By: Staff Writer
October 18, 2022
A soon to be opened boutique resort in Barbados is already “booked solid” for the winter season, all the way from November right into February 2023.
Dwayne Anthony Johnson, owner/operator of the Best Location Rentals (BLR) Beach Resort, told Caribbean Magazine Plus that when he opens his doors this coming November 1 he is going to be very busy with winter guests.
“We’re very excited because this is a bigger venture than just having a few villas. Having a hotel is a bigger responsibility because obviously there is more requirements in terms of your obligations so I’m very excited.
“I love the challenge and every day I get up and I get up at 3am every morning because I’m excited to conquer a piece of the world one day at a time.”
Conquering the world one area at a time is what the Jamaican born Dwayne has been doing since he started off in the hospitality industry with the Sandals Resorts International where he served in various capacities before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.
BLR began with just one property at the Dover House. When Dwayne first started he was living at the Dover House and renting spare rooms to Airbnb guests. At times he would even rent his own room and sleep on the couch or a tent in the front yard. He currently manages 23 properties with the new St Lawrence Gap property to open on November 1. Dwayne was BLR and he worked tirelessly to build a solid foundation. He has travelled the world extensively in order to understand various cultures and tourist experiences. “I don’t have any partners. I started my business just basically renting a room and when I worked for Sandals I started to rent one of the rooms as an Airbnb to where now I have no I have about 50 villas and I’m opening Hotel,” he said.
Dwayne also said: “All of my properties are in Barbados. What we are also going to be doing at St Lawrence Gap is that with the Villas they can sit up by the hotel and enjoy the pool, the restaurant and bar and the service that we offer here.”
When the St Lawrence Gap property opens it will staff 20 Barbadians to cover all areas, from maids to administrative and management staff at the roughly $3m project. “Because we are refurbishing the rooms and organizing. We have a sports bar on the property, we have a restaurant and a salon all on property and we have a gym as well and we have 24 hour office and security. So we tried to offer different types of services,” Dwayne added.
The BLR at St Lawrence Gap will be different because instead of offering hotel rooms, they are offering up to three bedroom apartments with kitchens in every one of them so guests can live like a family in any one of the units.
