“It is still Malliouhana,” General Manager, Mr John Vasatka, said as the resort, which has borne the early Amerindian name of Anguilla for all of its existence, returned renovated and refreshed to the world-wide tourism marketplace on Saturday, November 1, 2014, after an absence of some three-and-a-half years.
The hotel held a big staff party, on Friday October 31, with a number of supporting senior personnel from associated resorts in the United States in attendance. There was much jubilation at the event as old and new employees, and the visiting principals and managers, celebrated the grand reopening despite the passage of Hurricane Gonzalo which affected mainly the landscaping. The staff party, with live entertainment by the Exodus Band, was held even as workmen were engaged in various last-minute chores, preparing the hotel for its arriving guests. The reopening of the property continued the following day, Sunday, November 2, with open house tours for members of the public.
Speaking over the den of voices and music at the party, on Friday October 31, Mr Vasatka, the General Manager, who was in Anguilla throughout the renovation work, told The Anguillian:
“It was a collaborative effort from everyone – from our local sub-contractors to our managers, and mostly to our local staff for really getting the property together and allowing us, the night before our opening day, to be in a position to throw this little nice party.”
Mr Vasatka, who also commented on the restoration work following Hurricane Gonzalo, continued: “We have a hundred and forty staff and most of them are from right here in Anguilla. We are very proud of the job that the staff has done to get the hotel ready. We figure that about 50-60 percent of the employees we have at the new Malliouhana joined us from the old Malliouhana and we couldn’t be more proud.”
Mr Vasatka was asked about the marketing of the hotel. “The sales and marketing are doing great,’’ he replied. “Malliouhana has a wonderful reputation, and a great name in the travel industry, and when people talk about Anguilla, they always mention Malliouhana so we are very lucky. We have actually reached all of our goals for November and December. We are now exceeding those goals and we still have a little bit of space left, and our 2015 looks really promising. We have guests checking in tomorrow morning (Saturday, November 1) and so it will be a bright early day for most of us. It is such an exciting time, and a lot of adrenalin, after three-and-a-half/four years being closed and the millions of dollars that were spent, to bring Malliouhana back, to show her off to our arriving guests.”
The General Manager was pleased to welcome the visiting team from Auberge Resorts including the Chief Operations Officer from California, Mr Eric Calderon Sr; the Vice President, Operations, Mr John Washko; as well as representatives from the flagship resort in Napa Valley and a number of managers and staff from other resorts in the United States and Mexico. According to Mr Vasatka, the old and new staff at Malliouhana-Auberge had an opportunity to learn from them about the more modern and contemporary standards and services at those resorts.
“I think as travellers change from the 80s and 90s into the new millennium, and now practically in 2015, they are looking for new and different services including Wi-Fi for all the requirements for their devices. Auberge is a company out of Northern California and is very familiar with a lot of these service requirements that guests are looking for. We couldn’t be happier that we are adopting some of these contemporary standards for our guest service.”
Mr Vastaka said the hotel was reopening with 44 rooms, fifteen less than the original number. He indicated that later on some areas of the property, such as the unopened Meads Bay oceanfront villas, would be re-purposed to provide additional rooms or private residences as well. “We want Malliouhana to grow bigger,” he stated. “We want to increase our investment. We want to increase our opportunities to employ more Anguillians and for them to have careers here at Malliouhana like so many have over the years. By growing the property and the investment, we think it will be a wonderful win-win for the island as well.”
Mr Vasatka added: “Malliouhana has rebounded, but the heart and soul of Malliouhana are still the same… but with all the wonderful attributes of the old and new Malliouhana. It is old, it is new, but it is still Malliouhana.”
Malliouhana Hotel and Spa, as the resort was named, was built and owned by the Roydons’, an English family. Overlooking Meads Bay and Turtle Bay, the 55-room hotel at the time, was the first major property in Anguilla which launched the island’s upmarket tourism industry. It went on to become “One of the Small Leading Hotels of the World”, with rave reviews from the travel trade press. After its closure, it was eventually sold to Adventurous Journeys Capital (A. J. Capital) Partners, a group of investors and developers in Chicago, with whom the Anguilla Government signed an MOU in February 2013.
Following that, Auberge Resorts, a collection of award-winning hotels and world-class spas in Napa Valley, California, was hired to assist with the renovation and marketing of what would be renamed Malliouhana-Auberge.
