Elegant owns and operates seven hotels totalling 588 rooms, as well as a beachfront restaurant in Barbados.

Marriott said it intends to carry out renovations of the properties following acquisition, and subsequently to operate them as all-inclusive resorts “under one or more of Marriott’s collection brands”.

The group added it would market the hotels for sale under long-term management agreements, in line with its “asset-light” strategy.

Completion of the sale is subject to satisfaction or waiver of the offer conditions set out in the offer announcement, including approval by Elegant shareholders.

Arne Sorenson, Marriott International’s president and chief executive said the acquisition would help the hotel group “further jump-start our expansion in the all-inclusive space”.

Simon Sherwood, non-executive chairman of Elegant, said its board was "confident in the group’s long-term prospects" adding how he believed the deal represented "compelling value for our shareholders and a great opportunity for our employees to be part of one of the world’s leading hotel companies".

“The fact that Elegant Hotels has attracted the interest of a company of Marriott’s calibre is a resounding endorsement of the outstanding quality of our properties, operations and people, and indeed of Barbados as a highly desirable destination. We are therefore unanimously recommending the offer to shareholders,” Sherwood said.