Luxury hotel chain boss Gerald Lawless has spoken of his first impressions of the lost treasure of the Southlands estate and his hopes for a five-star hotel resort at the site.

The future of the sprawling and overgrown 37-acre estate is awaiting a Planning decision that may open the way for an ambitious hotel resort to be built, with two main hotel building ?clusters? on either side of South Road in Warwick connected by a land bridge with the road passing beneath in a tunnel.

Two special development orders, one for the hotel and one for nearby staff housing, are currently being reviewed by Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield.

Dubai-based Jumeirah is a relatively new player at the very high-end of the global luxury hotel market and currently operates a number of impressive hotels including the towering sail-like Burj al-Arab in Dubai, which is claimed to be ?the world?s only seven-star hotel?.

The group has signed on to operate the proposed new hotel for Southlands. Following a business perspective given by Jumeirah chief executive officer Mr. Lawless in the last week, he gave further views on the project, its impact on Bermuda and his feelings about Southlands.

Mr. Lawless has toured the area and seen for himself the overgrown quarry gardens in the woodland hillside that were created by the late James Morgan, who incorporated the abandoned 19th century quarry works into an intricate network of folly-esque gardens.

Over the past 30 years the estate has fallen into a state of disrepair and become overgrown, but the hidden treasures were revealed to the Jumeirah CEO on an earlier visit.

He said: ?The site has an amazingly rich history and the fauna and diversity are spectacular. The design of the resort will incorporate and respect the history of the site and enhance the natural beauty of the land.

?Only 16 percent will be developed, the rest will be restored to its former glory and for all Bermudians and guests to enjoy.?

Mr. Lawless was impressed by the unusual quarry gardens and rare species of plants and agreed they should be retained for others to enjoy.

He said: ?We will respectfully develop and create a resort opportunity for all Bermudians to enjoy. The site has been in a bad state for the past decade as well as privately-owned with limited access. We will ensure that it will become a public, open and welcoming environment.?

Southlands Limited co-owner Craig Christensen told the last month he would like to see a small casino at the hotel, but only if Bermuda?s laws were changed to allow gambling.

The idea of a casino for the proposed Jumeirah Southlands does not appear to be a priority for Mr. Lawless, who pointed out that none of the hotels and resorts currently operated by Jumeirah in Dubai or internationally feature casinos.

When Jumeirah executives visited Bermuda they looked at ?other opportunities? on the Island but found the Southlands site and the development vision to be the most appealing, according to Mr. Lawless. Jumeirah has agreed to operate the new hotel for 20 years with an option to extend that contract until the middle of the century.

Asked what percentage of staff at the new hotel will be Bermudian, and at what level of employment, Mr. Lawless answered: ?Our intention is to offer employment to as many qualified Bermudians as possible. We intend to bring a group of ten to 15 people to Dubai and allow them an opportunity to be trained in our organisation over the course of a year, at which time we would hope to bring them back as ?ambassadors of Jumeirah? to the Jumeirah Southlands Resort.

?They will be in a variety of positions and levels. We furthermore have strong commitments to growing and developing people, and we hope to give Bermudians the career opportunities and growth we strive for with all out colleagues in all our hotels.?

Mr. Lawless said Jumeirah, as a private company, could not divulge how much financial benefit the proposed hotel venture would give to Bermuda.

Quizzed on whether the hotel might seek to extend in size in the future, he said: ?The planning permit process reflects the full and total plan for the resort.?

The new hotel will be promoted to upscale luxury corporate and leisure travellers, said Mr. Lawless.

Although there will be Bermudian stylistic touches to smaller fractional ownership buildings dotted around the grounds of the new resort, visually the proposed main hotel buildings are predominantly concrete and glass and have been described as modernistic and minimalist. Mr. Lawless said: ?The design of the resort is very contemporary and will appeal to a very broad audience.

?Our ?stay different? philosophy and promise allows us to be innovative and out-of-the-box thinkers. We strongly believe there is a great audience who will find the design striking and different.

?We strongly feel that it is a welcome addition to some of the more traditional hotel product on the Island.?