Harlequin Hotels & Resorts hold soft-opening of Buccament Bay

Friday, August 13, marked the dawn of a new era in St.Vincent and the Grenadines, when Harlequin Hotels & Resorts held a soft-opening of the breathtaking five star Buccament Bay Resorts – Harlequin’s first resort ever.{{more}}

To mark the special occasion, 38 guests, including children, arrived onboard a Virgin Atlantic flight via St.Lucia from the United Kingdom.

On Sunday, August 15, the celebration continued with a further 31 guests arriving from the United Kingdom. On that day, Prime Minister Dr.Ralph Gonsalves and his wife Eloise Gonsalves visited the resort to take a tour of the exciting new resort. They joined Harlequin Property Chairman Dave Ames and his wife Carol Ames, the management team and staff of the resort.

In an exclusive interview with SEARCHLIGHT last Tuesday evening, Harlequin Hotels & Resorts’ Marketing Director Janet Franke disclosed that by today, Friday, August 20, a total of 130 guests will be staying at the resort.

One of the guests at the resort is former international and premiership footballer Andy Townsend. He arrived here on Tuesday.

The visitors, who are generally investors of Harlequin Hotels & Resorts, will spend approximately two to three weeks at Buccament.

During their stay, the visitors will be taken to recreational sites throughout the state where they will be able to dive and snorkel. Plans are in place to take them to Indian Bay, Bat Cave, Vermont Nature Trail, The Tobago Cays and the turtle sanctuary at Bequia.

“It was very emotional and a huge achievement for Harlequin Hotels & Resorts to open the company’s first resort ever,” said Franke, adding “it’s a huge significance.”

Franke said she had the opportunity to speak with a few guests and the initial reaction they gave was: “We just love it here. The people of St.Vincent and the Grenadines are polite, friendly and warm.”

She said some investors felt that the service provided so far is great and the right team is in place to manage the resort. She noted that others simply stated that they “would really like to be investing in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.”

“One of the investors said that ‘I have a lot of confidence in Harlequin because the resort is in a stunning location, plus there is excellent quality built’,” said Franke, adding “he truly believes it is going to be a superb five star resort.”

David Campion, Development Director of Harlequin Development, the new company handling the construction of the resort, said last weekend’s soft-opening marked the completion of Phase 1 (A). Sixty eight villas, two restaurants, a reception building, pool facilities, spa, the Little Harlequin Kids’ Club and the beach, now transformed from black into a white sand beach, were handed over to Harlequin Hotels & Resorts.

“The programme is on track. We’ll be releasing the villas in phases,” said Campion, adding villas that are not completed are being fine tuned.

The resort is expected to provide a means of income for locals in the area. Campion said already eight fishermen from Buccament have been commissioned to provide fish for the resort.

SEARCHLIGHT was also told that on Tuesday, August 17, the first massages were done on the beach using locally trained staff.

Campion noted that by August 23, the Liverpool Football Club Soccer School and the Pat Cash Tennis Academy are expected to be completed. On this note, he said ex-Wimbledon champion Pat Cash will be travelling to St.Vincent and the Grenadines on September 25 to play tennis with the guests.

For the past two weeks, marine and civil engineers of Baird, structural engineers of ACI, interior designers of Jones Baker, landscapers of Talma Mills, and architects of Harlequin Development have been on the job full time to ensure that the resort meets the required standards.

At the moment, the resort has 210 hotel workers, but by the end of February 2011 when the first phase is fully opened, 600 persons will be on staff.