Cover Story
A TOUCH OF GOLD AT
SILVERSANDS
Grenada’s Newest Luxury Resort and most expensive hotel ever constructed on mainland Grenada.
N
aguib Sawiris, the owner of Grenada’s
newest upscale resort, Silversands was
invited to Grenada by a good friend who
said “I have to come here and see this place”
from that time …he never looked back! Noble & Generous intentions indeed...it came
as no surprise the relevant authorities declined
to accept his proposal preferring chaos than
one man’s simple solution to an increasingly
dire humanitarian situation.
Staying at the prestigious “Spice Beach
Resort ” on Grand Anse Beach, and spending
days walking the beach and generally enjoying
everything Grenada had to offer, the beginnings
of a love affair commenced between a country
pure and Egypt’s richest man. According to the Los Angeles Times, Naguib
Sawiris “has emerged as a provocative voice
in post-revolutionary Egypt.” The billionaire
businessman now claims 4.7million Twitter
followers and posts updates daily.
The Sawiris family, are known to be Egypt’s
richest family and are listed as the 4th richest
Arabs in the world. He made his fortune in
Telecoms in his native Egypt. With literally the
world as his oyster, Naguib could’ve invested in
any country On the planet, but he chose Pure
Grenada.
His company, Orascom Telecom has
investments in media and technology
enterprises through out Northern Africa, The
Middle East and the Far East.
Back in 2015, Naguib caught the world’s
attention by offering to buy a Mediterranean
island from Greece or Italy to house the world’s
refugees particularly those fleeing from Syria.
Clearly the billionaire philanthropist has a
level of generosity rare and unique in todays
cut throat world. “I want to feel good about
having done something good. Provide me with
the island and I will do the rest.” He stated…
“
“
In 2015, Naguib caught the world’s attention
by offering to buy a Mediterranean island from
Greece or Italy to house the world’s refugees
particularly those fleeing from Syria.
However his Love Affair with Grenada started
when “I acquired this land on my first visit here.
As I walked the beach I saw this “For Sale” sign
right here where Silversands now occupies and
I told Danny (My good friend who recommended
Grenada to me in the first place) “just go and
make sure I get it.” He informed me “No …
there are better places I could buy” but I love
this beach and wanted this spot, so I bought it
within days of being here."
“I soon learnt that there was not enough Hotel
rooms on the island to encourage airlift and also
there was a need for a very high end resort fit for
the rich and the famous. My belief is once you
can attract this clientele then people will start
talking more and more about Grenada and more
people will want to come.”
“The site is 10.5 acres. I fell in Love with the
island and the people. The People here are
astonishing. Very friendly very genuine laid
back and very friendly and hospitable. They have
made me feel very welcome here. I have been to
other islands but for me Grenada is the absolute
best. Barbados has been spoilt by over tourism
and thats what we want to avoid here. You can’t
see my hotel as the style of it helps it to blend
in, everything remains perfect and untouched.
The Beach is beautiful and the greenery is lush."
“From the welcoming people to the Prime
Minister everybody has been very good to us.
The government has been extremely pro-active
and have offered its support to us at every step
of the way."
“As an investor this is exactly what we want - a
friendly government that is supportive and not
bureaucratic but a Government with integrity
and I must say this government has all of
that! The one thing investors do not need in a
country is bureaucracy and corruption."
“We have invested over $120million usd in
Grenada and created many many jobs here.
The concessions we have received is very small
compared to what we bring to the country.
“We have contributed over 1,000 jobs to
Grenada from concept and this number
continues to grow. Our positive experience
here, has resulted in us planning to build
another 4 or 5 hotels here and probably
increase the island room stock by another 500
rooms."
“We did have a one year delay to the
development of this property however the guys
did their best but it's a new type of construction.
Even when Sandals came to Grenada they
raised the level of construction on the island, so
we too have also raised the standard as it was a
different way of construction. We are pleased to
work with local contractors of Creative Designs
The Pool at Silversands is the longest in the Caribbean
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Citizen Grenada
Citizen Grenada
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