March 2015 Management Updates

In February of this year, after the General Director and the Room Division Manager left in mid-January, a newly appointed position was made for a Director of the Grand Village. The position was created due to the distance the Grand village is from the main facility they wanted to have a management figure based full time there to provide the guests with the care and attention they deserve. A few weeks after the arrival the Grand Village Director, the Rooms Division Manager (RDM), Morey who is replacing Francisco arrived. He is taking care of the Park and Spa section Trip Advisor reviews insuring guest needs are well served as well as taking care of other tasks in the Park and Spa sections. It is with great sadness I have to announce that Caesar, the Restaurant and Bar Manager, will be leaving the Iberostar Ensenachos next week. He will be switching over to the Iberostar Mojito on Cayo Coco as he received a much deserved promotion. He will be surely missed. As for a new Director General, it is a matter of days now (if not already as I write this) before they arrive as the possible candidate has been presented to the board of directors.

As for facility and services updates, the main Megano boardwalk has been replaced and work is completed. Due to a security issue they had no choice in shutting it down and doing an emergency rebuild during high season as spot repairs was not ideal. It was for the safety of the guests. The recent issue with the broken water pipe coming from the mainland Cuba affecting all the resorts on both Cayo Ensenachos and Cayo Santa Maria has been repaired. They had dealt with it the best they could with shutting water during the day when people were at the pool or beach to conserve what was in the reservoir tanks and turning it back on during the hours people would normal need it to shower. During this time the kitchen had access to water to safely prepare meals and clean. They are working on the state of the public facilities to keep them in functioning correctly, clean and fully equipped with all the amenities. Another change that they are creating a quiet bar in the Spa area with relaxing music for those 18+ staying in the Spa section who want to get away from the more active lobby bar where all ages will be found. The duplex suites in both the Park and the Spa section have only 1 king sized bed in them they are reserving these for 18+ as it is difficult to change out to a double beds or bringing a cot upstairs to accommodate people with children (if you have seen the stairs in one you would understand the difficulty of maneuvering any large piece of furniture). In the past they were able to place a cot in the downstairs living room but it is obviously not appropriate for people with young children to have them on the ground floor and the adults upstairs. So note, those that reserve the duplex suites online with the charters will now have to be 18+, however you will be placed either in the Park or the Spa section but have access to the Spa section if you are put in the Park Duplex suite. They are implementing a new training programme for reception staff and how to deal with guests appropriately. The theatre is to be refurbished after the high season is over, lighting of the walkways will be looked at and repaired, as usual painting will be done to touch up areas in need which is an ongoing thing in the Caribbean as the heat, sun, humidity and abundance of salt in the air from the proximity to the salt water sea wreak havoc on the cement surfaces. As I get more input I will update as I am sure once the new Director General arrives they will be reviewing changes that are required and discussing with the GV Director and the RDM what changes thus far have been implemented.