Cap Juluca, a Belmond Hotel, in Anguilla, has preceded its reopening by a training period for its employees with Forbes Travel Guide.
The outgoing General Manager, Mr. Tiago Sarmento, who was with the resort since its redevelopment and expansion, and has overseen its operations over the past several years, sent this comment, about the staff training, to The Anguillian newspaper.
“Forbes Travel Guide is the leading certifier of luxury hotels and we have started training with this entity right before Cap Juluca reopened in 2018.
“It is a long road to be considered the best in the world. However, we will not stop until we get there as a team. Our Julucans are extraordinary and have been putting so much effort to continuously make our guests feel at home, whilst delivering genuine care and anticipatory services on a daily basis. I could not be prouder of my team.”
An earlier release about the training, stated: “A strategic goal of Cap Juluca over the past three years, since the property has been under the Belmond flag, has been to achieve the Forbes Five Star Award from Forbes Travel Guide, the only independent global rating system for luxury hotels, spas, and restaurants.
“Last year, Forbes Travel Guide awarded the Four Star rating to Cap Juluca, a tremendous achievement in the first year the property was formally evaluated by Forbes. The evaluation process is rigorous, conducted randomly throughout the season by an incognito inspector.
“In other words, both the facility and the service must be in top form consistently in order to reach the level of receiving a star rating from Forbes. Achieving the Four Star Rating last year was a tremendous accomplishment, and has helped Cap Juluca continue to pave the road towards our ultimate goal of becoming the first Five Star rated property in Anguilla.
“The Five Star rating is extremely coveted amongst luxury hotels. There are currently only 282 hotels globally with such a rating. Cap Juluca is hopeful to be included in this prestigious list when the awards are announced in 2022. It would be an incredible honour not just for our Julucan employees, but for luxury tourism in the country as a whole.
“This past week, as part of our pre-opening training, we were pleased to welcome back Melanie Whitaker, Executive Trainer from Forbes Travel Guide, who is no stranger to our Julucans. She has been a valuable coach to all of us in helping our entire team take our service experience to new heights.”