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Business View CARIBBEAN
Luxurious Isla
Rosewood Little Dix Bay provides
Though it’s marking 50 years of existence throughout
2014, the origins of what is now the Rosewood Little
Dix Bay resort stretch all the way to 1958 – when U.S.-
based philanthropist and conservationist Laurance
Rockefeller happened upon the location during a sail-
ing trip with his wife, Mary.
He was so enchanted by Virgin Gorda – now the third-
largest and second most-populous island in the British
Virgin Islands archipelago – that he wanted to try and
maintain its raw and rustic feel even while pursuing
development opportunities throughout the rest of the
island.
The hotel opened six years later on Jan. 18, 1964, and,
in the words of its current resort director, Dwight San-
ford, “pretty much opened the world’s eyes to the Brit-
ish Virgin Islands. The tourism business has increased
almost 10-fold since he stumbled upon this little slice
of paradise.”
The property became part of a chain of Rockefeller-
owned hotels and resorts called Rockresorts Inc. at
its inception, but its ownership has changed hands a
few times since. Rosewood Hotels and Resorts LLC ac-
quired it in the 1990s and was the facility’s principal
operator until June 2011, when the Rosewood group
itself was taken over by Hong Kong-based New World
Hospitality.
