Resort renos continue
Dundee getting ready for upcoming season
Work is continuing to update the Dundee Resort and ready it for the coming tourism season.
Dundee Resort operations manager Judy McNamara said in an interview Thursday that all of the rooms at the resort have been stripped and painting was underway.
“New carpet is going down in the coming weeks in the rooms, the lobby is also stripped of carpet, and new carpet in the coming weeks and ceramic tile is going down in the main entrance, so we’re excited about that,” she said. “We have new furniture that arrived as well, so once all that stuff is done, all the new furniture will get in place.”
Once the resort opens for the season, they will look at performing some work outside such as landscaping the grounds and bringing in new playground equipment. The resort has also launched a new website and will soon erect new road signage.
Last year, it was announced that longtime owner Scott MacAulay of Cape Breton Resorts had sold the Dundee property to Sunny Grewal and his business partner, his brother Sumer. At the time, Sunny Grewal indicated they intended to embark upon renovating the resort.
According to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency project information website, the Dundee Resort and Golf Club received a $301,500 loan under its business development program for work that was to commence Jan. 1, 2017 and be completed by the end of the year.
The total project cost was listed as $653,000.
Last year, McNamara said, was the resort’s busiest summer season of the previous five years.
Already bookings are up for this season, McNamara said, with a large number of weddings, several charity golf tournaments and some conferences that it hadn’t been able to attract previously.
“I think just with the buzz with the renovations and stuff like that happening people are excited for us and kind of want to support us and check us out,” she said.
Among the work that took place there in 2017 included paving the driveway, outfitting rooms with new smart TVs and adding new bedding.
Work was also carried out to the property’s roof.
McNamara, who has worked at Dundee for more than a decade, said it’s nice to see it getting some attention. The work has also caught the eye of members of the community, especially seasonal members of the golf club.
“It’s very nice, much-needed,” she said. “We’re actually having some community members popping in just because they see some action happening and they’re just very pleased that things are taking place.”
The Dundee Resort and Golf Club features a 60-room lodge, 18-hole golf course, vacation cabins, two restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court and a sauna.
The resort is open from May to October. In the summer, there’s canoeing and kayaking, an adventure centre for children and beach bonfires on the Bras d’Or Lake.
The resort has about 45 staff members.
The Dundee resort was bought and redeveloped by Cape Breton Resorts in 1992.
In the mid-1970s Cape Breton Development Corp. decided to locate a marina and resort at Dundee to facilitate tourism development.