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82 83 OCEANFRONT LUXURY AT ITS BEST MAGDALENA GRAND BEACH & GOLF RESORT, TOBAGO MAGDALENA GRAND BEACH & GOLF RESORT, Tobago N estled in the tropical Tobago Plantations Estate, the Mag- dalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort boasts a community of luxury suites and villas skirting an18-hole, PGA-designed championship golf course. Situated along two and a half miles of beach and breathtaking coastline, the grounds offer nature trails and canopy walks through a virgin man- grove forest in an island paradise. Derived from the name of one of Christopher Columbus’ ships, “Magdalena” was the original name of Tobago and pays homage to the island’s rich history, tradition, and people. John Murphy, principle at efm Hospital- ity Solutions that manages the Magda- lena Grand Beach & Golf Resort, relates the backstory of the property. “We got involved in June 2011 and the property was closed for four years prior to that,” he begins. “It ran as a Hilton from 2002 to 2007, then it was closed for a time and sat unused except for minimum staff and secu- rity and utilities, while the govern- ment sought out an interim man- agement com- pany that had experience with repositioning– i.e. hiring of staff and reopening AT A GLANCE MAGDALENA GRAND BEACH & GOLF RESORT WHAT: Luxury oceanfront resort and PGA-designed, championship golf course WHERE: Tobago Plantations Estate, Tobago, West Indies WEBSITE: www.magdalenagrand.com