World’s First Resort to Feature a Gary Player Golf Hotel and Villas
July 13, 2009-The Gary Player Group is expanding its global brand with the announcement today of an extraordinary new real estate venture in concert with Harlequin Hotels & Resorts at The Marquis Estate on the stunning northeast coast of St. Lucia, an unspoiled Caribbean island gem. The five-star beach resort project was officially unveiled at a special launch event hosted by Harlequin Hotels & Resorts at The Grove, an award-winning country estate retreat, near London.
Plans include the first boutique Gary Player Golf Hotel and 20 Gary Player branded luxurious, secluded residential villas that will be interspersed on hillsides throughout the golf course. The co-branded endeavor will be developed and designed by PLAYER Real Estate with Harlequin Hotels & Resorts, and the architecture and interior design will showcase the distinctive Player Infused with Africa™ inspired style, while keeping with the indigenous flavor of the island. “Our long global history of being involved with the finest golf resort developments in the world will be brought to bear on this project,” said Ken Costanzo, President of PLAYER Real Estate. “Additionally, we are organizing a team of world class designers, hotel operators, and other professional partner firms to support us in the development of the Gary Player Golf Hotel in St. Lucia.”
Of course, a Gary Player Signature Golf Course will anchor the resort property. The Gary Player Design team has made multiple visits to St. Lucia to establish design direction on this stunning site. “The island site offers tremendous opportunity to take golf to nature,” stated Scott Ferrell, President of Gary Player Design. “The valley floor includes wonderful tropical vegetation and a beautiful stream that dissects the property all the way to the Caribbean Sea. We will incorporate both into our design.”
Harlequin Hotels & Resorts has pledged that the whole resort will be extremely sensitive to the environment. Gary Player Design and PLAYER Real Estate will take great care to protect the existing ecosystems, plant and wildlife on the 600-acre Marquis Estate. Gary Player and his team will make many site visits during development to ensure the quality and integrity of the championship course and real estate products.
The West Paces Group, a luxury hotel management company based in Atlanta, Georgia, will manage the Gary Player Golf Hotel and residences, including the golf clubhouse, beach club and spa. The West Paces Group is renowned for its exceptional standards of service and for providing an unparalleled hospitality experience at the world-class hotels and resorts the company operates.
Other planned amenities at The Marquis Estate are an equestrian center, a cricket ground, nature trails, yacht club and marina. A Pat Cash Tennis Academy also will be featured, and Harlequin Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement with the storied Liverpool Football Club to establish an innovative Liverpool FC Soccer School as part of The Marquis Estate’s sports programs. A golf driving range, short game practice area and golf academy round out the golf experience.
The Marquis Estate golf resort will provide a positive and lasting impact for St. Lucia. “I’ve seen golf have a significant influence in so many emerging tourism markets,” affirms Gary Player, who this past March made his first visit to the island. “We anticipate that this exciting new development will attract visitors from around the world to St. Lucia, which will provide a tremendous boost to the local economy.” The Marquis Estate promises to be an unmatched Caribbean sanctuary for golf connoisseurs at one of the world’s most desired destinations.
About Gary Player Design
Established in the early 1980s by Marc Player and widely recognized as the most successful international golf course architectural firm in the world, Gary Player Design has branded over 300 layouts with the mark of a champion. Over its existence, the firm has worked on five continents and in over 30 countries, and prides itself on taking Gary Player’s design experience to emerging markets to help develop the game of golf globally.
Player’s vast experience in the business coupled with over 50 years of experience as a professional golfer have afforded him a unique understanding of the needs of the average golfer; the objectives of the developer, and the concerns of the environment. The cornerstone of our design approach is to create playable and memorable golf courses within the constraints of a given site, while being ultra-sensitive to the surrounding environment – particularly in the area of water conservation.
The result is a portfolio of award-winning and environmentally-recognized courses around the world. The Design Company presently has over 60 active projects around the world in Africa, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For additional information and/or a listing of awards, visit www.garyplayerdesign.com.
About PLAYER Real Estate
PLAYER Real Estate is intimately involved with some of the most incredible real estate projects in the world. With exclusive use of the acclaimed and globally recognized Player lifestyle brand, the company designs environments in impeccably planned golf resorts and communities.
The company showcases architectural and interior design that embraces local culture, while revealing the casual elegance of Player’s Infused with Africa™ award winning style. These elements serve to differentiate and bring worldwide visibility to new and existing real estate developments.
With wide ranging expertise and world-class industry partner relationships, the company’s involvement ensures that all aspects of a developer’s project are managed with the most extraordinary talent in the industry. From the initial envisioning stages, to infrastructure, amenity and residential development, to marketing, sales and final build-out, PLAYER Real Estate facilitates essential support services for client needs. In all phases, one singular philosophy is constant: “everything in business is negotiable–except quality.”
The company’s current portfolio includes active projects in North America, South America, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and South Africa. For additional information, visit www.garyplayer.com/estate.
Contact:
Pat Norton
pat@oncoursegolf-pr.com
+1 203 454 0232
www.garyplayer.com
