NCB says locals shopping for into GT boutique lodge

content/uploads/2022/05/Kailani-Grand-Cayman-promotional-material.png?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1″ data-orig-size=”600,400″ data-comments-opened=”1″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”Kailani Grand Cayman promotional material” data-image-description=”” data-image-caption=”

Kailani Grand Cayman (from promotional material)

” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/caymannewsservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kailani-Grand-Cayman-promotional-material.png?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/caymannewsservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kailani-Grand-Cayman-promotional-material.png?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1″ width=”600″ height=”400″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/caymannewsservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kailani-Grand-Cayman-promotional-material.png?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1″ alt=”” class=”wp-image-103111 jetpack-lazy-image” data-recalc-dims=”1″ data-lazy-srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/caymannewsservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kailani-Grand-Cayman-promotional-material.png?w=600&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/caymannewsservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kailani-Grand-Cayman-promotional-material.png?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w” data-lazy-sizes=”(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px” data-lazy-src=”https://i0.wp.com/caymannewsservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kailani-Grand-Cayman-promotional-material.png?resize=600%2C400&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1″ srcset=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″ />Artist’s rendition of Kailani Grand Cayman (from promotional material)

(CNS): NCB, the developers of a new hotel under construction on North Church Street, says that half of the residencies have already been sold and that three-quarters of them were purchased by local residents rather than offshore buyers. While many realtors in the Cayman Islands market depend on overseas investors to snap up their high-end inventory, representatives for NCB have implied this project is set to be largely owned by people here in Cayman.

Kailani Grand Cayman will be the first new hotel in Cayman since the Kimpton. Construction began in April 2019 after the developers secured planning permission to increase the height of the hotel from six to seven storeys. It was originally due to be finished last year, but after the pandemic caused significant delays, it is now two years behind schedule and not expected to open until September next year.

However, NCB said that a model room has now been finished and was shown to members of a visiting team from Hilton Hotels, which owns the Kailani boutique brand that will be managing the resort once it is completed. Meanwhile, the developers continue to sell the remaining half of the available residencies at a time of high demand, according to one real estate expert.

But there is also a growing uncertainty for the real estate sector as a result of increasing interest rates and an exceptionally long run of increasing values.

The hotel is being promoted as a wellness product, an arm of the tourism market that the developers said is expected to reach US$1,127 billion by 2025. It is also NCB’s first hotel project, as the company has more recently been working on luxury oceanfront condos, such as the Tides and Aura in South Sound and SeaDreams on North West Point, West Bay.

In the past, NCB developed projects that were in the price range of ordinary Caymanians, such as Lakeside, across from the George Town landfill, but according to its website, the focus now is on “creating luxury communities”. The new hotel, which will also be catering to a luxury market, has been welcomed by the Department of Tourism, given the additional 80 rooms, as visitors return to Cayman.

However, the hotel has been the subject of a dispute with Coral Sands, the small resort located next to it. At a recent CPA meeting, Harry Lynch, the hotel manager there, said the sea wall that is part of the NCB hotel had caused the erosion of their beach. But Matthew White, the managing director of NCB, denied that their project had a seawall.

“NCB has not installed a sea wall on our Kailani property or made any alterations to the coastline,” he said. “We have embraced the ironshore for the majority of our site and wish to leave the natural beach cove. We would strongly oppose any sea wall construction as we believe this will have a negative impact on the shoreline and the current sandy cove. This is evidenced with negative effect throughout Cayman and especially along the Seven Mile Beach corridor.”

CNS has contacted Coral Sands for comment and we are awaiting a response.

Meanwhile, NCB and their Hilton partners are promoting the project and the model room, which they said in a release shows the “bleisure” concept, a term recently added to the tourism lexicon to convey the idea that business and leisure travel can co-exist.

The hotel’s reliance on the electrical grid is expected to be significantly lowered by renewable energy and energy-efficient mechanical, electrical and plumbing elements, LED lighting, solar water heating and smart cooling functions.

“Even before the global pandemic influenced the way we travel, we were planning a hotel concept that appealed to a new wave of traveller – one who factors experience, carbon footprint and, most importantly, wellness into their accommodation choices,” Wight said. “As new travel trends start to emerge as part of our new normal, we can see that Kailani continues to be on track to offer everything the modern hotel guest is looking for.”