Jamie Ndah meets Tom Calame, General Manager at Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino and talks luxury, lifestyle and the exciting hotel refurbishment programme
LM: How long have you worked in the hospitality industry and where did your journey begin?
TC: I have been working in the hospitality industry for 28 years and started this amazing journey in Washington DC as an apprentice.
LM: What was your first General Manager position?
TC: My first General Manager position was in Lima, Peru at the JW Marriott Hotel.
LM: Why has Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino become such a leading hotel in Aruba over the years?
TC: The Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino has become a leading hotel in Aruba over the years for its great location in Palm Beach, which is central to all island activities. The resort upkeep has contributed to continuously providing our guests with a great product, but most importantly it is the excellent customer service from our great staff that continues to make the resort more successful.
LM: What is your personal definition of luxury?
TC: Luxury to me means having great food available, a great ambience, loving people and freedom of choice.
LM: What luxurious item could you not live without?
TC: Freedom
LM: Mandara Spa is the largest professional spa on the island and is based at Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. What else is on offer for guests at Aruba’s largest spa facility?
TC: Mandara Spa offers a luxurious 6,500 square-foot sanctuary featuring 12 treatment rooms, private couples rooms, a relaxation lounge, and full-service salon. Guests are able to experience therapeutic massages, body nourishing wraps, hot stone massage, pedicures and manicures and so much more. Mandara Spa also features an array of lotions and creams with tropical fragrances.
LM: It seems there are exciting times ahead for Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. Can you tell us what developments you have planned for the resort in the future?
TC: We are upgrading our Health club to have a second floor with windows overlooking the Adult Pool and Ocean so that you can work out with a fantastic view. The Tradewinds lounge, our hotel within the hotel will be completely revamped, expanded and upgraded to provide a fantastically luxurious Adult only experience. In our lobby we will upgrade our lobby café, give our Sushi bar a great upgrade, revamp our gift shop and add a Gelato laboratory where we will make our own gelato fresh every day. We will be adding a fantastic suite with a parloUr room and one more additional room to our inventory. To top it all off we are renovating all our Bedrooms this year with upgraded bathrooms replacing tubs for showers in many of the rooms.
LM: Describe Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino in one word.
TC: Phenomenal
Tom Calame and The Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino
Website: www.marriott.com
Address: L.G. Smith Blvd 101, Palm Beach, Aruba
Phone: +297 586 9000