The Resort Group is a leading luxury hotel developer, owner and operator based in Cape Verde, ranking as the largest private investor in Cape Verde’s history. Operating five resorts on Sal Island, The Resort Group has a construction pipeline of 6,500 rooms in total.
Specialising in identifying prime locations for development and predicting which hotspots will become the next big thing, The Resort Group poises resorts under construction for touristic growth. The company has successfully completed projects in prime beachfront locations, working alongside an internationally renowned hotel operator to ensure optimal guest experiences across all operational resorts. The Resort Group has more recently moved from management and operating agreements with an international brand to now retaining the brand identity but very directly controlling the management of the resorts.
Completed in May 2011, The Resort Group’s MELIÃ Tortuga Beach Resort was the company’s first project in Cape Verde. Since its launch, the resort has enjoyed unprecedented success, having demonstrated consistently high occupancy levels, earning coveted industry awards year after year. MELIÃ Tortuga Beach Resort & Spa has ranked as the World Travel Awards’ Cape Verde Leading Hotel for an unprecedented five years. The resort has also proved to be the guests’ first choice too, winning TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence in 2013, as well as TUI’s Family Champion Award in 2018 in the best family hotel category.
MELIÃ Dunas Beach Resort & Spa was The Resort Group’s second project in Cape Verde, having become operational in November 2014. A much larger resort, with more than 1,200 rooms, MELIÃ Dunas Beach is a tourist destination in its own right. Established in the market, the resort attracts high occupancy levels, particularly within the All-Inclusive family holiday market. Ranking as the largest holiday resort on the entire African continent, MELIÃ Dunas Beach has crystalised The Resort Group’s reputation as Cape Verde’s leading hotel developer. The resort was recognised at the Hotel of the Year Awards in 2015, winning the Best Hotel in Cape Verde and Best Lifestyle Resort Worldwide categories. In addition, MELIÃ Dunas Beach also ranked seventh in the Top 30 Hotel Resorts worldwide that year.
Making history as Sal’s first adult-only hotels, MELIÃ Llana Beach Resort & Spa and TUI Sensimar Cabo Verde opened in December 2016. Both resorts offer an impressive array of hotel suites, as well as rejuvenating spa facilities and tropical pools. With more than 600 suites, the hotels are capable of accommodating 43,873 tourists annually, generating around 500 jobs locally. In 2018, MELIÃ Llana Beach Resort was the proud recipient of the TUI Top Quality Award, a prestigious accolade bestowed on hotels within the TUI family that distinguish themselves as a favourite of guests.
The impact on the Cape Verde economy has been huge, not only in terms of the overall contribution to GDP but also with the combined resorts having created almost 2,000 jobs for Cape Verdean employees.
When Rob Jarrett founded The Resort Group in 2007, he did so with the mission of opening the world’s eyes to the incredible natural beauty of Cape Verde. Recognising the country’s potential as a world-class tourist destination, he began his journey to realising his vision in earnest in 2009 with the start of construction of the Tortuga Beach Resort and Spa.
Over the course of the next 10 years, The Resort Group climbed to new heights in Cape Verde as an award-winning developer, transforming the local landscape and tourism industry with the addition of the Group’s five luxury resorts. Committed to long-term touristic development, Rob Jarrett has also made concerted efforts to recognise what the social community needs and to understand more about Cape Verde. The cornerstone of his social initiative was called The Cape Verde Foundation. This initiative has provided much support to the population of Cape Verde, such as the provision of summer schools for children where English is taught, as this is not currently part of the school curriculum, and arranging annual Christmas events, ensuring underprivileged children in Sal receive a gift for the festive season.
The Cape Verde Foundation believes that by putting kitchens and food into schools attendance will increase, and solid education will evolve as a vital by-product. This has helped to improve and transform future opportunities for young people on the island, and in 2017 Rob Jarrett personally funded the construction of a new university in the capital city of Praia, having seen the poor pre-fabricated and dated existing one. This was donated to the government for use by students in further education during the summer break, and the old university was demolished.
Soon afterwards, to commemorate his philanthropic efforts, the Rob Jarrett Scholarship was established to support gifted students in further education to help the next generation of business people prepare for their contribution to the country’s growing economy. In addition to its educational efforts, The Cape Verde Foundation has supported hundreds of children and families in need of medical assistance, including emergency evacuations and lifesaving treatment. The Cape Verde Foundation also donated major diagnostic machines and medical equipment to various hospitals in Cape Verde to provide better facilities in healthcare.
Clearly dedicated to Cape Verde and its future, Rob Jarrett was awarded the highest honour that can be presented to a civilian in 2015, receiving the Second Merit Medal, which was a motion passed through parliament and awarded by President Fonseca, Head of State for Cape Verde, at the Presidential Palace in Praia. The Second Merit Medal is the highest of civilian honours that can be awarded and is testament to Rob Jarrett’s contribution economically and socially to the country. In addition, he also received the Touristic Medal granted by the Municipality of Sal for his outstanding contribution to the tourism industry, which has directly boosted the GDP of Cape Verde by a staggering 4%. Presenting the award, Former Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves congratulated Rob Jarrett and The Resort Group for its cooperation, attitude and approach, as well as praising the company’s permanent search for shared solutions to help the country grow.
Further accolades were bestowed when Rob Jarrett was offered a diploma for his unwavering support and services to the Ministry of Health, in recognition of his contribution towards the welfare of the population of Cape Verde and for his pioneering efforts by turning MELIA Dunas Beach Resort into the epicentre to perform COVID-19 vaccinations to the local community in Sal. This motion allowed Cape Verde to ‘go green’ quickly in order to reopen its borders to tourism during the world pandemic.
