Movie Star, Michael Douglas, Celebrates Opening Of Resort Redevelopment

Photo above: Michael Douglas at the 2013 Deauville Film Festival. Photo by Georges Biard.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Actor Michael Douglas was joined by dignitaries and invited guests, last week Wednesday, to celebrate the ground-breaking of a US$85 million redevelopment of Ariel Sands, a 60-year-old cottage colony on Bermuda’s south shore.

The planned luxury resort will feature 85 residences in 33 cottages, along with a fine dining restaurant, spa, salon and gym.

A cottage belonging to Douglas’ mother, Bermudian actress Diana Dill, has been renovated and is being used as the showroom for the future redevelopment. Another cottage was demolished on Wednesday as part of the ceremony.

The resort is co-owned by Douglas and other members of the Dill family.

Ariel Sands opened in 1954 and closed in 2008.

It has sat empty ever since, pending redevelopment. A number of potential deals fell through, including in 2006 when the Hilton Grand Vacation Club was to partner with Ariel Sands in a timeshare villa, spa, restaurant and hotel development.

Douglas told the gathering that he had his first birthday on the property, spent time there during the 1950s and mid-1960s and was there more recently with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and their two children.

The actor said for him the project went beyond a business deal.

“It’s about immortality, continuity of generations and maintaining the spirit of the original project,” he said.

The project was announced on social media by Douglas in April.

At the time he posted: “Just returned from Bermuda, the home of my mother’s family for the last 400 years”.

“The family has had a cottage colony called Ariel Sands for the past 60 years. Now we are building a new one … very exciting.”

Douglas thanked the government of Bermuda and the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) for their help and co-operation in getting the project off the ground. New York-based firm Olympic Property Partners has been confirmed as the developer.

BTA chairman Bill Hanbury said earlier that the Authority had held conversations with Douglas about raising the island’s profile.

Hanbury told the Royal Gazette newspaper: “Michael is interested in helping us not only to promote the BTA but also to promote Bermuda to a global audience.

“He has terrific reach, particularly in the social media world, and we want to take him up on that offer. We think he is a great spokesperson for Bermuda, so whatever he does to promote Bermuda is of value to us.

“The announcement of the redevelopment is very important and we believe that a new product like that, with two terrific Bermuda supporters like Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, are of high value in the market place, and we are going to fully take advantage of that.

“He certainly is interested in this development — it made economic sense to them.

I would suggest that they are not just doing this out of the goodness of their hearts by any stretch of the imagination. It is a very strong concept that works really well with Bermuda as a product, so we are fired up about it.”