.

Marriott
Meanwhile, the AC Marriott hotel will be situated on 2.61 acres of land 2.5km south of the Atlantic Ocean and 0.5km east of the Eugene F Correia Airport. The project is being developed by Trinuyana Investments.
Trinuyana plans extensive landscaping and other infrastructural developments in the project. The project summary further states that the hotel will be five storeys tall, with 150 rooms. Retail stores are among the hotel’s planned features, as well as a courtyard. There will also be paved parking lots with 114 parking spaces, drive aisles and site roads.
It has already been said that over the next few years, Guyana will see the construction of at least eight hotels. Last year, the sod was turned for a US$15 million boutique hotel under the Aiden brand to be constructed in the heart of Georgetown. The hotel, which would feature 101 “smart rooms”, is being constructed as part of the Best Western Hotel and Resorts franchise.
Globally recognised hotel brands like the Hyatt, Hilton, and Radisson hotels have also expressed an interest in investing in Guyana. In 2020, the Government of Guyana, through the Tourism and Commerce Ministry and the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with investors for a US$90 million Hilton Hotel to be constructed at McDoom, Greater Georgetown.
The investors in the luxury hotel are part of a joint initiative among 658 Guyana Holdings, GREC Investment Group and TOTALTEC Oilfield Services Guyana Incorporated. It was also announced that the 289-room branded hotel would be constructed in the already busy area which is home to many businesses such as Gafoors, Pritipaul Singh Investment, Guyana Shore Base Inc, Farm Supplies, and Schlumberger. Construction was slated to begin in January 2021 and was expected to last for two years.
Around the same time, Chairman of the Giftland Group, Roy Beepat announced plans to construct a US$100 million Radisson Blu Hotel as part of an international chain of hotels in several destinations around the world. According to Beepat, the agreement has already been finalised to offer this five-star package to Guyana.