Steve and Jane Law’s time as managers of the Windmills Hotel will come to an end when their lease finishes on 28 September. The property on Mont Gras d’Eau has been sold for redevelopment, meaning 2019 will be the last hurrah for the hotel, which first opened in the 1950s.
Having been on site every day of the six-month summer season for as long as they can remember, it is an emotional time for the couple, who moved to Jersey in 1983 and ran the Anne Port Bay Hotel for nine years before heading west to the Windmills.
‘We’ve been saying goodbye to regular guests all summer,’ said Mrs Law. ‘I’ve had grown men sobbing on me. It’s been humbling to hear people’s memories and stories of how the hotel has affected their lives.’
Mr Law said that the closure of the Windmills reflected the changing pattern of tourism in the Island.
‘You have to invest in hotels to keep them up-to-date,’ he said. ‘The
last major refurbishment here was in 2000, meaning significant further investment would be required, and the commercial reality is that owners may want to sell a hotel on a prime site to a property developer rather than spend millions on it.
‘Visit Jersey does a great job but the market has changed. Jersey is seen as a short-break destination now.’
Although the couple have a loyal core of ‘invaluable’ employees with many years’ service, they say that attracting staff is more difficult now than it has been for many years.
‘The Island needs to have a strategy for recruiting staff. It’s a shame that
more locals don’t get involved, but the fact that it’s seasonal seems to put people off.’
A year ago Mr Law arrived at work one morning to be told that the chef had quit his job overnight.
He had little option but to go into the kitchen
himself for the first time in more than 20 years, and made such a good fist of it that he retained the role for the remainder of the season.
Certainly there have been few dull moments, with guests ranging from Screaming Lord Sutch, founder of the Monster Raving Loony Party, to a hard-drinking Scottish tug-of-war team and minor royalty. As Mrs Law said: ‘You just don’t know who will come through the door.’
Many hoteliers might hesitate to mention the most famous hotel-based comedy in British TV history, but the Laws have retained a fully-functional sense of humour.
‘Almost every episode of Fawlty Towers has
happened,’ said Mr Law. ‘Naked guests in the wrong rooms, drunken chefs, flooding – you name it. The daily routine may be the same, but every day is different.’
Both in their early 60s, the couple say they are not yet ready to retire but will take some time to consider their next move.
They are looking forward to a chance to spend more time with their family -– three daughters who all live in Jersey, plus a brace of grandchildren – and to enjoy a summer holiday in Europe next year for the first time ever.
And should they ever be staying at a hotel and fall into conversation with the manager, there is unlikely to be a shortage of things to talk about.
