That was approaching two years ago, and much has changed in the subsequent months. Campos has recently earned a promotion from operations manager to resident manager. “It’s as good as being GM,” he insists, while conceding that it’s a goal he is aiming for. “I’ll just have to work even harder,” he jokes. “I work long hours, though not by force. I love it and I take that responsibility,” Campos adds.
As resident manager, Campos is the most senior member of staff on-site, and reports directly into the CEO. He lives in the hotel in a pair of converted, adjoining rooms, though — with full P&L responsibility — he is conscious of the opportunity cost of that arrangement, and is currently exploring alternative accommodation to free up that inventory.
Campos is slowly giving JA Hatta Fort — which is charmingly dated in many respects — a facelift. There is no budget per se, and the work is piecemeal — performed exclusively by the hotel’s in-house property engineer Veerappan and his team. The next renovation started in June to move the hotel’s shop and the spa, and to make the lobby bigger.
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“We’ve made a lot of changes here in the last 18 months, and the CEO is always looking for me to add flavour to the resort. He’ll approve ideas if he can see the added benefit,” he says.
“It’s a 35-year-old property,” continues Campos. “This used to be the equivalent of Burj Al Arab of the UAE — it was a famous building.”
And, while JA Hatta Fort retains a charming nod to those glory days (the food menu has a distinctly 1970s feel, with Caesar salad and flambé crêpe Suzette made at the table, and main courses dramatically revealed from under a cloche), the property itself has not fallen behind the times. “It hasn’t been allowed to run down,” remarks Campos, proudly. “And lots of greenery has been added — it’s a bird and bee sanctuary. You won’t hear background music in the car park here — just the sounds of nature. Everyone who comes here immediately starts taking pictures.”
The site does have a farm-like quality, enhanced by its own mini zoo. There is an aviary, fish pond, goat and deer enclosures, and a dozen roaming peacocks (to which Campos is adding another 20). Further additions will include 30 turtles and 10 new bird-feeding areas on the hotel’s Hill Park.
Campos is also looking to acquire six horses, and build a stable and riding school on the site. “It’s not confirmed yet,” he confides, “but I’m 90% certain it will happen.”
“The animals make people feel good,” says Campos — both guests and staff.
And of the latter, he adds: “My priority is to keep them happy,” says Campos, who operates an ‘open-door’ policy and promises to listen to every suggestion or complaint. “Then I know they will deliver beyond my expectations.”
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