Barbados Today

 

One of the newest hotels now starting its chain in Barbados has defended its right to safeguard its guests from what it says is harassment.

In a statement issued last night, Sandals Resort and Spa in Dover, Christ Church, expressed concern about harassment of hotel guests, following a reported incident involving a taxi driver.

The resort said it had raised the concern in light of a wake of complaints from a female guest that she was harassed by the driver, who was unidentified in the statement, while she was relaxing on the beach in front of the property.

“As a result, Leslie Haynes, Q.C., acting on behalf of Sandals, has written to a lawyer representing the taxi driver in question, asking for him to desist from harassing guests on the hotel site,” the statement said.

It quoted the letter who states, in part: “Our instructions are that Mr (Your Client), approached a guest, (not the other way around as you are instructed) holding himself out to be a taxi driver and offered to take the guest and her partner on a tour. This offer was accepted and the couple was taken on a tour by Mr (Your Client), which tour, as reported, they thoroughly enjoyed.

“However, on the following day the guests received a call in their room at 8 a.m. from Mr [Your Client] and were also approached by him later that day as they relaxed on the beach, not wanting to be disturbed. These guests were offended by Mr [Your Client’s] conduct.

“A security guard in question was neither instructed not to allow persons on the beach to talk to guests who were staying at Sandals.

“The beach vendors at Dover will tell you of the excellent relationship that they have established with Sandals. One of the elements of this relationship is mutual respect between the vendor and the guest.

“This mutual respect includes the right of the beach vendors to ply their trade and the right of guests to sleep without disturbance or to be left alone upon indication that they do not wish to be disturbed.

“Consequently, we ask that you inform Mr [Your Client] that should he continue to harass hotel guests upon the hotel site that he will, at the very least, be requested to leave.”

Haynes also stressed that the incident did not concern or involve any issue of the beach being private since Sandals is well aware that there are no private beaches in Barbados as, likewise, there are no private beaches in any of the other 22 locations in the Caribbean where Sandals Resorts are operated.