Renovations for re-opening

[Debra300]

As part of our plan to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, we have decided to close the shared guest kitchen in our guesthouse, and stop doing our guest's personal laundry when washing linen and towels.  We also figured that these renovations would be necessary for us to get approval from the St. Lucian government to re-open to travelers outside of the regional bubble. 

For the past three weeks, Keep Cool and I have been installing mini-kitchens, compact washing machines and spin dryers in each of our guest suites.  Thankfully, we are very handy, and did all of the work ourselves.  Keep Cool has a degree in environmental control and a certificate in construction management.  He is a stickler that we do everything according to code.  As a result, all of our changes pass inspection.  Our house is made of brick and mortar, so we had purchased a grooving machine to make channels in the walls for the new electrical and plumbing.  The amount of dust that was generated is almost unimaginable.  I think it will take three more weeks to clean up.

Last week, we had an inspection by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.   This is the first step to getting certified by the Ministry of Tourism.  The entire process should take 4-5 weeks.  Not very much time before the holiday season begins.  Here are some before and after pictures.

The shared kitchen has been closed.  We will sell the appliances on the local FB Marketplace.  It is now the guest reception area with a handwashing station.  By regulation, all businesses must provide either hand sanitizer or a place for hand washing at the entrance.

Former shared Guest Kitchen1Former shared Guest Kitchen2New reception area.

We purchased some Ikea base cabinets, and shipped them down with all of the appliances and kitchen fixtures.   I painted the sink cabinets different colors for each room, and had the local granite fabricator make countertops from cut off pieces.  Room 2 is our smallest space, and has slightly different appliances than rooms 3 and 4 (smaller area, one burner vs two burner cooktop, toaster vs. toaster oven).

Room 2 BeforeRoom 2 After

In rooms 3 and 4, we installed the kitchens in the former closet areas.  We re-used the upper cupboards from the former shared guest kitchen, and the kitchen carts that were previously used as stands for beverage fridges in the suites.

Room 3 BeforeRoom 3 After

Room 4 BeforeRoom 4 After

Each of the en-suite bathroom now has a compact washing machine and a spin dryer.  The guests will be able to do their personal laundry, and wash their towels.   We'll exchange bed linen for guests staying longer than 9 days.

Room 2 laundryRoom 3 laundryRoom 4 laundry

@Huma0 , @Ann72 , @Lizzie , @Katie , @Nick , @Quincy , @Cathie19 , @Helen427 , @Ute42 , @Emilia42 , @Sarah977 

[Sarah977]

  I wish I had the space to do that, because I would. There is literally no space to install a kitchenette in my private room /bathroom. There isn't even space to put a mini fridge. And as you know from having a place in the tropics, guests having food in their bedroom can attract ants, cockroaches and other unwanted critters.And simply removing kitchen access from my home share wouldn't work, as it's a 20 minute walk to stores and restaurants.

Your renos are great- I'm glad you were able to do this.

@Debra300

[Nick]

This is looking good @Debra300 and I'm even more amazed you did everything yourselves. I would be delighted to see this pay off as it certainly deserves to. 

[Debra300]

@Nick,

Just getting a reservation will be the first sign of a payoff, because we wouldn't be allowed to re-open to non-regional guests with a shared kitchen.  The St. Lucia government still wants to limit co-mingling of foreign visitors and locals, and a guesthouse has to choose which segment they want to host.  We chose visitors, because locals typically stay just for the weekend, and we'd prefer not having to cleanup after such short stays.  Also, the government has a cleaning checklist similar to Airbnb's, but thankfully common sense prevailed, and it doesn't require cleaning porch ceilings.

[Nick]

I hope those bookings come sooner rather than later @Debra300 . You have done an excellent job and should reap the rewards. At some point we are bound to go back to normality or at least create a new one resembling the one we lost.

As for common sense, well, the fact that more of it is collectively needed could be the motto of our times I guess 😉

[Emilia42]

This is so great, @Debra300. It really came together nicely! I love that retro red fridge. I have the same white woodblock top cart in my kitchen which holds the microwave. It is a great solution when you run out of counter space. If I ever make it down to St. Lucia, I'll book with you!

[Debra300]

@Emilia42,

We'd surely enjoy hosting you.  Please note that there are plenty of geckos around the building.  I recall that you said you can't stand lizards.

[Emilia42]

@Debra300 omg, you're right, I will have to get over my lizard phobia before I come to see you! But if I don't, I promise I won't hold it against you in the review 😉

[Ann72]

@Emilia42  Geckos are so cute!  Spend a little time with them and you'll fall in love with them, I know it.

[Emilia42]

No, no, no, @Ann72 they slither around and come out of nowhere. You never knew when they are going to pounce!

[Ann72]

@Emilia42  😂😂😂

[Sarah977]

They stay on the walls and ceilings, dear. They don't pounce.

They like to lay their eggs in the wall switches because it's warm there. I once was cleaning out a wall switch, and found an egg (they are so small- like a quarter inch in diameter) and in the moment I was holding it in my palm, it hatched and the teensiest little gecko emerged. It was so cool, but you probably wouldn't think so. 

@Emilia42

😁

[Cathie19]

@Debra300 , you all deserve a pat on the back for the planning, purchasing, and personal hard work. Not to mention the clean up! I know a bit about dust. For three days last week, we had tilers removing and replacing outdoor tiles.  We had to clear everything (lots) of (our personal area) upper level balcony, so that when the tiler came in and jack hammered up our outside tiles below, I wouldn’t have to wash everything. The dust came from above and through the timber decking....

Plants, everything got shifted. But even after mopping and wiping, as soon as we could on the weekend, I was massively hosing and mopping everything  from the top level roof, walls, windows, awnings, then floor,  then started again below. Just to get the concrete dust out of fly screens etc so you felt you could breathe! The pool needed a major clean and salting as well, and the garden needed the dust hosed off it as well. 

Kn the weekend after my other work, I’ll start removing the dust that made its way inside via the closed/locked glass louvres. Ugh!! 

[Ann72]

@Debra300  Everything looks perfect!  I'm so impressed by how fast you and Keep Cool did it and how polished it looks.  I also love that red fridge and the red and aqua color combo is wonderful.  

[Ann783]

Great reno. I just showed your pictures to my husband, who has a property in Grenada.