Report: Sunwing to refurbish, reopen Royal Antiguan in 2018

The Royal Antiguan Hotel will be refurbished and reopened by The Sunwing Group in November 2018, the Antigua Observer newspaper reports.

Citing a government press release, the newspaper says Sunwing purchased the derelict hotel for $27 million USD from an investor named Issa Nicholas, who purchased the hotel in 2004 from the United Progressive Party administration for $12 million USD.

Over the years, the hotel fell into a state of disrepair and was, at one point, being run by less than 50 workers, the report says.

According to a government release, Sunwing will tear down the hotel down to its steel frame, rewire the building, redo the plumbing, the air conditioning and add balconies to the front and rear sections of the building.

Sunwing also has plans to construct bungalows, high-end residences, waterfront villas, golf townhouses and condos, over a two-year period, at a cost of more than $250 million USD, which will add more than 1,000 rooms at Deep Bay, the newspaper reports.