Villa Nova In Receivership
Feb 1, 2005, 7:26 am
#1
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Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 321
Villa Nova In Receivership
Villa seized - Tuesday 01, February-2005
by MIKE KING
VILLA NOVA Country House Hotel has hit financial rock-bottom, forcing receivers from PricewaterhouseCoopers to seize the St John property, which is facing near $20 million in debt.
Debenture holders Barbados National Bank (BNB) appointed the receivers to run the hotel, which is reportedly $18 million in the red.
Last night, general manager Lynne Pemberton was escorted off the compound ...
by MIKE KING
VILLA NOVA Country House Hotel has hit financial rock-bottom, forcing receivers from PricewaterhouseCoopers to seize the St John property, which is facing near $20 million in debt.
Debenture holders Barbados National Bank (BNB) appointed the receivers to run the hotel, which is reportedly $18 million in the red.
Last night, general manager Lynne Pemberton was escorted off the compound ...
Conde Nast Review
Villa Nova
Barbados
The first big surprise about this stately nineteenth-century coral-stone plantation house is that it's not on the beachin fact, you'll have to drive about 20 minutes to dip your toes in the surf. The second is that you don't care. Set high on a hill and surrounded by 15 acres of banyan, hibiscus, mahogany, mango, and palm trees, the 28-room Villa Nova offers a tropical embrace so warm and complete that not even the most inveterate beachcomber will feel landlocked. Besides, the gorgeously tiled pool is plenty long enough for serious laps. Inside, the vibe is Gosford Park by way of the Caribbeangrand and graceful without being stuffy or arch. Rooms are large and natty, in creams, yellows, and aquamarines, and bathrooms have clawfoot tubs and rainfall shower heads. Unlike the clientele at Villa Nova's pricier competition, guests here don't come for the scene or to be seen, but rather to be well cared for in idyllic old-world surroundings. Its excellent library holds something for everyonefrom Chaucer and Dickens to a lavishly illustrated tome on erotic art through the agesand the restaurant is outstanding (doubles, $275-$400; wheelchair-accessible).
Feb 6, 2005, 4:44 pm
#2
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Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 321
Update
Villa Nova after investors - Friday 04, February-2005
IT IS BUSINESS as usual at Villa Nova Country House Hotel. Salaries have been paid; jobs are secure, at least for now; and the hotel will continue to accept reservations.
This is according to receivers PriceWaterHouseCoopers, who held a Press conference yesterday at the debt-ridden, St John luxury hotel.
Speaking at the conference, Christopher Sambrano, receiver and manager, emphasised that the hotel would be kept open while options including sale were explored.
IT IS BUSINESS as usual at Villa Nova Country House Hotel. Salaries have been paid; jobs are secure, at least for now; and the hotel will continue to accept reservations.
This is according to receivers PriceWaterHouseCoopers, who held a Press conference yesterday at the debt-ridden, St John luxury hotel.
Speaking at the conference, Christopher Sambrano, receiver and manager, emphasised that the hotel would be kept open while options including sale were explored.
Feb 17, 2005, 5:27 am
#3
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Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Boston, MA
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Bad News
58 sent home - Thursday 17, February-2005
by JULIE WILSON
Fifty-eight workers of the upscale Villa Nova Country Club have been severed almost three weeks after the company was placed in receivership.
They received dismissal letters during a more than two-hour meeting yesterday at the St John hotel, which trades under the name Horizons Resorts Barbados Limited.
The Press was barred from entering the property by security personnel, who reported: We are not supposed to talk to or let the media onto the hotels property.
The hotels joint receivers said in a statement yesterday that a temporary skeleton staff would be maintained to provide limited services to the hotel and to Regenetics SRL, a stem cell clinic operating on the property.
by JULIE WILSON
Fifty-eight workers of the upscale Villa Nova Country Club have been severed almost three weeks after the company was placed in receivership.
They received dismissal letters during a more than two-hour meeting yesterday at the St John hotel, which trades under the name Horizons Resorts Barbados Limited.
The Press was barred from entering the property by security personnel, who reported: We are not supposed to talk to or let the media onto the hotels property.
The hotels joint receivers said in a statement yesterday that a temporary skeleton staff would be maintained to provide limited services to the hotel and to Regenetics SRL, a stem cell clinic operating on the property.
