We’re glad to announce that the first aircraft of the Harlequin Air Fleet is now finished. Awiting deployment to St Vincent the plane is currently in St Lucia. The plans are coming together to create the Harlequin resorts in the Caribbean with first class travel for inter island resort transfers for guests. The first phase of Buccament Bay is open with H Hotel in Barbados and The Hideaway Dominican Republic scheduled to be open in 2012.
We are pleased to announce that we shall be featuring cricket as part of the Harlequin Sports Academy offerings.
Over a period of 2 weeks in 2012, Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard, supported by an experienced coaching team, will be offering an exclusive opportunity for children aged 5–16 years to receive tuition from some of the world’s greatest cricket legends while enjoying an amazing family holiday at Buccament Bay in St Vincent & The Grenadines.
Continue ReadingWe are pleased to confirm that Buccament Bay Resort is featured in the Kuoni ‘Caribbean & Mexico, Jan 2011 to Mar 2012’ brochure which has come out today.
Please click on the link below to see the advertisement/feature.
Continue ReadingFriday, August 13, marked the dawn of a new era in St.Vincent and the
Grenadines, when Harlequin Hotels & Resorts held a soft-opening of the breathtaking five star Buccament Bay Resorts – Harlequin’s first resort ever.
To mark the special occasion, 38 guests, including children, arrived onboard a Virgin Atlantic flight via St.Lucia from the United Kingdom.
On Sunday, August 15, the celebration continued with a further 31 guests arriving from the United Kingdom. On that day, Prime Minister Dr.Ralph Gonsalves and his wife Eloise Gonsalves visited the resort to take a tour of the exciting new resort. They joined Harlequin Property Chairman Dave Ames and his wife Carol Ames, the management team and staff of the resort.
In an exclusive interview with SEARCHLIGHT last Tuesday evening, Harlequin Hotels & Resorts’ Marketing Director Janet Franke disclosed that by today, Friday, August 20, a total of 130 guests will be staying at the resort. One of the guests at the resort is former international and premiership footballer Andy Townsend. He arrived here on Tuesday.
The visitors, who are generally investors of Harlequin Hotels & Resorts, will spend approximately two to three weeks at Buccament. During their stay, the visitors will be taken to recreational sites throughout the state where 
they will be able to dive and snorkel. Plans are in place to take them to Indian Bay, Bat Cave, Vermont Nature Trail, The Tobago Cays and the turtle sanctuary at Bequia.
“It was very emotional and a huge achievement for Harlequin Hotels & Resorts to open the company’s first resort ever,” said Franke, adding “it’s a huge significance.” Franke said she had the opportunity to speak with a few guests and the initial reaction they gave was: “We just love it here.
The people of St.Vincent and the Grenadines are polite, friendly and warm.” She said some investors felt that the service provided so far is great and the right team is in place to manage the resort. She noted that others simply stated that they “would really like to be investing in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.” “One of the investors said that ‘I have a lot of confidence in Harlequin because the resort is in a stunning location, plus there is excellent quality build’,” said Franke, adding “he truly believes it is going to be a superb five star resort.”
David Campion, Development Director of Harlequin Developments, the new company handling the construction of the resort, said last weekend’s soft-opening marked the completion of Phase 1 (A). Sixty eight villas, two restaurants, a reception building, pool facilities, spa, the Little Harlequin Kids’ Club and the beach, now transformed from black into a white sand beach, were handed over to Harlequin Hotels & Resorts.
“The programme is on track. We’ll be releasing the villas in phases,” said Campion, adding villas that are not completed are being fine tuned.
The resort is expected to provide a means of income for locals in the area. Campion said already eight fishermen from Buccament have been commissioned to provide fish for the resort. SEARCHLIGHT was also told that on Tuesday, August 17, the first massages were done on the beach using locally trained staff.
Campion noted that by August 23, the Liverpool Football Club Soccer School and the Pat Cash Tennis Academy are expected to be completed. On this note, he said ex-Wimbledon champion Pat Cash will be travelling to St.Vincent and the Grenadines on September 25 to play tennis with the guests.
For the past two weeks, marine and civil engineers of Baird, structural engineers of ACI, interior designers of Jones Baker, landscapers of Talma Mills, and architects of Harlequin Developments have been on the job full time to ensure that the resort meets the required standards.
At the moment, the resort has 210 hotel workers, but by the end of February 2011 when the first phase is fully opened, 600 persons will be on staff.
