PARADISE BEACH HOTEL

PARADISE BEACH HOTEL
Ben Harrison

Somewhere prior to the middle of the last century, a fire in Villa destroyed one of its century old waterfront homes. The burned out property, which was owned by E. Rodrigues,(Miss Jo to many), was eventually purchased by Luther Robinson, and like a ‘Phoenix rising from the ashes’, a new hotel, The Mermaid was built on the original foundation. In 1990, following further renovations, it was renamed The Paradise Inn.

Fifteen years ago, the entrepreneurial Kim and Earl Halbich had a fantasy that a developing tourism trade in St. Vincent & the Grenadines would both support and demand a water based tourism facility. That fantasy became a reality with the start of Fantasea Tours, and today its four tour boats are a familiar sight alongside visiting yachts, as passengers set out on diving and/or snorkeling expeditions or chartered day cruises to learn about the history, culture and interesting sights of the beautiful island of St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Fast forward to today and we find Kim and Earl Halbich continuing to fulfill their dreams with the redevelopment of The Paradise Beach Hotel.

How are Fantasea Tours and The Paradise Beach Hotel related?
Fantasea Tours is located adjacent to the Paradise Beach Hotel and Kim Halbich is the granddaughter of Luther Robinson. Following the death of her grandfather, an opportunity evolved for Kim and her husband Earl to take over management of the property. They began redeveloping the Paradise Inn into a first class hotel facility, a project which was started in late 2007 and miraculously completed in time for a grand opening last Saturday, February 3, under its new name, The Paradise Beach Hotel.

All rooms have been renovated, many with new furnishings. Air Conditioning has been upgraded. The front desk and lobby has been completely remodeled and relocated to the main building with internet services and a modern conference room complete with meeting facilities.
The entire beach front is overlooked by an attractively decorated outdoor dining room and magnificent bar. The patio overlooking the beach is perfect for mingling and dancing. It is just possible that the Paradise Beach Hotel, now open for breakfast, lunch and dinner is going to be the “in” place in St. Vincent for residents and tourists alike.

A large crowd of invited guests celebrated the grand opening of the hotel and the beginning of an excellent addition to the Villa waterfront: one more response to the increasing urgency to satisfy the increasing tourism demands of St. Vincent & the Grenadines today and the coming decades.