ONE of the new owners of The Sands golf course, hotel and resort in Torquay has promised residents in the surrounding estate and club members that the next four years for them will be better than the previous four.<\/p>\n
Destination Leisure Holdings, a consortium of Surf Coast and Melbourne investors, acquired the land and its buildings in Torquay for nearly $13 million in mid-February, following the previous owners of the business entering voluntary administration and receivers being appointed midway through last year.<\/p>\n
Paul Fielding, one of two Torquay residents in the consortium, spoke and took questions for more than 40 minutes in the \u201cinformation hour\u201d event held at The Sands on Friday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly important that The Sands resort returns to what it was in its first four years of its existence,\u201d he told the crowd of more than 100 people. \u201cMy personal opinion is that it\u2019s been mismanaged. I think the past four years in particular haven\u2019t been a very good experience for Torquay in particular and certainly the residents, the members and the whole club \u2013 there\u2019s been virtually no money spent on this place.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I say one thing tonight, Keegan (golf course superintendent Keegan Powell) and his team should be given a round of applause for what he\u2019s been able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Fielding gave out his mobile phone number three times during his remarks and urged people to contact him directly if they had questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the last time you\u2019ll see me around the place \u2013 I commit to everybody in this room that this is about engagement as much as it is about anything else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t be silent, we won\u2019t be invisible, and I don\u2019t want you to be silent, I don\u2019t want you to be invisible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever your experience up here has been in the last four years, the next four years will be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the first works in the renovations will be to create a new colour scheme on the outside of the resort and hotel.<\/p>\n
Future works include a new restaurant with its own dedicated and larger kitchen, and redesigned conference facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t invest $1.5 million in a restaurant if no-one comes to it,\u201d Mr Fielding said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I don\u2019t do this in a way that you come here and interact with the venue, then I\u2019ve got it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Renders produced by Geelong and Melbourne-based firm Select Architects were on display during the information hour.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur brief has been to reinvigorate the facilities here and to bring it back to where it once was \u2026 and bring it into 2021,\u201d Select Architects\u2019 Peter Serra said.<\/p>\n
The consortium has contracted Belgravia Leisure to manage The Sands, which includes an 18-hole golf course designed by Stuart Appleby, the 112-room hotel and resort, a 25-metre indoor pool, tennis courts, and restaurant.<\/p>\n
Belgravia Leisure general manager of tourism and wellness Karen Golden said the new owners had \u201ca vision and a passion for this property probably like nothing I\u2019ve ever seen as a partner that we work with\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very excited, we\u2019re honoured and thrilled to be part of this project.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ONE of the new owners of The Sands golf course, hotel and resort in Torquay has promised residents in the surrounding estate and club members that the next four years for them will be better than the previous four. Destination Leisure Holdings, a consortium of Surf Coast and Melbourne investors, acquired the land and its […]<\/p>\n