Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/6110/-1/140/
|
Viceroy Anguilla: A Coming Caribbean Delight
|
With the Los Angeles-based Kor Group forging ahead with its luxurious development of Viceroy Anguilla, the tranquil Caribbean island is set to have its first of a new generation of 5-star luxury hotels positioned to compete with the best in the world. A recent press tour has revealed an enormous amount of work completed on the 35-acre site which spans across 3,200 feet of beachfront on Barnes Bay and Meads Bay, on the island’s stunning northwest coast.
|
|
Entrance to Viceroy Anguilla
|
The five-star resort and residences will be comprised of a total of 170 rooms distributed in a 90-room boutique hotel, 35 villas, 4 town homes and 41 condo-type resort residences,. The vast majority of these units has government-imposed use restrictions and will be operated as part of the hotel under Viceroy’s rental management program, giving owners the ability to rent their units when they are not in residence. So far, 70% of the residences have been sold. The developer remains optimistic that the balance will be sold once the resort opens even if today’s market conditions persist given the overwhelmingly positive response to the resort’s remarkable design and superior construction and finishing, all evidenced in its completed model villa.
|
|
A section of the project under construction
|
Supporting facilities will include food and beverage outlets, among them a specialty restaurant perched on the high coral point separating Barnes Bay to the west and Meads Bay to the east. Nearby the specialty restaurant, an infinity pool extending from the covered sunset lounge to the coral point, will offer an amazing vantage point for the famous Anguilla sunsets. There are three large pools at the resort. In addition, each villa has its own pool and spa and each hotel room has its own plunge pool. The project is also designed to have three tennis courts, a kids’ club area, meeting rooms and a business centre, retail boutique shops, and a spa with unobstructed views of Meads Bay.
|
|
Dining Room of completed Villa
|
At 3,800 square-feet, the completed villa referred to above, is one of the smallest in the resort, with the others under construction being between 5,000 and 6,500 square feet. Its beautiful structure stands sentinel over a large portion of the property with its porch, sitting room, two bedrooms downstairs and two upstairs providing an unobstructed panoramic view of the ocean. The infinity pool forming part of the front of the villa also offers an arresting view of the sea and looks down to a sloping garden of exotic plant life.
|
|
Living Room of completed Villa
|
There is exquisite beauty inside the villa where, apart from the attractively laid out and furnished bedrooms and sitting room, the kitchen is a work of art. It is hard to believe that the counter tops of rare black mosaic stone are 100% natural. The huge and costly glass wall opening to the azure waters, like all of the doors and windows, is hurricane-proof, thus offering guests the comfort and protection they need in times of a possible storm. An added feature at the resort is that all the utility lines are being placed underground thus increasing safety and convenience while also ensuring the overall beauty of the grounds. This service has also been provided to the nearby Anguillian residents as a gesture of courtesy and good neighbourliness.
|
|
Villa exterior at night
|
The tour led by Alex Samek, Director of Acquisitions and Development, also took the local media representatives to the southern section of the property where, at the back, is the Central Energy Plant which will generate 100% of the resort’s emergency needs. Care has been taken to avoid disturbing guests and neighbours by making the building housing the generators sound proof. In the same area is a reverse osmosis plant and reservoir. The plant, operating on an onsite well, has a production capacity of 250,000 gallons of water a day which can sustain the resort for ten days. The area also accommodates a state-of the-art sewage treatment plant, a large laundry facility and a block of administrative offices.
The progress of the project is a far cry from November 2006 when tour-leader Alex Samek, participated in the ground-breaking ceremony marking the beginning of vertical construction on the vast and beautiful landscape. He estimates that a partial opening of the project is expected within the next 6 months followed by completion around the middle of 2009.
The overall contractor is the UK-based company Carillion Construction which has regional offices in Trinidad and Tobago. The workforce comprises over 500 Indian workers and some 300 from Anguilla and other Caribbean islands as well as a number of local sub-contractors. It is perhaps the busiest building site on Anguilla as the race to completion continues without let up.
The resort’s architecture is under the direction of Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo. The villa architect is Hilgendorf Corporation and the interior designer is the renowned Kelly Wearstler. The landscape architecture is being carried out by George W. Girvin & Associates whose specialty is to create an enjoyable environment while ensuring the protection and enhancement of the natural ambiance. While the construction workers build the resort and residences, there are several teams of workmen busily landscaping the grounds, replacing failing palm trees, putting in various floral and ornamental plants and grass beds, all blending in with the fine architecture.
Viceroy Anguilla is one of a number of projects which the Kor Group has undertaken in various parts of the world. The Kor Group operates approximately ten hotels in the United States and Mexico and another ten are under construction in Canada, Vietnam, Switzerland and the Middle East. However, Anguilla will be the cornerstone of the Viceroy brand and all indications are that it will be the ultimate showpiece.
On its website, the Kor Group states: “The vision of Viceroy Anguilla is to create an incomparable array of island properties where residents and guests enjoy complete resort privileges in a world-class spa village, fine dining, a wealth of recreational amenities, elite concierge services, and every other possible pleasure.
“Now rising from more than 35 acres of exclusive beachfront and anchored on a high coral point separating Barnes Bay and Meads Bay, Viceroy Anguilla realizes a new standard in the midst of an exotic island setting.”