Cap Juluca, where some refurbishing work has been carried out at much expense, is filled with guests in the available rooms in the rental pool and is flourishing. In addition, the majority of the over 300 Anguillian staff members are back on their jobs.

This information was gleaned by The Anguillian in an interview with Mr and Mr. Hickox, the majority owners of the resort, this week. They are however still awaiting the support of the Government and a new Memorandum of Understanding. In the meantime, they said they were continuing to forge ahead with their plans to enable the property to regain its leadership name in Anguilla, the rest of the Caribbean and the world.

Mrs Linda Hickox, the main spokesperson, started the conversation by reflecting on their involvement in the property since winning the auction bid in May last year. She said that, among other matters, they found that the kitchens had become antiquated and the laundry rundown since they built the resort and that “the previous ownerships had not put any money into the rooms or the back of the house.” She described the back of the house areas as now being “clean and sparkling” and said she and Mr. Charles Hickox were now “very, very proud”.

Mrs Hickox, who has taken over the renovation of the property, continued: “The other part obviously was the rooms. It was just a question of cleaning, cleaning and repairing. We finished it…replacing fans and anything that was slightly foreboding and antiquated. Now the rooms are refreshed, but still not finished because we only had seven weeks and, of course, we had hurricane Sandy [in the United States] which impeded some of the goods in getting to Miami [for transhipment to Anguilla.] I am very hands-on and very determined that Cap Juluca is going to be number one in the Caribbean and may be, who knows, in the world.” She was aware that in order to achieve that there was a need to develop a good product.

Mrs Hickox went on: “We were very upset when the Chief Minister said that Cap Juluca was in rags or ruins and was closed. That, unfortunately, has really put a question mark in the minds of potential travellers to Cap Juluca. Travel agents are concerned thinking Cap Juluca is closed. Cap Juluca is not just Cap Juluca. It is what Cap Juluca provides to the island in terms of consuming goods. I hope we have injected some money into the economy. We had outside Anguillian contractors to help us and we are doing our best. Unfortunately, the Government is denying us General Manager and Executive Chef Work Permits.” She said that “while some hotels had many expatriate workers, Cap Juluca only had one such person whose work permit would be up shortly. I don’t know why they are trying to strangle or cripple us.”

Mrs Hickox was asked about the cost of the refurbishing work since their new involvement in the ownership of Cap Juluca in May last year. “We have invested about fifteen million dollars,” she replied. “Actually, every room has been upgraded. Originally, I thought I will do a luxury villa which is six rooms; I will do a junior suite villa which is six rooms and I will do a private villa which is five rooms. Then I just decided – I’m going to do the whole thing because it wasn’t fair to the guests who came into one of the old rooms. I ended up refreshing and touching every room; and every room has new soft goods and new furniture.

“The only thing that we were not able to do, which is on the slot for next year, when we close in the late summer [2013], is redoing the floors in the villas. They are the original 1989…floors and we really want to redo those.” She said that in the meantime some of the bathrooms and fixtures were redone.

Mrs.Hickox said that she and her husband owned 69 rooms of the Cap Juluca villa rooms. The others, numbering about 28 rooms, owned by the Brilla Group, in three or more villas, were now padlocked. She regretted that those beachfront villas were not in the hotel’s rental pool, and thought that was unfair to the Cap Juluca workers. “We just don’t understand why that is happening,” she commented.

Asked about staff numbers, she did not recall that Cap Juluca ever had 400 employees, but instead around 375. She thought that with the loss of a number of expatriate personnel whose work permits were not renewed, as well as some resignations, there was now a workforce of about 350. “We have not made anybody redundant,” she said. “I don’t know how long we can keep doing this.”

Questioned about occupancy, Mrs Hickox responded: “The rooms are filled. We are not only open for business. We have got a ton of business. We have some very strong reservations actually coming in on the 2nd of January. But, I tell you something: with every word that the Government puts out, that Cap Juluca is closed…damages us. So we are in a position of trying to swim upstream in terms of damage control and it has damaged this asset. I don’t understand why, because it does not help the people of Anguilla. It doesn’t help the Julucans. I am baffled.” She added that she thought that the people of Anguilla were fully aware about what would happen if Cap Juluca, now flourishing, was really closed.
Mrs. Hickox proceeded to lead a tour of a number of rooms displaying new furniture including beds, sofas, chairs, kitchen equipment and bathroom improvements. With the refurbishing of the villas and their clear picturesque ocean views, they represent a touch of elegance and luxury for the visitor. “I think that we will be in really good shape in another month,” she said as she continued the tour.

