Winning awards for style and service
Barbados is a prime, island vacation destination, known to discriminating tourists, worldwide, for its clear blue waters, calm beaches, great hotels, and all-inclusive resorts. As one of the Caribbean’s most economically developed islands, Barbados often attracts many affluent travelers looking to spend their vacations enjoying not only the island’s natural bounties, buts also its fine restaurants, elegant shops, and lively nightlife.
One award-winning resort that caters to all of the vacation needs of its discerning clientele is the Mango Bay Hotel and Beach Club (now known as Mango Bay), situated on the island’s western shore and close to the site where the British first landed in 1621. While the property’s tranquil beachfront is perfect for sun-kissed relaxation, the resort is also within walking distance of the many shops, bars, and restaurants of Holetown. It is also 25 minutes from the capital city of Bridgetown, and 40 minutes from Grantley Adams International Airport.
Mango Bay is owned and operated by Peter Odle, who leased a small, 16-room apartment-type property that wasn’t even on the beach, back in 1977. At the time, Odle says he was headed for a career in law, but decided, instead, that his interests lay in the realms of business and hospitality. He bought the beach land adjacent to the property and expanded the original building with the addition of 45 new rooms. The redesigned and rebuilt Mango Bay opened for business in 1994.
Today, with 76 rooms and 146 employees, the all-inclusive Mango Bay offers up to 228 guests a buffet breakfast; table d’hote or themed buffet lunch and dinner consisting of a range of Caribbean and international dishes such as specially grilled steaks, freshly-caught seafood, and tempting local desserts such as coconut cream pie; afternoon tea; an assortment of alcoholic drinks including house wine with dinner; a weekly cocktail party; live evening entertainment; pool and beach service; an assortment of water sports, including waterskiing, hobie cats, paddle boats, snorkeling, kayaking, and a free scuba lesson in the pool; plus one catamaran cruise and a glass-bottom boat cruise.
Odle says that about half of his guests are from the United Kingdom and the other half are spread among the U.S., Canada, and the rest of Europe. Mango Bay has a year-round occupancy rate of about 72 percent. But to Odle, an even more important statistic is its repeat rate. “One of the things that we pride ourselves on is that we have a high repeat clientele – in excess of 40 percent,” he reports. “We market consistently, but a lot of our business is word-of-mouth – and a lot of it is repeat.”
Mango Bay has received its share of awards over the years, including those in the Best All-Inclusive Resorts in Barbados, Best Luxury Hotels in Barbados, and Best Boutique Hotels in Barbados, categories. Moreover, the resort is in the Trip Advisor Hall of Fame, for having consistently achieved outstanding traveler reviews on the Trip Advisor website, five years running. Only nine percent of those awardees who receive yearly Certificates of Excellence for earning those great reviews make it into the Hall of Fame. One of Odle’s future goals is for Mango Bay to obtain a 4-Diamond rating from AAA.
Some other future plans for the resort include a major refurbishing in 2016. According to Odle, there will be all new guestrooms, bathrooms, furniture, and fixtures, as well as a brand new, beach-front restaurant. He also intends to upgrade the resort’s television system, while expanding its Wi-FI system across the entire property. “We are also looking at installing a PV (Photovoltaic) system for generating our own electricity,” he adds.
With all of the new improvements, coupled with the resort’s traditional attention to professional, personalized, timely, courteous, and effective service, Odle expects that Mango Bay will continue to maintain, and even improve upon, its reputation as one the finest boutique, all-inclusive hotels, not only on Barbados, but in the entire Caribbean region.
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AT A GLANCE
WHO: Mango Bay
WHAT: Award-winning resort in Barbados
WHERE: Holetown, St James, Barbados
WEBSITE: www.mangobaybarbados.com
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