Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has lauded S Hotel Montego Bay for being among the top-performing resorts in Jamaica and playing a key role in the island’s post-COVID-19 recovery.

He was delivering remarks at a recent cocktail reception at the hotel’s location at 7 Jimmy Cliff Avenue, to celebrate the property placing second on USA Today’s 10 Best All-Inclusive Caribbean Resorts (2025) list.

Bartlett lauded Chief Executive Officer Christopher Issa and his team, noting that S Hotel represents the “spectrum of excellence” that enables the sector’s key performance indicators (KPIs) to be attained.

“They [KPIs] are realised because of the assiduousness and the quality of outcomes from the creative minds and innovation. They’re realised because people can be adaptive, responsive and are able to pivot, because in the process of achieving excellence, it’s not a linear arrangement,” he said.

“Today, we are closing the year just about point five of a per cent better than the best year in our history. That result is because people like Chris Issa and the team at S are an integral part of this whole tourism landscape,” he added.

Last year, S Hotel Montego Bay also copped the Condé Nast Johansens 2024 Award for Excellence for the best Waterside Hotel in North America.

For his part, Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon, congratulated the hotel, noting that the accolades are deserving.  

“I’ve been observing S Hotel Montego Bay for some time and how they have emboldened, enhanced and endorsed the culture of Jamaica,” he said. “They capture the essence of Jamaica; the essence of our culture. Therefore, being voted into that position is indeed not just rewarding but worthwhile, because we must continue to capture the culture of Jamaica, preserve it and share it.”

In his remarks, Issa credited the resort’s team, which is all-Jamaican, for its successes.

“For us, it is all about celebrating our multi-award-winning hotel management and staff that have really helped to put this hotel on the map in the last few years. To them, we say congratulations, thank you, well done, and please keep going,” Issa said.