Business as usual in Praia da Luz
IN NEWS · 04-10-2008 00:00:00 · 0 COMMENTS
Robin Crosland has been in the Algarve for more than twenty six years. During that time, he has seen Praia da Luz grow exponentially. The Ocean Club, of which he was architect and co-founder, has played a major role in the development of the once quintessential fishermen’s village and remains in the heart of Luz in more ways than one. In his first press interview since May 3rd, 2007 - the day toddler Madeleine McCann disappeared from Ocean Club apartment 5A, Robin, in a world exclusive, takes The Portugal News through the resort’s history, and how they dealt with one of the most widely publicised incidents in recent memory.
Business as usual in Praia da Luz
There are probably very few resort managing directors who know their venue and surrounding areas like Robin knows his. He was responsible for the birth and successful growth of The Ocean Club, and, as a direct result, of Praia da Luz, where he has spent the past 26 years.
Robin moved to the region in 1982 after having worked as an architect in Nigeria.
“I came here to help my partners, John Garveigh and David Symington, set up The Ocean Club. I was an architect, not an hotelier, and there was nothing here but fields, orchids, orange groves, olive tress - and a snake and a bull”, he jokes, looking out of his office window that frames the now significantly developed village.
“We now have 350 developed units and hillside villas. It is a 1,000-bed operation”.
In recent years Praia da Luz has been branded as one of the Algarve’s few remaining gems; a hotspot for investment, once an ‘up-and-coming’ region, transformed into a cosmopolitan destination.
Robin’s experience in promoting and selling The Ocean Club’s units – 300 of which are privately owned as holiday homes by Britons, the Portuguese and Dutch – undoubtedly proves that since 1982, property prices have soared tremendously.
“The first unit we sold, a two-bedroom apartment with sea view, was put on the market for £11,000. That same apartment today is worth around €280,000”, 20 times its original value.
Back in the early eighties Praia da Luz was just a sleepy fishermen’s village and is still so described in many holiday brochures. But is it actually the case?
“Sadly all the fishing is gone now”, Robin laments, “but I guess it would have disappeared anyway. There just aren’t many fish left.
“The fishing industry was forced to move to Lagos when they built the Marina, but Luz is certainly still a very good area to invest in, to buy an apartment or villa. The location and climate are huge selling points, and the beaches are unspoilt. It is still a very pretty, picturesque village”, he says.
From humble beginnings The Ocean Club has flourished into a multi-million euro set-up.
As a consequence, its surroundings have flourished too.
“Many locals found employment through The Ocean Club. Without stating names, I could probably count on two hands the individuals in Praia da Luz who came from simple origins and are now multi-millionaires”.
Since the management of the resort was taken over by tour operators Mark Warner, Robin has stayed on as managing director, and predicts this is where he will remain “until I retire”.
The Ocean Club resort gained notoriety when it was thrust into the limelight on May 3rd last year, following the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The British toddler’s face was broadcast into homes around the world, as was Praia da Luz, and the Ocean Club became a household name caught amidst an unprecedented media frenzy in Portugal.
Since last May Ocean Club executives have remained tight-lipped on the incident, and Robin, despite finally opening up, is still reluctant to comment.
Over the past 16 months reports have sporadically emerged stating that, as a consequence of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, Ocean Club guest figures have plummeted, that people considered Praia da Luz to be an unsafe spot for families and resulted in the temporary tarnishing of the Algarve’s idyllic image.
Robin is quick to rubbish all of these reports, as have other leading authorities and tourism officials, denying that having the resort’s name associated with one of the biggest child-related mysteries of modern times had a damaging effect.
“But no one wants that type of publicity, at all”, Robin admits, stating “there were some immediate cancellations, until around October last year, but then things levelled out again”.
He explains that, after the initial period, these cancellations were not severe and limited mainly to families with pre-school children.
Forty per cent of the Ocean Club’s visitors are regulars, many of whom return every year.
“Our regulars know the resort and the area and they know it is not unsafe. They tell their friends and family who tell their friends and family. They have not been put off”.
Prior to the interview Robin had prepared a written statement to The Portugal News, voicing his view on the world-involving incident.
“It was of course a terrible tragedy and all our hearts went out to the family, the whole village as well as our staff were deeply upset and the out-pouring of grief was enormous”, he says.
He carries on explaining how, with much difficulty, he had to continue his role as Managing Director, to ensure The Ocean Club carried out all its responsibilities to their other guests.
“We still had another 600 guests to look after who had paid to stay with us and who had nothing to do with this event and wanted to enjoy their holiday”.
A team of psychologists, crisis management experts and senior staff management were sent out by Mark Warner, who Robin guarantees, contrary to reports, are “not pulling out of The Ocean Club”.
He says that, whilst figures were not as good as in 2006, when the Algarve experienced a mini-boom in tourism, this year “The Ocean Club continued to attract families with children of all ages with the exception of April and early May when there were fewer families with pre-school children. But by June, these had also returned to normal and by July and August things were more or less back to normal occupancy figures”.
Criticised at the time for its lack of CCTV cameras, as were many resorts last year following the debate for new safety measures, Robin retorts: “Most of the resort is spread throughout the village, the units are accessed via public roads and paths and in Portugal it is illegal to have security video cameras in public places. On private property we don’t need them as we have manned receptions”.
In the meantime, The Ocean Club is planning to make “considerable investments” during this winter, which include upgrading restaurant areas.
Robin continues, “We pride ourselves on providing good quality accommodation with good friendly service at very competitive rates, all set in the most idyllic scenery. This has always been our policy and it pays off whether there is a recession or a boom period”.
At present, Robin agrees with the general sentiment that there is a bit of a lull in people’s spending power, and is of the opinion, therefore, that self-catering apartments, such as those of The Ocean Club, are the perfect solution.
“Twenty five years ago the people who came to Praia da Luz had more money to spend but there were fewer of them. Nowadays there are more people but with less to spend. The advantage of self-catering is it saves money”.
So after 26 years, having confronted a number of recessions, booms, and a controversy of global significance, what does Robin think of Praia da Luz?
“Luz is a beautiful, family-friendly, ideal spot for all generations, all seasons of the year.”
Does he think Praia da Luz is safe?
“Absolutely”, he replies without hesitation.
“It is a small, safe community where everybody knows everyone else and their business. This in a way helps to prevent crime. You cannot get away with things like you do in larger resorts”, he argues.
No further expansion is on the cards for the Ocean Club, but there is always room for improvement.
“We want to keep doing what we have always done but better. Here in the centre Praia da Luz is now fully developed, so we can’t expand as such, but we can improve our facilities and occupancy”, explains Robin Crosland.
And what about after retirement, will Robin stay in Luz?
“We will keep our home here, but we have a lot of travelling to catch up on”.
Carrie-Marie Bratley
http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/view/979-2