Though not having a formal and separate MOU, Mrs Hickox said the resort was continuing to operate under clause 5 of a previous ownership agreement which the Anguilla Government at the time negotiated with Adam Aron. “Clause 5 says that if the company goes into bankruptcy, the largest lender, which would be us, will have the benefit of that MOU for – I believe 24 months – without having to negotiate a new one,” she stated. However, the Government is paying no attention to that. They cut off all of our work permits. We have no General Manager…We are just going to do ownership management for a while.”

At the outset of the newspaper interview, Mr. Charles Hickox reflected on his early involvement with Cap Juluca – its building and design. He said that without a MOU, and with the Chief Minister or the Government publicly “stating that they won’t allow any more borrowing against the property, there is a very limited amount you can do. You can’t go to outside sources of finance in order to borrow money to move ahead with a number of things. We have therefore been limited in what we can do.
“Linda has taken over with our own personal energies and literally refurbished this whole place,” he added. “My job as an architect, builder and developer, has ceased until the Government gives us the right to do something.”

A Government Motion – before the Anguilla House of Assembly –  to begin the process of acquiring the 178.03 acres of Crown Land, on which Cap Juluca Resort is situated, was set aside on Monday, August 27.

Chief Minister and Minister of Finance and Leader of Government Business, the Hon Hubert Hughes, asked for the Motion, the only agenda item on the Order Paper, to be postponed. He informed the Speaker, the Hon. Barbara Webster-Bourne, and the House, that he had done so in order to give a civil society group an opportunity to intervene in the dispute involving Mr. Charles Hickox and the Brilla Group.

It is to be noted that earlier in the day, Charles and Linda Hickox issued an hourly-repeated radio announcement warning about the consequences of the Government’s move to acquire the Cap Juluca property.

Rather than reading the Motion before the House, Chief Minister Hughes delivered a statement in which he spoke about the circumstances leading to its postponement. An unusual number of people turned up in the galleries of the House of Assembly for the occasion. Following is the text of the Chief Minister’s address for the national record:

“Today the House of Assembly is assembled here to deal with a Motion on the Order Paper in respect to the public acquisition of a hotel, Cap Juluca.

“I would like to make a statement in respect of things going forward. Cap Juluca, as you know, has been considered the flagship of theterritoryofAnguillafor many years. Everybody is concerned about its closure. The Government of Anguilla has received a letter from Mr. Charles Hickox that Cap Juluca is closed indefinitely. This is sad news for the whole country; for the banks; for social security; for the business premises; and, most importantly, for the employees of Cap Juluca.

“This morning history has been made. I received a telephone call from the Reverend Dr. Clifton Niles asking me if even at this late stage another try could be made, and that he would like to convene a meeting with me, and the Leaders of the Opposition, and Christian Council’s representatives in the form of the Right Reverend Bishop Errol Brooks, and Mr. Sutcliffe Hodge, representing collectivelycivil society group.

“Ever since my return from the United Kingdom, many years ago, I have been concerned that civil society plays no role in the life of this island. My experience in the United Kingdomwas that civil society plays a pivotal role in the determination of what the political directorate does in theUnited Kingdom. I had a bitter experience in 1999 when I tried to get civil society involved for what was happening then.

“Today, I am so happy that I said to the three-man delegation that I am very pleased to see civil society now, at long last, getting involved; and this was in the presence of the Honourable Leader of the Opposition, on the other side, and his other colleague member of the Opposition. We had a lengthy discussion and I explained to them why it was necessary for prompt and decisive action to be taken, considering the history of disputes by foreigners over our territory – Government’s territory isAnguilla’s territory. And foreigners have been fighting over Cap Juluca for many years in and out of court in the United States of America and also in Anguilla; and much of the earnings of Cap Juluca have been exhausted in litigation and the workers have hardly had an increase in their hourly payment for all those years.

“We have endeavoured over the past few months – as a matter of fact from the day I got in office on the 16th of February 2010 – the Executive Council has been meeting virtually every week to deal with the Cap Juluca situation – sometimes three/four times a week. We have had delegations come to protest against what was happening there in respect of the threat of closure. I have made several representations to the hotel to explain what our position was as a Government.

