The opening of St. Croix’s newest hotel, the Divi Carina Bay Resort, has been pushed back a month to Oct. 15.
Renovations on the former Divi Resort, severely damaged in Hurricane Hugo in 1989, are going slower than expected, according to Adams Unlimited, the public relations firm representing the owners of the resort, Grapetree Shores, Inc.
Delays aren’t new to the project, which includes the hotel renovation and the construction of the territory’s first casino. The resort portion of the plan was originally scheduled to open in February. Then it was moved back to September.
The casino operator, Treasure Bay Corp., a Mississippi-based company, has a 56,000-square-foot casino in Biloxi. The gaming area at the Divi Carina Bay, some 10,000 square feet, will open sometime in December.
The remodeled Divi Carina Bay Resort, on Grapetree Bay on St. Croix’s southeast shore, will have 150 rooms and four villas.
The casino is planned to have 275 slot machines and 12 gaming tables and employ in excess of 150 people. A buffet, snack bar and gift shop are also planned for the two-story building.
The last major hotel development on the island was the Carambola Beach Resort, completed just before Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Before that storm, St. Croix had 26 hotels and 1,074 rooms. Currently, there are 21 hotels with about 895 rooms.
