VALLEY CHURCH, Antigua -- "I make my living through travel agents,"
said Andrew Michelin, general manager of the $4 million Cocobay,
Antigua's newest inclusive resort, set to open June 30.
Cocobay will reward agents for their business by paying 13%
commission on all bookings at the resort.
"Travel agents are getting beaten over the head by the
airlines," Michelin said.
"[Agents] provide a special service, and we are more than happy
to give them the commission that they might have earned in the
past."
The 50-room resort features 42 individual cottages and four
plantation houses that can be booked as one- or two-bedroom suites.
Each cottage will have its own gardens and balcony.
The buildings are wooden, "nothing bright and shiny. We are
using locally made furniture and want to inspire a feeling of
romance," said Michelin.
The resort sees itself as a "place where people can come to
reconnect, to reestablish relationships," he added.
Starting out in the tourism industry in the late 1960s at the
Montego Bay Hotel in Jamaica, Michelin has since been associated
with several hotels in the Caribbean and has always been searching
to find what guests are looking for.
The idea for Cocobay evolved from Michelin's connection to
Cocos, a 12-room inn and restaurant located less than one mile from
Cocobay. Michelin is part of the team that runs Cocos.
After receiving guest input, Michelin found that what visitors
wanted was a "traditional Caribbean-style hotel, meaning a room on
the beach with a view and privacy."
According to Michelin, at most hotels in the Caribbean, guests
wake up in the morning and can't distinguish one hotel from the
next. "We didn't want that," he said.
"We want our guests to have a feeling that they are somewhere
different. We want them to wake up in the morning and know where
they are."
All cottages will have either a four-poster, king-sized bed or
twin beds and will be furnished with local art, candles, pottery, a
ceiling fan and gauzy fabrics.
Other amenities include cellular phone rentals; the use of a
digital camera to send photos to friends and family via e-mail; a
CD and book library, and a "plug-in room" in the library offering
Internet access to guests.
Cocobay is planning to offer spa treatments in the Wellness
Cottage, which also houses a fitness facility.
The spa treatments are coming in "maybe six months or so. We
want to work on getting the hotel up and running first, concentrate
on achieving a consistency of service and food, before we tackle
the spa," said Michelin.