Nathan’s Cove, a luxury villa, situated at Anguilla’s world-class beach, Meads Bay, is reopening this month to a number of tourists anxious to return to the paradise island following Hurricane Irma.
When they arrive at the immaculate all-white beachfront villa they will find it well suited out with brand-new top of the line furnishings, from New Jersey, replacing those damaged by the hurricane.
In Anguilla, several days ago, to inspect the beautifully-restored property and to give his approval, was one of the owners, Mr. Earle A. Gumbs, the youngest son of the late Nathan Gumbs after whom the villa was named. Mr. Gumbs was accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Beatile Hughes-Gumbs, whose parents, like his father, were born in Anguilla.
Responding to an invitation to visit the luxury property, The Anguillian newspaper was given some background information and a tour of the villa. “My Name is Earle Gumbs and I am one of the original owners,” he introduced himself. “The place was named after Nathan Gumbs, my dad. We [the children] were working on it for five years and it was completed in 1992. It is a family affair and I am one of nine children, seven boys and two girls, but only two of us are left: my sister, Gwendolyn, who lives in Queens, New York, and worked for the Government; and I, who also worked with the Federal Government for about 39 years where I rose to the highest level and retired in 1993.”
He went on: “My dad, Nathan E. Gumbs, who was one of the original policemen in Anguilla, left the island in 1912 for Perth Amboy. He owned the land on which this property is located and the family in New Jersey discussed whether we should sell the land – but we finally decided to build Nathan’s Cove on it and rent it out. It is slow in the summer, but we have quite a lot of business in the winter.
“Last year, the hurricane messed up all the furniture, broke the doors, windows, and everything else. We shipped all of this furniture, you see here, from New Jersey, and had a contractor doing all the work for us. We suffered considerably from the hurricane, but the villa is now in business again. There are two 2-bedroom apartments downstairs and one apartment with four bedrooms upstairs.”
Nathan’s Cove, nestled between other tourism properties, is an outstanding and popular villa in its own comfortable courtyard space. “We are on Meads Bay and when people come down here they say it is a beautiful beach but you have to have some sort of incentive,” he stated. “What we do is that our prices are less than other places and we give a discount sometimes but we have to be careful. We have persons coming back every year and the reason is that they probably like the place, or they figure that maybe the rate is what they could afford, but I believe they like the place.”
At Nathan’s Cove, there are a small number of friendly and helpful employees. Working closely with them are Mr. and Mrs. David McKinley Hodge, who assist in keeping a watchful eye over the property. Mr. Hodge is known for pruning the ficus trees in the garden in the shape of birds, adding much natural decoration to the plant life and the scenic courtyard.
It was that dependable couple who organised a fitting blessing ceremony at the villa on Anguilla Day, Wednesday, May 30. The Invocation was delivered by Pastor Trent Berg, the Resident Seventh-day Adventist Minister.
Mr Gumbs, a very active and jovial gentleman, spoke to The Anguillian from his top level porch which provides a sweeping view of Meads Bay. “I went to Hampton University and graduated in 1955 with a degree in Accounting and Budgeting, and I am a Certified Financial Manager,” he said. “I worked for the Government for about 39 years and have been retired for 25 years now, but I still do income tax and other work. God has been good to me. I am 87 years old and will be 88 on September 7. I am the last of nine children from Nathan Gumbs. That’s why we named the place Nathan’s Cove.”
Almost all of Mr. Earle Gumbs’ siblings worked for the US Government, over the years, in various positions – including a brother, the late Judge Phillip Gumbs, who was the frontrunner in the building of the villa and was a frequent visitor to Anguilla.
Today, the building of Nathan’s Cove is paying off. It not only advertises Anguilla as an upmarket tourism destination, but preserves the name of a visionary Anguillian whose land has given birth to a luxury villa.
