Coco Reef Resorts Ltd has announced the appointment of Bermudian Hotelier Robin Gilbert as General Manager of the newly renovated South Shore Hotel. Gilbert, 56, replaces Andrea Jennings who is pursuing other career goals.
Coco Reef Resorts owner John Jefferis stated that, "The appointment of a veteran hotelier of Robin Gilbert's stature as General Manager is a major step forward in our plans for the continued development of the property. Whilst we have received numerous accolades for the design and physical upgrade of the Hotel, Robin will focus on bringing the operation to a consistently professional level demanded by our customers. The $10 million that we have invested in the property is not enough in today's highly competitive tourism market to ensure success. We need to provide service levels that exceed our guests’ expectations. Robin has the leadership skills to achieve those goals"
Robin Gilbert could be considered old-school. He was one of the first graduates of the Bermuda Hotel School in 1967, and was awarded a scholarship by the owner of the since demolished Bermudiana Hotel, Sir Harold Werner, to complete his professional degree in the UK.
"People seem to get a kick out of the fact that my scholarship of $750 a year took care of my return airfare, tuition, food and lodging in the UK, when today's scholarships are often in the tens of thousands of dollars. To top it off I had to sign up for 5 years at the Bermudiana in return, with a starting salary of $20 per week."
The pay-off for Gilbert, however, (after his 5 years), was a return to the UK with the same company which entailed a 2 year stint on their Management Development Program in 3 major London hotels. Following this experience he accepted a position as the General Manager, at age 26, at an hotel on Kenya’s South Coast, the Jadini Beach. The hotel was 400 Kms. from their head office, and this in the days before fax machines and the internet. “Our remoteness had its advantages!” says Gilbert. He oversaw the doubling in size of the hotel from 40 to 80 rooms providing him with construction knowledge which would prove invaluable when joining Coco Reef 30 years later.
Following the 2 year posting in Mombasa, and a 3 month sabbatical crossing Eastern and Central Africa in a Volkswagen Camper, Gilbert returned to Bermuda and first to Cambridge Beaches in Somerset. A year later the opportunity arose to purchase the Palmetto Bay Hotel in Flatts. Following 5 years of ownership at Palmetto he sold the hotel to concentrate on helping run the family retail business. “The lure of the 9 to 5 environment, with young children in the house, was too great”.
In 2004, however, it was the lure of the hotel business that returned, and Gilbert was taken on as a consultant by Coco Reef’s John Jefferis to assist in the transition and construction phase of the property.
Says Gilbert, “This is a beautiful hotel, in a fantastic location, on one of the most beautiful islands in the World. The staff and I are together committed to ensuring the success of the Coco Reef. John Jefferis has set high standards at his other Resorts that we intend to emulate here. But more importantly we know also that the guests of the hotel expect high standards too, and all of us, staff and management alike at Coco Reef, are more than prepared to rise to the occasion. We are determined to make Coco Reef one of the pre-eminenent hotels of Bermuda”.
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