Originally Posted by mark donna (Post 6662808)

after reading fortalezas posts about his opinions on hotels over the last few days i have come to the opinion he is living in a very sheltered world if he believes that the 2 major ingrediants of a sucsessful hotel is a beach or to be in a city, were would he put gleneagles in scotland or celtic manor in wales in his theory as i think they are the 2 most famous hotels in there respective countries gleneagles especially is very isolated.hotels now are much more then just a place for a dirty weekend or a place to rest your head. im working on a new hotel in liverpool now and the owner has made his money on renting blocks of rooms from hotel chains for seminars and confrences all over europe rumour has it that he is a billionaire. what is the new building for when you drive into ayamonte is this not some kind of conferance centre which would need a hotel close by. ayamonte will need tourism to sustain any growth and wealth, and the hotel in esuri will become part of that growth. for anyone reading fortalezas posts from outside would think the hotel is just a pipedream but it isnt its virtually built and i would bet on the hotel and marina being part of the landscape within 8 years. quinta do vale over the river has just passed its next phase of permission for a marina. its a good job fortaleza was not walt disneys understudy he'd of never of given the go ahead for the magic kingdom (but walt its 100 miles from the nearest beach no one will come)

Originally Posted by GerryW (Post 6663003)

That would be brilliant..thanks Fort..Ger

Originally Posted by John & Kath (Post 6663020)

I think you are to quick to make conclusions Fort Mark may just be fitting the kitchens or doing interior design he does not claim to be the strategy director. I do think you are becoming obsessed in runnig down all aspects of CE and Ayamonte. I very much like Isla Cristina and respect its hard working roots but I would not think it is going to be a force in the worldwide conference market neither is Ayamonte but I hope it does carve a share since I am sure my council tax will be subsidising thelast mayor dream.

Originally Posted by Fortaleza (Post 6662997)

I know of some excellent architects here Gerry, but they are Spanish. Would that suit? They have the added advantage of being enchufe-ied too, leading to less red tape with the powers that be

Originally Posted by Fortaleza (Post 6663048)

Whoa, horsey! The Conference centre is in Islantilla NOT Isla Cristina. It doesn't even fall into the half directly owned by IC. Regarding the quick to make conclusions? I think my response was fair and to the point backed up with (ok, admittedly rough) facts. I am not running a place down when I tell you it only has so much population - you can check this for yourself. I am not running a place down when I say delsuions of granduer are not exactly helping you and all you are doing is setting yourselves up for a bigger fall when you realise your great expectations are not going to be met. How many times have I said to you all in the last few weeks "Be happy with what you have" It is great as it is. Bigging it up into something it is not is harming the area not helping it. Making people believe that this is some place where all dreams can be realised only leads people to be disappointed when they come here and find out it is not what they expected, and subsequently don't invest.
My aim on here has always been for you lot to actually face up to a bit of reality and accept this wonderful place for what it is. All this other talk of big international hotels and huge fancy shopping malls, with AVE stations and airports and marinas and the rest.....it is not helping! Anyone.

Originally Posted by John & Kath (Post 6663107)

I do not have delusions nor do I want a big fall or even a little one my expectations are quite modest and will be well satisfied with what is already in being especially if the council keep the promise to maintain what is already there. The Hotel will open in time with an operator appropriate to the business they wish to conduct which may be influenced by the close proximity of two reputedly good golf courses.

Any thing else would be a bonus, a location on the river with existing planning approval for a marina may well be looked at again when the world economy turns. I thought it was Huelva Council and Region that was promoting the AVE and Airport not some tinpot cranks on a self deluded forum. If they succeeed I shall not complain.

Originally Posted by Fortaleza (Post 6663048)

. All this other talk of big international hotels and huge fancy shopping malls, with AVE stations and airports and marinas and the rest.....it is not helping! Anyone.

Originally Posted by olivia (Post 6663325)

The success of those golf courses but more so the marina is in my opinion crucial to Costa Esuri.
Unfortunately [in the U.K. at least] golf as a recreational sport has plateaued. Some years ago there was a boom. 'Pay & Play' sprang up all over as farmers and landowners sought to diversify.
This opened the game up for all to try and to those who wanted to play but saw the traditional 'Golf Club' as elitist and a no go area. Some got hooked and joined clubs. Others still enjoy 'pay & play'.
6 years ago our club, which is arguably the best in the district, had a waiting list of 5 to 6 years for membership. Now it has NO waiting list.
We have friends who play golf but their first love is sailing. They have a small yacht in Majorca. 5 years ago they bought a larger one on a 'Sun Sail' scheme. They have just sailed it from the British Virgin Islands to Gibraltar and are on a waiting list for a large enough birth in Majorca!! Perhaps this recreational pursuit is still booming. Golf isn't.

