Negril, Westmoreland
A beachfront property on Negril’s Seven Mile Beach that went through two hotel incarnations over its lifetime is being transformed into 22 boutique condo-hotel units by a Canadian-led investment group that acquired it after it sat vacant following the closure of its most recent operator. The project, known as Salt+Sand Deh Yah, is the latest in a pattern of dormant beachfront assets in Negril being acquired and converted into strata-titled properties, a trend reshaping the resort’s ownership landscape.
From Sea Splash to VickiTini to Salt+Sand
The property opened as Sea Splash Resort, a three-star property known in part for the quality of its restaurant. After a change of ownership it reopened as VickiTini Beach Resort, which closed in July 2025. Salt+Sand, an investment and redevelopment group led by Canadian real estate investor Sutton McKay, had been in discussions with the sellers since 2024 and moved when the property became available.
Their approach was explicit about preserving the authentic Jamaican character of the location while introducing modern amenities and reliable infrastructure. On-site backup water tanks, a generator system, and solar panels were planned as standard inclusions, precisely because the local infrastructure cannot yet provide the consistency the product requires.
The Condo-Hotel as an Investment Vehicle
The condo-hotel model, in which buyers own individual units that are also operated as hotel accommodation when not in personal use, has become an increasingly common vehicle for resort property investment in Jamaica. It offers buyers rental income, personal use rights, and professional hotel management, while giving developers a pre-sales mechanism that reduces financing requirements. Prices at Salt+Sand ranged from US$249,000 to US$550,000, with approximately half the units sold within the first few months of marketing.
What the Trend Means for Negril
The broader question for Negril’s property market is whether the conversion of dormant hotel stock into condo units represents a healthy evolution of the resort’s ownership base, or a gradual displacement of the hospitality product that gives the resort its character and economic engine. At the current scale, conversion appears to be adding to rather than replacing the hotel offering. If the trend accelerates, and more of Negril’s beachfront moves from transient accommodation to second-home or investment ownership, both the character of the resort and the distribution of its economic benefits will be affected.
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