Red Carnation Hotels MD Jonathan Raggatt, OGH former owner Ken McVey and hotel manager Simon Courtenay-Warren. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 0555806)
THE new owners of the Old Government House Hotel plan to make it a destination in itself. Red Carnation Hotels bought the establishment yesterday from Antigua-based Ken McVey for an undisclosed sum.
OGH general manager Simon Courtenay-Warren said standards at the hotel would continue to rise. ‘At the moment, we are the preferred choice of the finance industry and we can build on that,’ he said.
‘Personally, I would like to see the hotel grow as a destination in its own right, particularly the spa and centre of well-being aspect.’ The jobs of all staff at the 63-bedroom hotel are safe.
Mr McVey, 69, bought the OGH in March 1997 and said the time was right to sell.
‘I’ve spent the past 11 years getting the place back to the standard that it used to be known for,’ he said.
If hotels were to progress they needed new ideas, he said.
‘Red Carnation has the experience and type of background to take this type of hotel forward.
‘Work here is ongoing and every time I talk to Simon there’s another new project that we want to do.’
For the past five years, Mr McVey has spent about one week in Guernsey every two months or so.
‘As I get older, and Simon tends to know more about the hotel, my visits have tended to spread more.’
Red Carnation Hotels’ managing director Jonathan Raggatt was a director and general manager of St Pierre Park Hotel for five years up to 1998.
‘We always look for hotels in great locations, which this one very much is,’ he said.
‘Secondly, it’s a hotel that we can do a little more to in terms of investment.’
It was all about maximising potential of the island’s premier hotel, he said, and Red Carnation would spend the next three months taking stock of its latest acquisition.
‘We will be looking to employ Guernsey people and everybody will be given an opportunity to work. Passion and attitude can be far more valuable than experience.’
*Red Carnation won the AA’s small hotel group of the year award, 2007-8.
Article posted on 28th March, 2008 - 2.29pm
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