“When I received the notice that Cap Juluca is closed indefinitely, I did not know where to run because I felt we had made too much of an effort to ensure that the last thing that happens to Cap Juluca was closure. This sends shock waves throughout the tourism world as far asAnguilla’s tourism product is concerned.

“I have had situations where Starwood Capital who owns Viceroy – many months ago when they saw the threat to Cap Juluca – said we cannot afford for Cap Juluca to close so we are prepared to manage Cap Juluca on behalf of the Government of Anguilla. I have proposals from Mr.Rizzuto separately who made the same suggestion: we cannot allow Cap Juluca to close.For anybody to suggest that Cap Juluca closes, to me, is a criminal offence against the families and their children who depend on Cap Juluca to live.

“Today, I am happy to say that the delegation that came to see me – of highly-ranking ecclesiasticals and a very respectable member of civil society – have appealed to me in the presence of two Permanent Secretaries, Mr. Aidan Harrigan and Mr. Foster Rogers, who went on to explain what the history of our involvement as a Government was in dealing with the Cap Juluca situation, over the past two years, to show that there was no political decision-making when it comes to Cap Juluca. The Cap Juluca situation is too serious for politics. We must take the politics out of the livelihood of the people ofAnguillaonce and for all, and we must do justice to truth.

“The delegation asked if the main issue can be considered – that is to unite Cap Juluca under the two main groups : theBrilla/Manfredi/Rowan Group who owns twenty-seven of the rooms and the Cap Juluca Group who owns the rest of the rooms. I suggested to Mr.Hickox’s lawyer many months ago – that was Mr. Wiggin at the time – that the best thing for Cap Julucais to unite it under a combined ownership of the Brilla Group and Mr.Hickox, and Mr. Wiggin thought it was a wonderful idea. When Mr. Wiggin was the lawyer, representing Cap Juluca, everything went respectfully and there was harmony throughout – although he was doing a very wonderful job representing a client. From the time Mr. Wiggin disappeared from the scene, the whole situation became hostile. I would like to make that tribute to Mr. Wiggin here today. But we did try our best because Cap Juluca is so important.

“After our lengthy discussion, Rev. Niles asked if they would be granted an opportunity to get the Brilla, Manifredi and Rowan Group together with the Hickox Group to see where they can convince these two groups to drop their animosities – and see whether they can come together and settle Cap Juluca once and for all, where both parties would be satisfied.

“The Government of Anguilla, I am sure, will back me of having thought seriously about that. The Leader of the Opposition knew that we did not agree right away, but having thought about it we have now informed Rev. Niles’ and his Group that we will not go head and debate this motion today. We will give them the opportunity to see whether they can bring these two groups together; and if they fail, then we will have to come back to the House …

“I am sorry to disappoint all of you who have come here because it is not normal that we see so much interest in the House of Assembly. And I hope the next time we come back to the House we will have to bring extra chairs because it is sad that we have a democratic process and we have so many important issues being discussed in this House of Assembly [and] few people show an interest in their business. We come here to transact their business, the people’s business, and would like for the people to come and see how their business is transacted in this Honourable House.

“But rest assured, Rev. Niles, Bishop Brooks and Sutcliffe Hodge will be given the opportunity – and we will inform both the Brilla Group and the Hickox Groupthat we have given our blessing to this civil society group, in a civilised and Christian-like manner, to have discussions with them to see whether they can get this issue solved between the two opposing groups.

“I thank you very much for your tolerance and we will just await the outcome of those discussions before resuming this meeting of the House. With that said, I would like to appeal to the Speaker to adjourn the House.”

Just before the adjournment, Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Evans M. Rogers, said: “I hope this is a step in the right direction where sanity and civility prevail in dealing with some of these national issues.

“As the Chief Minister said, I sat in that meeting and I left there prepared to make a presentation here this afternoon with regards the Motion that is before this House. I am pleased to say, that even though temporarily, that there is a further opportunity for individuals to meet around the discussion table.”

Mr. Rogers continued: “Madam Speaker, during that meeting we were concerned as to the exhaustion of all the possibilities before coming to this House and beginning this process.  We all were concerned, Madam Speaker, about the ramifications, legal and otherwise, the world-wide attention and perception of Anguilla coming in this Honourable House and taking this step to move forward.”

The Opposition Leader said he was pleasantly surprised that the Chief Minister had agreed to set aside the Motion and was hoping, as he said previously, that sanity and civility would prevail.