Originally Posted by Fortaleza (Post 6663048)

Whoa, horsey! The Conference centre is in Islantilla NOT Isla Cristina. It doesn't even fall into the half directly owned by IC. Regarding the quick to make conclusions? I think my response was fair and to the point backed up with (ok, admittedly rough) facts. I am not running a place down when I tell you it only has so much population - you can check this for yourself. I am not running a place down when I say delsuions of granduer are not exactly helping you and all you are doing is setting yourselves up for a bigger fall when you realise your great expectations are not going to be met. How many times have I said to you all in the last few weeks "Be happy with what you have" It is great as it is. Bigging it up into something it is not is harming the area not helping it. Making people believe that this is some place where all dreams can be realised only leads people to be disappointed when they come here and find out it is not what they expected, and subsequently don't invest.
My aim on here has always been for you lot to actually face up to a bit of reality and accept this wonderful place for what it is. All this other talk of big international hotels and huge fancy shopping malls, with AVE stations and airports and marinas and the rest.....it is not helping! Anyone.

Originally Posted by GerryW (Post 6663750)

I can see how Golf Courses are crucial to a Golf course development. However a Marina development I do not see as crucial - I did not buy on the basis that a Marina would be built and I have every intention of building - minus any talk of a marina. However if the demand for births in a Marina is high then the market will supply it. The entry cost for golf one could argue is less than the cost of entry associated with sailing! Also -as a silly example - the demand for baked beans has plateaeud but there is a healthy demand for the product. Just because something has plateaud does not mean there are insufficient numbers of people wanting to do it.

Originally Posted by Fortaleza (Post 6662936)

So, just so we're clear. Costa Esuri is like:

a. Disneyland (well it is a place of dreams, that is true)
b. based next to Ayamonte which is the same as Newport (population 140,00-ish) and the Gwent Valleys, at least another 50,000-ish, with the cities of Cardiff (around 340,000-ish) and Bristol (at a guess 400,000-ish) less than 25 miles in either direction, so with three cities and a catchment area - and importantly, all the infrastructure and business that provides - of not too far shy of 1 million people, this can be likened to Ayamonte??? You say you're in the hotel business, but I doubt if you're part of strategic planning
c. Geneagles, not too sure of the demographics here but surely it's near Perth?? Which I guess would give it a population of around 160,000??? Plus, I'm sure I've heard of Gleneagles - don't they do golf or something? Seems quite famous.
d. The Ayamonte council are a bit peeved that the Islantilla Conference Centre, with its several 4 and 5 star hotels at its side, opened up a good three years before they could open theirs. It had a fantastic year last year and is on course to do even better this year, especially with the opposition party's annual national conference held there. They will have to work some to make theirs competitive with one only 15 mins away that is a) better served by hotels and apartments, b) already has a successful track record and c) is in a more idylic location with sea views.

Anyway, the hotel is not a pipedream - that the Hilton would take an interest is. Categorical denial from European director last week as it doesn't fit with the brand.

The hotel is there - work stopped, but there all the same. Just a question of waiting to see who takes it. As I said before - maybe you missed it - the Fuerte chain would be a good solution, given their track record with projects of this size

Originally Posted by mark donna (Post 6663873)

you seem to pick up the points you want to pick up and then twist them for your own desire i will reply to some of your points as honest as i can i mentioned disneyworld because everyone thought he was mad by buying up thousands of acres of swampland which at the time was seen as unhabitable
you are right about celtic manor except that there are very few people who live in the area that actually stay there
your way out with your figures on perth at the last count its population is about 45000 (sure you never looked up australias) and yes the GOLF does fill the hotel
i did not say i was in the hotel buisness
wether istantilla are peeved or not the conferance centre is getting built and will need a hotel/hotels nearby to service it
i never mentioned hilton just that in a reasonable timescale the hotel and marina will get built
what you seem hard to accept is the development and how much it can benefit the area sure there will be hiccups but in years to come esuri could be employing a few hundred people directly and indirectly. ayamonte will need tourism in years to come as its older industries fall in to decline

Originally Posted by John & Kath (Post 6663058)

Are you suggesting that there is corruption at the heart of Ayamonte Council ?

Originally Posted by shirley and anthony hide (Post 6662848)

What!! you come from Liverppol I would never have guessed. I mean you only harp on about it every other post.I think we all get the picture now and you are no doubt the sixth Beatle as well.