Hotels
True Blue Bay Resort
T
he owners of Grenada’s boutique hotels come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from the knighted scion of a hotelier family to a former English farmer. However, Russ Fielden’s back story is among the most interesting. Fielden, owner of the True Blue Bay Resort on Grenada’s south coast, today appears the consummate businessman: Major owner of a hotel. Wife and two kids. Stable life on the island. But go back 40 years and a different picture emerges. As a youngster, Fielden attended several English schools, but says he got his education on the street. He kicked around from job to job, and insists that one of the most lucrative gigs on his resume was as a “Mr. Whippy” ice cream vendor. “I made 100 pounds a day, 40 years ago,” he recalls. The money bought a sailboat, on which Fielden traveled to the Caribbean, arriving in Tortola in 1983 with only five dollars in his pocket. But he soon landed a job with The Moorings, a company that arranges yachting vacations worldwide. In time, Fielden rose to become its vice president of operations, but when the company’s ownership changed, it was time to move on. “It became too bloody corporate for me,” he says. “You had to get permission to change your shoelaces. So I quit.” The question was: what next? The answer came during a visit to Grenada in 1998, when a friend pointed out that what was then called the True Blue Inn was in financial trouble and suggested Russ might want to buy it. “I can’t afford a place like this,” Fielden protested. “A few months later I owned it.” What started out as a somewhat rundown 7-unit property has now grown to 43 units, including a variety of deluxe rooms and villas that featuring private balconies, 4-poster beds, high-style Caribbean décor, and all the amenities. Among True Blue’s attractions is the fact that it serves as the base for Aquanauts Grenada, one of the island’s dedicated diving facilities, offering snorkeling, SCUBA, and even facilities for underwater photography. Building True Blue was not without its challenges. “9/11, [Hurricane] Ivan, and then the
recession,” says Fielden, “We survived every one of them through perseverance. If you like something enough, you make it happen.” Among today’s challenges he cites training needs for his staff of 65 and the difficulty of marketing with limited resources. He believes the Grenadian government should provide more help in this area. “The whole island depends on tourism,” he says. “The hotels here spend more money on marketing than the Board of Tourism. “At the end of the day, the taxi drivers, tour operators, the boutiques, the fishermen and vendors, all benefit. There’s not one person on Grenada that tourism doesn’t touch. We have to get the message out that tourism is here to stay.” He estimates that Grenada’s hotels are running at about a 50 percent occupancy rate, with True Blue’s break even at 60 percent. Fielden’s clientele comes largely from the U.S., replacing UK tourists who were the majority just a year ago. “American Airlines coming in was a big start for us,” he says. Unlike some other hotels featured on these pages, True Blue attracts a younger crowd, and its website pushes its family orientation. Moderate rates help in this.
To keep True Blue affordable, Fielden works hard at energy efficiency. “We have to look at this because the cost of energy has become too expensive,” he explains. “We have a major world world asset here in Grenada we can really take advantage of, with wind, sun, hydro and geothermal,” he says. True Blue also gets a lot of business people and caters to their needs with conference facilities. Paradoxically, he feels business professionals like the place because it’s not just another corporate hotel. “We have a friendly staff, in a lovely setting,” he says. Nor would he want True Blue to develop a corporate hotel personality. “I think small resorts are really the future,” he says. “The mega-resorts will struggle with their overhead. I think people will want to go to smaller, good quality boutique hotels with nice locations.” His formula for success: “Keep it simple, keep the traditions going, be wary of overdevelopment. Think about the sustainable future. Stay away from mass tourism. That will destroy the culture. “We’re not here to make big money for the corporate citizens,” Russ Fielden concludes. “We’re here to make a quality life for Grenadians.”
We survived every one of them through perseverance. If you like something enough, you make it happen
Photo by Tony McQuilkin ...Russ & Magdelena Fielden Owners of True Blue Bay Resort
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