Now that the acquired 18-hole Greg Norman Championship Golf Course and the Reverse Osmosis plant have been rehabilitated and functioning well,CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa is moving towards the start of phase two of the project which includes a new hotel.
The grounds for the hotel, already cleared by the demolishing of some of the original structures, present a commanding view of the ocean on Anguilla’s southwest course. The hotel,and its estate homes, will obviously be another of the island’s choice properties with all the attraction and luxury it will offer.
General Manager of CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa, StephaneZaharia, invited media representatives to the property on Monday, February 11, on behalf of the ownership, to see and hear what was going on there. In his words, the invitation was “to clarify the steps and direction being taken in the development of the project.”
Mr Zaharia said in part: “We have moved to the next step which is the establishing of a new hotel. We hotel is being designed to be established on the beach where the previous hotel was supposed to have been. It will be called The Reef ByCuisinArt. The reason we call it the Reef is because there is a beautiful reef on the eastern side of the property. It is a natural reef that protects the beach as well. It will be a resort with sixty-two rooms. We have already started on that work with the demolishing of the previous Manor House which it was called; and we have also demolished four villas that were dedicated as hotel rooms. They were demolished because we were very dissatisfied with the size of those rooms as we like specious rooms for our guests, and so we will be rebuilding them from the ground up.
“We will have something very unique on the island that does not exist. We will have a ballroom to accommodate two hundred people at the Reef ByCuisinArt. The focus of the hotel will be golf, weddings and group incentives, an important part of the business plan for that resort. It will be the only and true ballroom on this island and we would like to establish Anguilla as a group incentive meeting place. In discussing that with many group incentive properties, this is something that will be a very important partof the future success of the resort and obviously the future success of Anguilla.
“We will have one additional full restaurant that will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. There will also be a full beach service and full accessibility to the Golf Course and CuisinArt Resort. So it is basically going to be a very big compound where guests from both resorts will be able to dine and wine in different restaurants – whether here at Italia at the Golf Course Club House, Tokyo Bay, Café Mediterraneo, Le Bistro and Santoriniat the resort. All of that dining will be part of the experience as well. We will provide a lot of options for customers when they come to stay at the Reef or at CuisinArt.”
Mr Zaharia said phase three would include the completion of the residences and the villas and that constructing and sales and marketing strategies were already being worked out. “That is going to be a little bit longer because of the extent of size,” he stated. “We will also be establishing and finishing two villas to showcase as completely finished and furnished model buildings to interest potential buyers.”
There are a number of uncompleted estate homes currently on the property without actual owners but who, having been involved in the original project, are now desirous of returning, according to Mr Zaharia. There are in total fifty-six units which are still to be completed. There are, however, six other homes which are finished and separately owned by private persons.
Mr Zaharia spoke about some of the current work now being carried out on the property. “We are establishing a gabion system which is protective of the shoreline,” he explained. “It is a basket system containing crushed stones which is buried in the sand. We have done that same thing at CuisinArt resort.
Asked whether there was a need for a larger hotel, Mr Zaharia replied: “In essence, when you think about it, remember that the hotelis going to be approximately sixty-two rooms. When we have finished all the real estate side of the property, it is going to be a significant amount that will come back to the rental pool. It is going to be a part of the hotel, so actually the hotel is going to be much bigger from a room inventory that sixty-two.”
Noting that there was a need to exercise caution in the development of the tourism industry and facilities, the General Manager of Cuisinart Resort and Spa said: “In order for us to be successful, we have to listen to the pace of the economy because the idea that you will build and the tourists will come, does not work anymore. We have to keep our figure on the pulse of the economy and how it is evolving. We now see that things are starting to be very positive and we are acting as the economy dictates.”
He was pleased that with all the work on the new and scenic road from the Golf Course to CuisinArt resort, at the Golf Course itself, and at the Reserve Osmosis plant where a number of persons had been employed. “You will also see this on the construction site,” he went on. “The expectation is to have a thousand workerson the site, happening in stages. But the project has to be very carefully planned because we don’t want to replicate the failure that has happened here before. We want to do things carefully calculated so that it could be a successful business.
“We are now just finishing the design of the resort. Weare establishing a few contractors on the site and also have a construction manager whom we have brought to the business as well.”
Mr.Zaharia is very excited about CuisinArt Golf Resort’s new project, and is encouraging the people of Anguilla to share that excitement with him.
