After a year of extensive renovations, QXMC hopes to fully reopen Gorge Harbour Marina Resort this Spring.
“We are getting closer to hopefully a grand opening on May 31st, where we can provide a resort that is worthy of its name,” explained Marco Bedetti, General Manager of the Klahoose First Nation management corporation.
“The majority of septic issues have been dealt with. We’re still working on the AX100 system, which separates the treatment of the laundry facility and the guest toilets versus the rest of the property.”
“Regarding the water systems: We are very close to receiving a GARP assessment from VIHA, which will then allow us to set up the new well to our main distribution and allow us to use the new well. The reason for this big project was just due to high salinity in the old wells, which were overused over the years.”
“The pool and hot tub are going to be open as soon as we can. When I say ‘can,’ it really involves our homework, which is now to provide a pool safety data sheet that is comprehensive, but also for Island Health to come by and finally give us the operating permits to run it.”
“The store is running as always. We are actually going to be hiring more people, not only because of the summer months, but because we are opening a new store in Squirrel Cove. What better than to train them here at the Gorge and have them ready to go when the doors open over there.”
“Up at the main roads, where Trude’s Cafe used to be, we had to clean up. The buildings were very old, the area fairly swampy, so in the first phase of the project we made sure that we could see the land and make decisions upon that.”
“We are putting in 21 RV sites down below, but we still want to guarantee staff to have a place to stay. We decided to move the staff trailers on that upper part of the property. We flattened the land out. We’re putting in electric, water and sewer services. We will have 8 RVs that are available for staff.”
“The domes are a new feature. The geodesic domes are where we will allow guests to have a glamping experience. They have arrived. We have them in storage. The pads are poured. We’re just waiting for a little bit of drier weather to be able to pull the cables and then the water lines to the domes themselves. Then we’re going to start setting them up and furnishing them. So we’ll have them ready to go by May.”
“There’s a lot of things to make sure that are complete by the season start, but I’m very positive that we’ll get there.”
CC: What about the marina itself, any changes there?
Marco Bedetti: “The marina, or the docks, are pretty much what they were. They’re fine. We had everything tested around them. There was a little bit of work to do with the pilings that are losing their paint, but that’s nothing structural. It’s just more of a visual thing.”
“We still accommodate winter moorage guests up until the end of April. It gives us one month between April and May to do our power washing, to check all of our services, electricity and water lines and whatnot.”
“As soon as June 1st kicks in, we have our usual transient guests from BC and US, and daily rates, no big changes there.”
CC: What happens to your winter guests after April?
Marco Bedetti: “That’s up to them. We ask them to kindly find a new spot for a couple of months in the summer, as they have for the past 12 years.”
CC: Do they actually go?
Marco Bedetti: “They have to, that is part of the contract. We switch from a rate of about $9 a foot per month to $2.50 a foot per day. Unless they really want to pay that amount of money for rent, they do have to find another solution. Now, it seems harsh, and I’m saying it in a harsh way, but at the end of the day, that’s the agreement we always had over the years, and a lot of our guests don’t go far away. They anchor up and they still have access to our services. They can come and do laundry. They can use our showers. They can be part of the community at the Gorge, it’s just that their vessel is reallocated for a couple of months until they can come back.”
CC: What about the restaurant?
Marco Bedetti: “We’ll start with the food truck. The food truck is almost finalized in its build. Looks great, we will be receiving it by mid to end February, and that will be the food and beverage option for 2024.”
“The restaurant is in design. We are at the phase where, similar to Squirrel Cove, we’re looking at the land where we want to put it and what needs to be done to be able to accommodate the style of building.”
“I don’t have a timeline yet on when it’s going to be built but we will have a restaurant one day.”
CC: What kind of food?
Marco Bedetti: “The edible kind. (Laughter) We definitely want to provide food for the island, but also for our tourists. It might be similar to the past, where in the winter we might have a different menu than in the summer. I don’t know yet. I think that’s a decision that needs to be taken with a possible chef that will be working there in the future. I always like to empower chefs to present what they’re best at.”
CC: Are you talking chefs, as opposed to fast food cooks?
Marco Bedetti: “I’m talking about chefs. We definitely want some good food, but I think we also need to have some faster food available.”
CC: I’m just picturing the roast beef you used to have. It was the only roast beef on the island.
Marco Bedetti: “We’ll get there. We’ll take suggestions as well. If anyone wants something specific, we’ll look into it.”
Top image credit: Aerial view of Gorge Harbour Marina Resort- taken from their Facebook Page
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