The Daily Herald
June 29, 2001
PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN -- Maho Beach Resort yesterday reported swift headway in its efforts to fulfill the wishes
of its president Rosario Spadaro to complete the integration of the entire Maho area in its operations.
Royal Islander Club "La Terrace," the US $15 million timeshare complex, construction of which started
two months ago, should be ready by December. The elegant six-storey building is being erected on the three square
acres of land where contractors dug out a hill and removed the house that used to be located there.
According to Saro Spadaro, the new construction is just a follow-up of the company's desired expansion into the
timeshare industry. "Its standards will be as high as the ones displayed in Royal Islander Club `La Plage.'
Expect the same quality of service that La Plage has been giving since it opened 15 years ago," Maho's young
Managing Director told The Daily Herald yesterday during an exclusive interview.
Walter Kieser, La Plage's General Manager, pulled out his brochure with artist's renditions of the building and
explained that it will have 53 one- and two-bedroom units. There will be units that can be rented out to hotel-related
businesses.
"We went one floor down to build parking space for 200 cars," the General Manager said. On top of that
structure there will be a commercial center, with two restaurants and a large convention room. That structure in
its turn will be topped by a lush rooftop garden, complete with pool and other recreational facilities.
Kieser said the design had been made by Italian architectural Studio 999 in Turin, Italy. The construction, which
started in February, is being done by the same company that built La Plage, with local contractors, under supervision
of Enzo Fontana.
According to Spadaro, the obvious slow season St. Maarten is experiencing didn't throw Maho off. "We have
remained successful through the years, despite all the hurricanes, because after all of them, we didn't just repair,
but invested further. All insurance pay-outs were used, but we also added our own investments each time, to improve
our product," he said.
Spadaro said that after Lenny, for instance, Maho had poured more than US $5 million--a part of which wasn't covered
by insurance proceeds--into redevelopment. "Because we enjoy that high member satisfaction," Kieser added.
And, Spadaro said, St. Maarten has a competitive advantage over other destinations. "We've gone through rough
times, but we still have a very potential future ahead," he said, adding, "And timeshare is one of the
most successful industries throughout the world."
According to the officials, the sale of the property by Davis and Co., which also sold Royal Islander, has already
started. "It's going slowly, but the month of June is traditionally weak. We have high hopes," Spadaro
said.
(c) Copyright The Daily Herald. All rights reserved. To see more of The Daily Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper,
go to http://thedailyherald.com/