INAUGURATION GALA AT HARBOR CLUB

[dropcap]H[/dropcap]arbor Club in Rodney Bay opened its doors in December 2017. The project is renowned for construction having dragged on for years, and now some three months of operations have elapsed before the official launch, but the Inauguration Gala finally took place on Saturday March 17.

Harbor Club has a nautical theme and it’s fair to say that it pushed out the boat for this black-tie occasion; expense did not seem to be on the mind of the owner, Jamaican-born Wes Hall. Specially invited guests and media were welcomed with champagne and wines in the resort’s Market Street where local vendors had wares for sale, not that many guests were buying. This was the first stop on an escorted tour of the property.

Female resort staff, dressed to the nines, corralled the guests and led them through to the pool area for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. More drinks, profferings of pizza, speeches. Hall is clearly proud of what he has achieved with Harbor Club. He has an engaging manner and even had the decency to acknowledge the vision of Daniel Buechler, the original owner.

Does Hall read Sir Derek Walcott’s poetry? Surely it was more than a coincidence that, on the first anniversary of Walcott’s death, he would touch on the thorny issue of locals and their ease of access to resorts. In the poem The Acacia Trees Walcott wrote, “I watched the doomed acres where yet another luxury hotel will be built with ordinary people fenced out.” Declared Hall: “I hate resorts with gates and that’s the reason why I like the concept of Harbor Club because there are no gates . . . Everyone who walks through these doors will be treated as a guest. We will welcome you and we’ll make you feel like royalty.” A laudable promise but how many locals can afford $22 – US – plus tax and service, for a burger?

But onwards: guests were escorted to the Sushi deck. More food. More drinks. Then it was up to the Golden Grove Ballroom (so named after the impoverished Jamaican community where Hall was raised) for a three-course sit-down meal. More wine; few guests were refusing it. Several hours and five floors away from Market Street, the entertainment continued in the Sky Lounge. Drinks were still flowing and Barbara Cadet was belting out on the saxophone.

Some 150 guests were wined, dined and photographed with Wes Hall. That’s one guest per extra member of staff that has been employed at the resort since Hall engaged Aimbridge Hospitality Inc, to manage the property, according to the figure quoted by Robert Burg, the company’s President. 

Philip Yu, the General Manager of Harbor Club, added, “This is a resort built by Lucians, for Lucians.”

The evening was executed with precision and style, and Invited guests, many of whom were not local, certainly had a wonderful time. It has to be said, the resort is attractive and has a modern Miami-chic feel, different to any other hotel in Saint Lucia, and one that will appeal to the international market. Harbor Club is not beach-side but it is impressive and welcoming. And what I liked was that staff I spoke with all confirmed that they enjoy working there.