Following closing remarks by the Chief Minister, the House of Assembly was adjourned by the Speaker.

Anguilla, British West Indies – August 21, 2012 – Charles and Linda Hickox, the original founders and financiers, as well as the owners of the Cap Juluca Resort, Crown Jewel of Anguilla, have today announced the closure of the property citing statements made by Chief Minister Hughes that “the resort is operating illegally”.

“We at Cap Juluca do not understand why Chief Minister Hughes has spoken out in a manner that is contradictory to the island’s best economic interests,” said Charles Hickox. “The lack of support to-date of the Anguillian Government and Chief Minister Hughes of our legal re-acquisition of Cap Juluca has forced us to reach this decision.”

“We were about to embark on an extensive renovation of the resort,” said Linda Hickox. “However, without support from Chief Minister Hughes and the Anguillian government, we cannot re-open Cap Juluca renovated and refreshed until we reach some level of compromise.”

For many years, Cap Juluca has been instrumental in the success of the Anguillian economy, benefitting companies from restaurant owners, taxi operators, water sports and transportation companies to boutiques and gift shops. The property employs more than 350 island residents and hosts an average of more than 50,000 guests annually, which aids in the stimulation and growth of the Anguillan economy.

In September 1995, when Hurricane Luis devastated theislandofAnguillaand shut down the majority of hotel operations for over a year, the Hickox family contributed millions of dollars personally to accelerate Cap Juluca’s re-construction. Their priority was to open the Hotel in time for the Christmas Season, to return commerce to Anguilla and resume work for its employees and suppliers.

Cap Juluca ended its 2011-2012 season with a series of staff appreciation activities, culminating with a grand Juluca Beach nik on Monday, 20th August. The 95 room resort which prides itself as being the leader in staff appreciation, training and development, treated its staff to a sumptuous buffet lunch prepared by the Executive Chef Johnny Clero and his team, which included Executive Sous Chef and Manager of the Anguilla National Culinary Team, Dean Samuel and Caribbean Gold Medal winner, Chef Justin Hughes.  Staff enjoyed an afternoon of music, dancing, water sports, swimming and other activities before proceeding on their annual vacation.

Among the other close-out activities put on by the award-winning property, was the annual Hospitality Team of the Year Award Competition on 27th July.  This was won by the combined Reservations/Landscaping Team represented by Winifred Davis and Rolston Hennis.  The Annual Quiz, which featured six teams drawn from Accounts/Purchasing/Retail, Beach/Water Sports, Food and Beverage, Spa Services and Engineering, was a culmination of the season’s training and team-building activities. This was followed by the Employee/Manager Challenge which was won this year by the Managers team, represented by Malcolm Webster, Paula Webster-Sasso, Norwell Proctor and Carmen Hackett-Saunders. On 3rd August all the participants were among the Julucans honoured at the last Employee Awards Luncheon for the season.

Also recognised at the Luncheon were the Departmental Employees of the Month, Extra Mile, and Team Awardees, as well as the Exemplary Awardee and Supervisor of the Quarter for May, June and July; the top winners of the Juluca “Biggest Loser” Challenge, and the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School Student Interns, who were presented with certificates of achievement.

Michelin Mussington, Yvonne Hughes and Esmay Gumbs were named Resort Employees of the Month for Front of House, while Ercille Clarke,  Keiron Carty and Sandra Richardson received the Heart of House Awards.  Rolston Hennis was the recipient of the Exemplary Service Award and Rosette Pradel was named Supervisor of the Quarter.

St. Claire Buffonge emerged as winner of the first prize for the Juluca Biggest Loser Challenge, with Everet Claxton claiming second prize and Edward Webster third prize. Awardees received gifts including cash, dinners and trips.

Cap Juluca also paid tribute to the Juluca members of the National Culinary Team by presenting them with Certificates of Achievement at the Awards Luncheon.  Pimms Sous Chef, Justin Hughes was recognised for winning gold in the Caribbean Chef of the Year Competition, Pastry Chef, Shirmel Gumbs for her silver medal, Joseph Hodge and Claudio Gumbs on their bronze medal achievements.  Chef Dean Samuel was recognised for his outstanding leadership of the National Team, and Caribbean Chef of the Year, Hall of Famer, Glendon Carty received an appreciation award for his work with the team.

The management of Cap Juluca thanks all Julucans for their loyalty, patience, hard work and dedication during a challenging season.

(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)