Red Jacket Resorts, a chain of five Cape Cod destination resorts and one of Mid Cape’s largest independent hotel brands, announced the first phase of a $40 million renovation scheduled to be done by May.
The multi-property project includes updating 397 standard guest rooms, family suites and vacation cottages, updating seven food and beverage outlets, lobby spaces, meeting rooms, as well as “refreshing” pool experiences and beachfront amenities.
Nicholas Farina, vice president of operations at EOS Hospitality, said in a press release that since EOS acquired Red Jacket Resorts in 2021, the company has continued to see interest in Cape Cod, a popular travel destination, which is why the company is “readily investing $40 million into this renovation.”
Three of its five properties — Red Jacket Beach Resort , Riviera Beach Resort and Blue Water Resort all in in South Yarmouth — are included in the renovation.
“We want the rooms to still be quaint, quintessential Cape Cod and everybody’s summer-home, especially for return occupancy,” said Red Jacket Beach Resort General Manager Hollie Handrahan, “but all three hotels are kind of getting their own identity as far as paint colors, flooring and furniture.”
While a complete renovation of all the resort pools was in the works for this year, that project has been postponed until 2025 due to licensing and permits, Handrahan said.
However, each pool will still see “a bit of a facelift,” with new furnishings and paint, she added.
“When developing the plans for the reinvention, we conducted extensive research on what families are seeking in their travel accommodations, while also listening to our guests who visit us year after year,” said Farina, “and believe the product we’ve created is something generations to come will enjoy.”
At Red Jacket Beach Resort, renovations will include a “complete refresh,” of the resort’s 163 rooms as well as the addition of family-friendly suites featuring a king bed and full-sized bunks – each with a private nook.
All 125 rooms at Riviera Beach Resort will undergo a full transformation with guests now having the option of booking the Family Suite which sleeps up to eight and houses four queen beds and a dining area.
Blue Water Resort will undergo a redesign of its 109 rooms and will now offer a two bed, two bunk suite which sleeps up to eight. Dog-friendly rooms will also be available.
“We aren’t changing any of the resort names and are keeping Red Jacket so if you are a repeat guest, it is still your summer location destination, and if you are not a repeat guest, you should definitely come to see what we’ve done to improve the quality and offerings of the property,” said Handrahan.
“We want to use this opportunity to better articulate each resort’s individual personality and identity because they are quite unique.”
While most of the updates include focus on interior design, the resorts’ exteriors will receive a few standard updates as well as new signage.
Handrahan said she believes guests will be most excited about room transformations.
“They love coming but to not see a lot of progress on the renovation side for several seasons — it’s going to be the most guest impact,” said Handrahan. “Guests have been coming year after year to walk into the same place, the renovations will be a wonderful refresh.”
The 39 kitchenette spaces located throughout the combined properties will also see upgrades with the addition of new furnishings and state-of-the-art equipment.
As for restaurant renovations, all spaces will see “a face lift and some upgrades,” said Handrahan, with “some great chefs working on some new menu concepts.”
She said she has worked for Red Jacket Resorts for nine years and is going on her 10th season. “It’s pretty amazing to see the transformation,” she said. “I’ve never seen a transformation of this magnitude.”
According to Handrahan, the renting rates are not intended to increase following the renovations.
“We have so many different rooms that are going to be completely different,” she said.
“For instance, some of the rooms we had, had two beds now are family friendly, have bunk-beds. Price does tend to go up a little bit here and there, but in general, the rates are not that far off from last summer and we are starting at about $350 during the peak summer months.”