The above article appeared in “Weekend Searchlight”, a St Vincent and the Grenadines local newspaper, on Friday the 20th of August
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Over 2,500 guests attended the magnificent pre-opening launch of Buccament Bay Resort on 24th & 25th April 2010 at Wembley Stadium.
The Bobby Moore suite hosted the event and accommodated stands from each of the key brands created by Harlequin Hotels & Resorts for their Caribbean developments. Many of the team behind the resorts attended and Harlequin’s Ambassador, Sports & Radio Broadcaster and ex-footballer Andy Townsend, compered the event and introduced the speakers.
Andy began by talking about teamwork, something he knows a lot about. He said that “the team at Harlequin is like a football team. When you all work together the common cause is often achieved”.
The Prime Minister of St Vincent & The Grenadines, the Rt Hon Ralph Gonsalves, was unable to attend due to travel difficulties caused by the ash situation, so he sent a statement which was read out by Cenio Lewis, High Commissioner for St Vincent & The Grenadines. In the statement he said
“Statement by Prime Minister Dr. The Honorable Ralph E. Gonsalves on the occasion of the launch of Buccament Bay Resort, St. Vincent & The Grenadines by Harlequin Hotels & Resorts at Wembley Stadium on April 24th & 25th 2010. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I greet this launch of Buccament Bay Resort with pleasure and happiness. I am most sorry that a confluence of circumstances has made it not possible for me to be with you physically. I assure you that I am, nevertheless, with you in a joyous spirit. The Buccament Bay Resort is simply magnificent.
The Harlequin group has been doing a splendid job in creating what promises to be, on completion, among the best tropical resorts in the world. The partnership between Harlequin and my Government had been excellent. So too, have Harlequin’s relations with the local community in Buccament and St Vincent & The Grenadines as a whole. The workers on the building site have been delivering high quality finishing.
St Vincent & The Grenadines is one of the safest destinations for tourists, anywhere in the world. It is also the natural place to be. Our people are truly hospitable and we are grateful for the investment by the Harlequin group and their associates. By June 2012, an international airport of the finest standard will be opened for air traffic to and from St Vincent & The Grenadines. Before then, there is good air access through our other airports.
My Government again hereby re-commits itself to its partnership with Harlequin. I am absolutely sure that Buccament Bay Resort will be a tremendous success for tourists, investors and the people of St Vincent & the Grenadines. On behalf of the Government and the people of St Vincent & the Grenadines, I heartily and sincerely congratulate Harlequin on this Launch.
More information: Contact ROC Investments about Buccament Bay, by emailing invest@rocinvestments.co.uk or calling +44(0) 1902 722 930
For more information about the launch event and to watch the video of the event go to www.buccamentbay.co.uk/report/video.php
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By: Stephen Harris
Over 2,500 people flocked to a pre-launch event for Harlequin Property last weekend – and agents said their clients were “pleased” with the developer’s progress.
The two-day show at Wembley Stadium, hosted by brand ambassador Andy Townsend, gave existing and potential investors a preview of Harlequin’s Buccament Bay resort in the Caribbean.
“The idea behind the launch was to show everyone what we have achieved at Buccament Bay and demonstrate to the travel industry that Harlequin Hotels and Resorts will be a force to be reckoned with in the industry,” Harlequin’s chairman, Dave Ames, told OPP in a statement.
“It was also intended to give visitors an opportunity to ask me any questions they had about the resort and Harlequin’s other developments in the Caribbean and thank them for their patience, allowing us to complete a resort to the highest standards.”
Although it has experienced delays, Buccament Bay is set to open in November 2010 and will be Harlequin’s first completed resort.
“It is hoped that the progress of the development will give assurance that Harlequin is a serious developer that builds what it sells off-plan,” said Ames.
Positive feedback
Agents attending the event said their clients were pleased with what they saw. Greg Walters, managing director of Roc Investments, brought a coach of 35 investors to the event from Birmingham. “One client who had already bought with Harlequin has now decided to purchase more than one extra unit,” he said.
Louise Hoade, director of Principal International, said: “One couple who had been considering buying for some time were very positive. They felt reassured about the progress that has taken place and some of the partnerships.”
She added: “It wasn’t a day where they tried to sell. It was more about giving information.”
The event featured speeches from architects, restaurateurs and spa managers involved in Harlequin’s reorts, as well as a set from the Harlequin Performing Arts Academy and several West End actors.
Representatives from British Airways and the St Vincent and the Grenadines government also made appearances, while Harlequin’s ‘ambassador’ – football commentator and former player Andy Townsend – acted as compere.
Source www.opp.org.uk
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