Royalton Negril reopens with 573 rooms, 960 workers back on the job
Pictured: Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, greets workers at Royalton Negril on the property’s reopening on Tuesday August 25, 2026.
Key Points(5)
- Royalton Negril has reopened following an extensive restoration and refresh in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, returning 573 hotel rooms to Jamaica’s tourism inventory and putting 960 employees back to work.
- The resort resumed operations on Aug.
- 25, marking another step in the recovery of Jamaica’s tourism industry as properties across the island continue to reopen following the hurricane.
- “The return of Royalton Negril strengthens the recovery of Jamaica’s vital tourism sector while restoring hundreds of livelihoods and renewing economic activity across Negril and surrounding communities,” Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said.
- “The reopening comes as hotels across the island continue to return to service, with additional properties scheduled to reopen in the months ahead and reinforces our resilience,” he added.
Royalton Negril has reopened following an extensive restoration and refresh in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, returning 573 hotel rooms to Jamaica’s tourism inventory and putting 960 employees back to work.
The resort resumed operations on Aug. 25, marking another step in the recovery of Jamaica’s tourism industry as properties across the island continue to reopen following the hurricane.
“The return of Royalton Negril strengthens the recovery of Jamaica’s vital tourism sector while restoring hundreds of livelihoods and renewing economic activity across Negril and surrounding communities,” Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said.
“The reopening comes as hotels across the island continue to return to service, with additional properties scheduled to reopen in the months ahead and reinforces our resilience,” he added.
The Royalton chain is also scheduled to reopen Royalton Blue Waters and Hideaway at Royalton Blue Waters on Sept. 15. Together, the properties will return another 578 rooms to the island’s inventory and bring approximately 1,200 additional employees back to work.
The Tourism Ministry said Royalton Negril’s reopening forms part of a phased recovery strategy aimed at safely restoring hotel capacity, returning tourism workers to their jobs and rebuilding visitor confidence.
Approximately 80,000 hotel workers across Jamaica’s tourism sector have already returned to work, while about 5,648 hotel rooms were scheduled to return to inventory throughout 2026.
Bartlett said the reopening demonstrates the importance of cooperation among the government, private sector, tourism stakeholders and communities as the industry recovers.
“This demonstrates what is possible when the public and private sectors, tourism partners and communities work together toward recovery,” he said.
“It means real income and a return to the livelihoods of our most treasured asset — our people. It means visitor spending and supporting businesses and communities throughout the tourism value chain — from transportation and attractions to agriculture, entertainment and small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Several other hotels are expected to resume operations later this year as Jamaica continues to restore accommodation capacity. They include SeaGarden Beach Resort, Zoëtry Montego Bay Jamaica, Sandals South Coast, Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean.
Tourism Director Donovan White said the additional reopenings would strengthen Jamaica’s ability to market the destination internationally.
“These reopenings are expected to progressively restore room capacity and provide more for us to market globally,” White said. “It is a significant move that will support our value proposition to attract more visitors.”
Royalton’s restoration program included investments in infrastructure, accommodations and guest experiences as the company prepared its properties to resume operations.
For the 960 employees returning to Royalton Negril, tourism officials said the reopening also represents the restoration of incomes and livelihoods while helping to revive economic activity in Negril and surrounding communities.
With Royalton Blue Waters and Hideaway at Royalton Blue Waters scheduled to follow next month, the three Royalton properties will collectively restore 1,151 rooms and return more than 2,100 employees to work.
