VSA Minister Omar Ottley (left) and TEATT Minister Roger Lawrence (right) cut the ribbon to officially open Bovin Steakhouse in Simpson Bay Resort, Marina and Spa, on Wednesday night. Photo by Ricardo Iman.
PELICAN--Invited guests and dignitaries were treated to a four-course dinner at the grand opening of Bovin Steakhouse, Simpson Bay Resort, Marina and Spa’s latest offering, on Wednesday evening.
The Simpson Bay Resort management team was presented with a premier recognition plaque by Interval International. From left: Project Director Jozef O’Niel, Interval International Caribbean Director Neil Carlton, Royal Resorts CEO Rodrigo Gamboa Guzman, Projects Director Claudia Torres Sanchez, Food and Beverage Directors Ana Troop and Daniel Lavelle, and the resort’s General Manager Marcel Javois. Photo by Ricardo Iman.
The interior of Bovin Steakhouse. (Robert Luckock photo)
The fine-dining steakhouse marks the fourth restaurant opening on the property. It offers premium charcoal-grilled steaks, a unique selection of appetisers and a variety of main dishes to satisfy the palates of everyone – not only meat lovers, and all complemented by a fine selection of wine, spirits and unique signature cocktails, the resort boasted in its previous announcement. Satisfied diners on Wednesday night could certainly attest to that.
Located on the marina level between award-winning La Patrona and Replay Sports Bar, Bovin’s opening marks the completion of “Restaurant Row” at the Marina Plaza, part of an 11-year renovation project that continued even through the recent pandemic.
Champagne, speeches and a ribbon-cutting preceded the dinner served by an alert and attentive waiting staff. The restaurant is divided into two sections, with a more intimate dining area at the rear.
Royal Resorts and Simpson Bay Resort Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rodrigo Gamboa Guzman, in his opening remarks, recounted the history of the villas’ development before praising the loyalty of timeshare owners.
“They are the backbone of this resort, and the island,” Guzman declared. “In times of crisis, they are the last tourists to leave and the first to come back to the island. We thank them wholeheartedly.
“And of course, the whole show would not be possible without the staff, or as I prefer to call them, the family of Simpson Bay Resort. None of this is possible without their commitment, hard work and dedication towards our guests. Our commitment is geared to transforming the resort by maintaining a top-level position and delivering a great product with exceptional service.”
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Roger Lawrence, in his remarks, recalled the shared enthusiasm shown on the vision to open the steakhouse.
“Bovin has come to fruition and that is key,” Lawrence said. “For me it continues to show the level of confidence and optimism stakeholders have in St. Maarten. So, I congratulate Simpson Bay Resort for a job well done, and especially now as we transition to normalcy.”
Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Omar Ottley said that when the resort asked to meet with him, he feared he would be landed with “complaints about work permits and requests to expedite the process,” but was pleasantly surprised to be told the resort just wanted to help.
“We want to help you create jobs for St. Maarteners, the resort told me. Immediately I took to them and knew that we could work together,” said Ottley. “Now the resort has teamed up with the Labor Department to produce job fairs for residents. Not only that, persons who are registered through the government can attend these job fairs for free, and we appreciate that.”
Ottley said he was impressed by the restaurant staff’s polite manners and comportment. “Some of these staff were hired from the first training and I’m proud to see the success of that. We had another one on February 11 and I hope to see more trainings and more opportunities. Congratulations to the resort on another milestone.”
Finally, there was no greater endorsement of the island’s attractiveness and ability to check all tourism boxes than what Interval International’s Caribbean and Southeast USA Director Neil Carlton expressed.
“Simpson Bay Resort sets the bar at the top for commitment to quality, excellence and customer service,” he began.
Carlton, who has been overseeing the Caribbean for the past 15 years, noted that Interval has 3,300 timeshare resorts in 80 countries providing membership and exchange services for 1.8 million timeshare families.
“The pandemic really reinforced the value of vacation ownership,” he noted. “Our demand has never been higher as hotels struggled to come back. As Rodrigo said, timeshare resorts were the first to bounce back. We had record sales in 2021 and 2022 will be another great year.”
He said other islands cannot compare to the experience St. Maarten offers in terms of nightlife, dining, hospitality, activities etcetera. “No other island comes close. Each island has its unique components, but I don’t know of another island that has everything all in place like St. Maarten has, to appeal to any consumer.”
Carlton closed by presenting the resort’s management team with a prestigious premier recognition plaque for customer service, cleanliness, housekeeping, amenities and quality of accommodations.
Minister of Justice Anna Richardson, Member of Parliament and Chairperson of Parliament’s Justice Committee Grisha Heyliger-Marten and Theo Heyliger were among the invited guests.
