All this time, the wholly Anguillian-owned and delightful Rendezvous Bay Hotel would have been opened to its many new and repeated guests. But the enterprising Gumbs’ family have opted to close operations and to embark on a new and largely expanded project which they are now marketing as “The Best is Yet To Come.”

The Rendezvous Bay Sales Centre

Among the reasons given for the coming change are the deteriorating buildings constructed nearly 50 years ago and the realisation that the exquisitely beautiful beach site demands a matching resort of the highest quality.

Alan Gumbs, a proud and well-respected member of that family (most of them are residing in the United States), is based on the home front. He is diligently laying the groundwork for what promises to be the Caribbean’s best locally-owned resort, ringing a world class and historic beach.

He was hoping that: “Before Christmas we should have all the necessary approvals that we need along with the lease of the pond from Government,” he told The Anguillian recently. “They promised the pond lease going back years now and it needs to be finalised. We should be prepared to go forward from that point and I would say that we could mobilise equipment and different things we need and be ready to go full force probably by February.”

Cleaning The Pond

The Pond which will be as prestine as the ocean

The pond is a key element in the project. “We have to clean the pond and turn it into an absolutely beautiful area and from an environmental standpoint it is going to be fantastic,” Mr. Gumbs said. “It is going to be put into a condition as pristine as the ocean and once we do that the birds and the fish…will be able to flourish in it better than before and we will be able to eliminate the smell that is somewhat problematical.”

The family’s front man went on: “We have hired the top environmental and geo-technical people in the world to work on the pond and they are prepared to go forward as soon and Government finalises the approvals.”

The pond, which formerly produced salt, is approximately 70 acres. Mr. Gumbs made the point that the pond, when rejuvenated, would enable the hotel to be in a pristine condition. “We will be one of the few resorts in the world with water on both sides (sea to the south and pond to the north) and it is going to be something fantastically beautiful,” he stated.

Mr. Gumbs continued: “The new entrance to the resort will come in on a bridge over the pond, creating a real attractive gateway. Needless to say that the work on the pond and the road is at great expense but they will provide an environment that will help create the most fantastic beach resort certainly on Anguilla, probably in the Caribbean, and possibly one of the best in the world.

“The pond work has to come first because we have to prepare the site and create all the levels, drainage and other horizontal aspects of the project before we can start construction. We don’t want to make the mistakes of other projects. We want to make sure that all horizontal work is completed before we start to do the vertical work on the site.”

The Resort & Sales

Speaking on the resort itself, the Anguillian investor said: “It will be something absolutely beautiful and will be done in a Caribbean style. The architectural drawings have been done by world-renowned architect Peter Merino. He has taken on this project in his own mind to define what really a 6/7 star Caribbean architecture is meant to be, so it is going to be outstanding. There are going to be certain colours involved and there will be no other project on the island like it.

“The totality of the project will cost in the area of between 750 and 800 million US dollars. That’s not just the cost of construction. That is really the hard and soft costs involved in this type of project. Just the work on the pond and to get it to the position that we want it is going to be close to 40 million US dollars.”

The Anguillian asked Mr. Gumbs to describe the project. “It will have a total of 199 units of which 83 will be retained by ownership and rented by ourselves.” he explained. “The other 116 units are labelled to be sold and the owners will have the option to put them into the rental pool which of course many of them will,” he replied.

Asked whether any of the proposed villas were already sold, he said: “In order for us to be able to go to final contract with the prospective buyers, we need to complete the planning and sub-division processes. Government has granted us the sub-division of the site but we have to meet environmental descriptions and different things so that we can enter into final sale.”

Mr. Gumbs revealed that there were already over 400 pre-qualified buyers for 116 units. He continued: “It is important to understand that this Rendezvous Bay Project is being marketed in a different way than any other project had ever been marketed. We are trying to create a very special community. Remember that the best things about Rendezvous Bay Hotel were always its location and the guests who came to this hotel. We still want to have a very special clientele and to incorporate as many of our existing guests as we possibly can. So this is a special process and it takes a little more time than just selling units. If all we wanted to do was to sell Rendezvous, we could do it in a couple of weeks, but that is not the struggle. The struggle is to make sure that we have a diversified community of people coming together that we very much enjoy living with in this resort.”

Workforce Needs

Mr. Gumbs was asked about the availability of the workforce to construct the project. “This has been another matter in which we are taking a little more time than others in order to avoid some of the problems that they have had,” he explained. “On the ground here we have contracted to work with the Dick Company. They have done work in Anguilla before. They did the horizontal work on the Viceroy Project with considerable success, and they did that by showing that they could both bring in foreign workers and treat them fairly and also work with local labour in Anguilla and that is what we propose to do on this project.

“We will have to bring in a considerable amount of labour, but we have already contracted to work with certain local companies on the island. So from that standpoint, that takes care of the construction phase which is the easiest part of the project. The most difficult part is that when you go to run a 6/7 star resort, where are you going to find the workers to occupy the various positions and to function and operate at the level which is necessary to create this type of service? In order to do that, we are going to have to send abroad a minimum of 200 workers from Anguilla to be trained and we have elected an operator who has a school and is prepared to work with us to accomplish this goal.

“I operate businesses on Anguilla and I have a considerable number of people working for me all the time. A number of them will be trained and put into certain positions; then we will take young people leaving school and work along with them and a variety of other people who may apply and wish to be part of this outstanding resort. A lot of these people may already have a certain level of skill, but they will be taken into a different environment and shown what 6 and 7 star service is about.

“This level of service does not presently exist in the Caribbean. I went on a trip around the world examining different properties and operators and staying in different hotels to see what this level of service is. I also travelled here in the Caribbean to a number of top resorts which claim to provide 5 star service, and when I saw the difference and started to understand it, I realised that for our people in the Caribbean to provide 6/7 star service, they have to go into an environment where they can see and understand it. There is a great deal to it.”

Mr. Gumbs was asked why he and his family decided to aim at such a high level of resort and service.

“People have said to me – ‘Jeremiah would turn over in his grave if he knew you are going to change Rendezvous Bay Hotel.’ But none of this could be farther from the truth,” he responded. “My father’s dream was to see his four children working together to establish something fantastic. This site, Rendezvous, is the finest location for a beach resort in the Caribbean, or any other place. As such, it should have the very finest resort. Anguilla has aimed consistently at top quality tourism, and so, this island must have the very finest resorts and should provide the very, very finest service. This is something that we owe to this country and its development.”

Message To Guests

The land area for development is approximately 45 acres and the pond about 70 acres, an overall 115 acres.

Gumbs was told that the project was a very big and challenging one.

“Our parents did their best to educate us academically, and created a certain work ethic in us, so we should be able to do it – thanks to the skills and resources we have been provided with as a family,” he assured The Anguillian. “We hope to set the trend for other Anguillians who have land and other resources. There are various very beautiful locations on Anguilla, and in my opinion, we need to stop giving them to foreigners. Anguillians need to develop their own resources to every possible extent.”

Asked what message he had for guests who miss the Rendezvous Bay Hotel, Mr. Gumbs had this to say:
“Just hang on. You will have something finer in the future. Both from the standpoint of the type of atmosphere that the new resort will have and the amenities will be far more extensive than the old Rendezvous. It will be something really fantastic.”

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