Feb 26, 2005, 3:37 pm
#4
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Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 321
Help is on the way???
Villa Nova Up For Bidding From Monday - Saturday 26, February-2005
VILLA NOVA Country House Hotel officially goes on the open market on Monday.
The 15-acre property and all of its infrastructure, which is currently owned by Horizon Resorts (Barbados) Limited, will be sold through a bid process that will be opened to international bidders.
Charles Sambrano, partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and one of the joint receivers handling the sale, said in a release yesterday that the bidding process would last until 4:30 p.m. on April 15.
VILLA NOVA Country House Hotel officially goes on the open market on Monday.
The 15-acre property and all of its infrastructure, which is currently owned by Horizon Resorts (Barbados) Limited, will be sold through a bid process that will be opened to international bidders.
Charles Sambrano, partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and one of the joint receivers handling the sale, said in a release yesterday that the bidding process would last until 4:30 p.m. on April 15.
Feb 26, 2006, 2:34 am
#5
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Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 321
Gleams Of A New Morning???
Villa Nova bid
Friday, 24 February 2006
The doors of the Villa Nova Hotel could soon be reopened.
The receivers, two partners in PriceWaterhouse Coopers, have accepted a bid and down payment for the St. John property which was put into receivership by the Barbados National Bank in January 2005.
However, spokesman, Richard Thomas tells the Business Report that the agreement to sell to the prospective buyer is conditional on the approval of the court.
He says a court hearing must be held by the end of March.
Over the past eight months, negotiations have been held with a number of investors who had expressed serious interest in the purchase of the property.
Villa Nova Hotel has 28 rooms and had announced plans to construct an additional 12 rooms and 11 villas, to the existing stock.
- http://www.cbc.bb/content/view/4316/46/
Friday, 24 February 2006
The doors of the Villa Nova Hotel could soon be reopened.
The receivers, two partners in PriceWaterhouse Coopers, have accepted a bid and down payment for the St. John property which was put into receivership by the Barbados National Bank in January 2005.
However, spokesman, Richard Thomas tells the Business Report that the agreement to sell to the prospective buyer is conditional on the approval of the court.
He says a court hearing must be held by the end of March.
Over the past eight months, negotiations have been held with a number of investors who had expressed serious interest in the purchase of the property.
Villa Nova Hotel has 28 rooms and had announced plans to construct an additional 12 rooms and 11 villas, to the existing stock.
- http://www.cbc.bb/content/view/4316/46/
Jun 5, 2007, 6:06 am
#6
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Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 321
Latest Update
It has been announced that finally work is to start next week on the rehabilitation and expansion of Villa Nova. Apparently, the property is now owned by CLICO, a Trinidad based insurance company. This company also owns and operates the Accra Beach Hotel on the trendy south coast of Barbados not far from the famous St. Lawrence Gap. It also owns the Sam Lords Castle property and has plans for a 5-star 250 room hotel and 200 condos for that location. Villa Nova is to move from 28 rooms to 44 rooms and the company is working with local authorities to construct a golf course on 300 acres of land nearby.
Golf course construction is currently seeing something of a boom in Barbados with two new courses under construction (Apes Hill in St. James and next door at Black Bess in neighboring St. Peter, both not far from Mullins Beach and the Platinum Coast (west coast), and several more announced or in various stages of approval. There is also word that the long abandoned Regent Hotel in Holetown was sold at auction last Labor Day (Whit Monday in Barbados). That beachfront property not far from Sandy Lane will now probably come back as yet another of the ubiquitous tourism related condo projects springing up all over Barbados. Meanwhile, a little further south on the west coast construction is in full gear on the new Four Seasons Hotel & Residences. ^ ^
Golf course construction is currently seeing something of a boom in Barbados with two new courses under construction (Apes Hill in St. James and next door at Black Bess in neighboring St. Peter, both not far from Mullins Beach and the Platinum Coast (west coast), and several more announced or in various stages of approval. There is also word that the long abandoned Regent Hotel in Holetown was sold at auction last Labor Day (Whit Monday in Barbados). That beachfront property not far from Sandy Lane will now probably come back as yet another of the ubiquitous tourism related condo projects springing up all over Barbados. Meanwhile, a little further south on the west coast construction is in full gear on the new Four Seasons Hotel & Residences. ^ ^