Well, as is the story with most renovations, this one was no exception... AAGGG!!! :-)
We started small, with ideas of paint and a reshuffle of furniture in our Reception area of La Rosa de America. What actually transpired began with a new 9 foot copper lightning rod and new wiring throughout the reception area, office and sala. After that, came the computers. Formatting hard drives and dismantling of computers is always a memorable experience and this time it didn't disappoint either!
However, all's well that ends well. We now have a high speed internet connection, with wireless throughout the hotel on a well functioning computer! We will be offering this to our guests as a free service.
That was phase one. Phase two consisted of alternating between laughing and arguing over what was rapidly becoming a VERY challenging paint colour... Green. Wanting to bring the feeling of nature to the reception area without being gaudy, I introduced some artwork, wicker furniture and what was to be a nice green wall. During the course of the painting, the colour was changed not less than five times and it changed actual walls once! Now we have a temporary truce with the green wall in question and are polling guests as to their opinion!
We just took receipt of new curtains, and now hope to create a display shelving unit to show small artistic objects. This will complete the reception area.
In other news, we will be hosting 23 guests for the LSOP or Latin Series of Poker in November. This will be a major event for Alajuela with many high stakes professional poker players descending on the town of La Garita area for a two week period to test their skills.
Christmas bookings are about half complete now and we project that by early December that the two week Christmas period will be completely booked.
Our next project will be to purchase all sorts of Christmas decorations for the Hotel as all the old decorations went missing. This should be a rather fun experience. We intend to have an employee "decorating" party at the end of November so we can get everyone involved in the Christmas spirit!
