Managing Director Anna Dowling's Blog
Hello everyone,
Well it feels very bittersweet that this will be my last Grand Jersey blog!! I can’t believe how quickly the last few weeks have flown past!! Although it has certainly been an eventful last 24 hours!! It felt like the island was in the middle of a typhoon yesterday we had so much rain which resulted in the basement of the hotel being badly flooded – so we are very busy cleaning up today and getting ready for the loss adjustor to come and visit to inspect the damage…… nature certainly has her ways of testing us at times!
Although in light of some of the other floods around the island - in the big scheme of things we have got away very lightly with only back of house areas being affected as it could have been a whole lot worse than that and the hotel was able to react and get operations back to normal very quickly due to some great team spirit and hard work.
There is no doubt I feel sad to be leaving Jersey – I have loved island life, being part of the community here and also I have enjoyed running this business enormously. Once again I would like to thank the team here for their outstanding support, dedication and tenacity. We have faced some difficult times together with some very tough trading conditions, particularly during the winter months and they have never lost their spirit or dedication to aspiring to make Grand Jersey one of the best hotels on the island.
I now hand over the reins of leadership of the hotel to Jane Goodyer who is taking over from me and I wish her and all the team every success for the future. Jane is a fantastic hotelier who will bring a wealth of 5 star experience to Grand Jersey – and even though I am sorry to go I am really delighted to be handing the hotel over into her more than capable hands.
I leave with great memories and Jersey will always have an everlasting place in my affections as it is a truly unique and special place to live and work and I consider myself very privileged to have had the opportunity to spend two years here. Of course in my view is it also a fantastic place to visit for a short break or holiday (I am unashamedly going to use this blog to be a sales person to the end!!!)
I will continue to be an (unpaid!!) ambassador for the island and will do my bit to entice future visitors to the island – there really is so much to do and see here and it really is a jewel of an island. There is still a great deal to be done on the island to ensure that tourism continues grow in the future but I know the many hoteliers and business leaders I have met and worked with here are committed to making that happen but new approaches will be needed to ensure Jersey can compete and hold their own against other destinations in an ever increasingly competitive market.
But for now - from me - it is au revoir to the beautiful island of Jersey and my lovely hotel ………………. But I’ll be back!!