Imagine being able to rev your engines, well virtually at least, while looking out your window at the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea from your hotel room. Now you can.
On May 26 a driving simulator was installed in the Sky Loft suite of the S Hotel located on the Jimmy Cliff Boulevard in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
The project is being hailed for its potential to reach a new market of race car drivers and gamers who may want to enjoy the benefits of sun, sand and sea.
“I’m amazed, thrilled, I can’t find the words to describe what this adds to the hotel experience. I think it’s new, it’s innovative and it definitely opens us to another market,” S Hotel manager, Andres Cope told LetsTravelCaribbean.com.
“Persons who enjoy motor racing, enthusiasts, to have this in your most sought after suite is an amazing feature. This will definitely allow us to even extend our marketing efforts to include this added benefit to the space,” he added.
The simulator, which costs US$25,000, was installed by United States-based race driving e-sports outfit D3eSports. The company’s president, Simon Dawson is well aware of the potential benefits.
“This is a rig we use with our professional drivers so it’s a high-end rig. This is something we would like to offer to drivers worldwide, to come to a resort like this with their family, stay for extended periods of time, log into their platforms, compete and also practice for their real races they might have somewhere else in the world. Whether they are going from Europe to the US, stop in Jamaica or vice versa,” he explained.
Once installed in the Sky Loft, a number of racers from Montego Bay and surrounding areas got a chance to get behind the wheel of the simulator. It has a number of pre-installed platforms that they were able to try out.
Among those passing through was race star Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore who described the experience as the “best of many worlds”.
S Hotel general manager, Andres Cope and racer Doug Gore . Racer Senna Summerbell at the wheel of the simulator.
“You have the view of the ocean, you’re right in front of Doctor’s Cave, one of the most famous beaches in Jamaica, you’re at this fantastic apartment and then of course you have the simulator here,” he explained.
“I just thought this was a fantastic idea and I think that this one can go very, very far. I think this is going to be very interesting to see how many of these can evolve at S Hotel and I’m looking forward to seeing the development of this,” said Gore.
