Light up the Mainstay ...
It could work. Guyana's biggest and boldest adventure holiday experience; the Lake Mainstay Resort in Essequibo. On the surface, a little piece of mid-America transported to an Amerindian reservation, but beneath that, many Guyanese features. Not all of them good. It's not yet officially open (they say the end of August) but it has been taking paying guests since April. I've just had a sneak preview weekend. There's no denying the catering for creature comforts. The 38 cabins all spacious air-conditioned and regularly serviced. (Though it would have been better if the 'fridge plugs led to something). The central benab and bar provide an idyllic meeting point over the beautiful rusty waters of Lake Mainstay, the `Hot and Cold Lake'. The little store on the prairie - although I was not sure exactly what a `convenient' store was. The white specially imported sand running down not just to the Lake's edge, but also underfoot in the shallow sections. The benabs placed plentifully around the beach for shelter. It's an oasis of its own in lots of other ways too. You almost expect prices to be quoted in US dollars and cents. Cut off from the local Amerindian community by barbed wire fences, Lake Mainstay Resort provides much local employment - 87 workers so far and rising. But, you have to take the rough with the smooth. It's got a bad case of noisy neighbours. The much smaller and much less exclusive public beach next door was jam-packed over the CARICOM weekend. Unfortunately, it was also jamming to a blaring sound system. It is difficult to lie back and imagine a tropical paradise whilst having loud bass noises reverberating around you. It would be almost worth the while of the developers of Lake Mainstay to build another beach much further away for the bathers and boom-boomers of the public beach. Little expense has been spared. Cabins elegantly constructed, benabs too. Thousands of tons of sand transported from afar, spanking new communal buildings and lights everywhere. But, it's those little extra touches that will make it special which are currently missing. If you serve the public, you should have change. I had to have virtually a running slate with the barman because he never had any change. And the `Convenient' shop was anything but when it came to change; they gave sweets instead of small change. Just like being in Italy!! The kitchen is not yet up and running and the cuisine still limited. But you might come out of the dinning hall a trifle dehydrated due to the lack of working air conditioner in there. And then, there are the birds. Sparrows I think. They've adopted the outside of the dining hall as their home at night. Crossing that is like being an extra in Alfred Hitchcock's film `The Birds'. I understand the management plans to entice them away to a home of their own. Hopefully soon! It's all a fairytale land in Lake Mainstay Resort. The most intriguing building the `Members Club' tucked away at the top of the compound. Apparently, membership costs US$300 and from the blackjack and roulette tables inside, it looked a high rollers paradise. Monte Carlo meets Mainstay. Where will the rollers come from? In the gamble that is involved in launching such a high investment resort, Lake Mainstay ought to succeed. Millions more will be. Its situation beautiful. The swimming wonderful in the hot and cold lake. The beach games well resourced. There's nothing to beat a lakeside walk in the dawn or dusk. It's far superior to many `resorts' I have seen. But it's those little finishing touches that make or break a holiday destination that they need to rectify. It could take off. Big time. After all, it's just 20 minutes (and G$7000 return) flying time from Georgetown. The local and international jet set could latch on to it. It deserves to succeed. But, it's the quality control they need to watch. If in doubt, follow Disney. Look how they've transformed hundred of acres of Florida swamp into money spinners. Also, don't be afraid of `local touches'. You are in Essequibo, Guyana remember. Not East River, Kentucky. People are buying a piece pf paradise. But they also want it to have some local roots or feel. Lose that and you might lose the trade. You try Lake Mainstay Resort. You might just want to go back.
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