The Chaconia Hotel has replaced what used to be the Chaconia Inn. And the proud owners, Michael and Donna Bryden, will host a reception tomorrow at 6 p.m. to mark the official opening of the modern, sixteen room establishment.
Donna is no stranger to the hospitality industry as how many of us can forget the pleasant, young woman who with Randy Attin, first started Monsoon, serving good Indian food at the corner of Picton Street and Tragarete Road, followed by Woodford Cafe one block away of which she remains co-owner.
But it was the 'old' Chaconia Inn which caught the determined businesswoman's eyes some years ago, and which she relentessly pursued until the owners were "ready to sell. It was sad to see it being rundown for a while, there was a lot of potential and this is proof that dreams can come true as I always had a dream to own a hotel." Somewhere around August/September 2000, Donna and her husband of just three years at the time, started renovating the hotel, but "we found we could not do what we wanted to do then and things came to a halt until October last year when we restarted." Today the beautiful peach and terra cotta building which catches the eye of every passer- by on Saddle Road, Maraval, is proof that where there's a will there's a way. And says Donna "our ideas have been expressed in exactly what we did here, make it more modern in this era of change. I knew deep down inside we had to have this place more modern for this generation."
The Chaconia's doors were quietly opened for business on Carnival Thursday, and enjoyed an immediate 85% occupancy in its beautiful, self-contained rooms with comfortable double or queen beds, television, adequate cupboard and bathroom space and, of course, a mini bar so necessary in any hotel, and moreso in the Chaconia which General Manager, Stefan Abraham, "intends to be five star within a year."
Just 31 years old, Abraham, who managed his first hotel at age 27, has come to the Chaconia from the Trinidad Hilton with a wealth of experience. A graduate of the Barbados Community College, Hospitality Division, he has worked with several hotels in the Caribbean and was responsible for opening two resorts on Canouan Island in the Grenadines, giving him the expertise to oversee from the demolition of the old Chaconia through construction, design, layout and now smilingly welcoming every guest who passes through the doors of the Chaconia into the spacious lobby where Harry Bryden paintings have been mounted in their very own private gallery, and are on sale along with his prints.
Lunch in The Maravilla Dining Room prepared by 29 year old French chef, Frank Gautherot, is different. The experienced chef who has worked in Paris, Switzerland, Scotland, Cayman Islands, Dubai, Bora Bora and finally Stonehaven Villas in Tobago before joining the Chaconia, is focusing on "fusion, I am going slowly so that every style will be mixed together, and using lots of low-cal ingredients." Food for the diet conscious was my first thought as I savoured Gautherot's non- oily but tasty seafood stew. And although he may not have learned how to prepare things like "pelau and Trini curry" at his French school, by the time the Brydens are ready to start the River Lime on the pool terrace with its soothing waterfall, Gautherot will be ready to serve up creole food in a "cook-up" atmosphere on the patio.
The Chaconia's original Saturday night dining and entertainment, where Denyse Plummer started eons ago, has already been re- introduced and many of the former patrons have happily returned to their special spots in the Paramin Bar and dance to live music until 2 a.m. whish is also closing time every night of the week. D.J. Scoobie provides music for dining and liming on Friday nights, with two happy hours from 5 to 6.30 pm and another at 10-11pm. While Latin dance classes have started on Thursday nights.
With a very well trained staff from front door to back patio, the Chaconia, already enjoying "repeat clientele" in its hotel rooms and restaurant (the backbone of most hospitality establishments), will start a weekly Wednesday night barbecue this coming week. Also in the pipeline is Donna's dream of a High Tea Service "with choices from a trolley which will come on stream very soon," and Abraham's "wine dinners and theater dinners. Food and Beverage is not just restaurant dining, we have to introduce different concepts to make it a very reasonable but very classy restaurant with all different flairs of service to produce a complete dining experience. We are testing the waters to see what the market will be and what works for us." Breakfast (Continental, Creole, American and English), lunch and dinner, all open to the public, are already being served in The Maravilla Dining Room with its beautiful Harry Bryden mural, and high-backed chairs with exquisite floral paintings.
A lot of attention has been paid to detail, not only in the rooms (some of which can be extended to accommodate a family) where internet and fax services are available, and fluffy white robes and ironboards stand ready for use in the cupboards, but to the outer patios where the table-tops are designed with beautiful mosaic patterns and inserts of the chaconia flower.
If Michael and Donna Bryden, together with Stefan Abraham and Frank Gautherot, have their way, The Chaconia Hotel will be five star long before next year.