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August 2013
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The Inn is meant to be a boutique bed and breakfast, offering top quality accommodation primarily to the visiting academics and other guests of the University, but open, of course, to the public. It has been taking in guests for just a couple of months now, but its General Manager, Lisa Blake-Williams, said its official opening is planned for October. She explained that while the main building is complete and fully appointed, with 16 staff members, there are plans to expand with an entirely new block, designed to also accommodate long-stay guests. Most of that new block is finished and furnishings are being installed, she said. The SCR too will form part of this expansion project; one that pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat, says has been very dear to his heart. He said he had long wanted to see the SCR transformed and be updated and the Inn itself was not only a welcome addition to the campus facilities, but it filled a long-standing need for proper accommodation within close proximity for guests of the university. One of the two Assistant Managers, Philena Williams, who is a graduate of UWI’s BSc in Tourism Management programme, provided a tour of the facilities, first of the central building, which was once the home of the Harnanan family. The structure remained essentially intact, she said, and one is struck by the graceful and comfortable design of the house, which blends so harmoniously with the exterior garden.
The reception area opens to the small dining area, which overlooks a patio and garden. It also leads to the rooms on the lower floor, while a wooden staircase climbs to the tastefully appointed rooms above. There is a distinctly Caribbean feel to the décor: warm, earthy tones and much of what looks like indigenous material form the furnishings. The rooms each carry a different colour theme, and much care has been given to the details that travellers will tell you are what can make even a simply furnished space feel like home. Williams was so pleased to show off the room specially designed to accommodate guests with disabilities, and who might need a wheel chair, for instance – the two peepholes on the door, one at seated eye level; the bathroom with a special drainage feature so that a chair can roll right in; the special built-in controls on the bed head to allow for easy access to fixtures – despite her serene demeanour, her pride was obvious. On the other side, her colleague was all exuberance and confidence. I love my name, he said, so I’m telling you all of it: Colin Christian Dickson, and he launched into an account of his eventful life, littered with happenstance, that led him to this quiet neck of the woods. One of his recent stints has been for four years at Disney (where he became one of their certified trainers) and his creed is theirs – excellence in service delivery. To watch him move around guests, anticipating their needs and filling them quickly and confidently is to watch a man who revels in what he does. With the sophisticated polish of GM Lisa Blake-Williams, the calm efficiency of Williams and the energetic solicitude of Dickson, there is obviously a great team waiting to give guests a true, boutique experience. Learning the ropes Although it is run by a company specially set up by The UWI to look after its affairs, the University Inn has been branded as a place affiliated to the campus it overlooks. Assistant Manager, Philena Williams, says that its culture should offer respite, comfort and an environment conducive to research and reflection. It must also be a place of learning, she said, as she pointed out that it is a place where students in various hotel management, tourism and other service programmes can come to do internships.
Kerina Khan seems shy as she explains that she comes from Biche (she travels to and from daily) and had been pretty sheltered, but the experience has helped. “I like dealing with guests,” she said. “One of the benefits of being here is being exposed to different people and socializing. I’m introverted but because the place is small, it has been easier for me to talk to new people.” Makeda Alexander, at 21, is just a year older than Kerina, but she is more self-assured. Although she is from Point Fortin, she shares an apartment in St. Augustine with her older brother, Sharlon, who is also a UWI management student. Her confidence practically oozes as she explains that she is the last of four children with three brothers ahead of her. You must be spoilt, I say. “Well, daddy prayed for a girl and he got me,” she says, smiling smugly. She too has enjoyed interacting with guests and she feels being at a small place like this has given them an opportunity to be part of all aspects of managing a hotel, learning all the ropes; because that’s her dream, to own her own place someday.
What you get There are Standard Queens, PVC Junior Suites and even a Vice Chancellor Suite, with all room rates quoted in US currency and under $150. The rates include, newspapers, coffee and tea, and a full buffet breakfast and are paid on arrival. There is a small kitchen on the premises, and as the place expands, there are plans to include a casual dining menu. They also provide printing, copying and fax services, airport transfers, laundry and taxi service, and are willing to help arrange sightseeing tours. The rooms are air-conditioned and contain mini fridges and safes. They also have HD flat screen, wall mounted televisions with cable, and internet access. For further information, please contact them at either theuniversityinn@sta.uwi.edu, or the General Manager, Lisa Blake-Williams at Lisa.Blake-Williams@sta.uwi.edu or by telephone at 868.645.5959 or visit at www.facebook.com/TheUniversityInn. Address: The University Inn, 30 St. Augustine Circular Road, St. Augustine, Trinidad.
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If you’ve driven alongside The UWI recently, on its eastern perimeter, just past Carmody Road and the Catholic Chaplaincy, you might have noticed that the Senior Common Room, known fondly as the SCR for donkey’s years, has been dismantled. What you might not have observed is the building to its north, innocuously tucked away amidst the greenery. That’s because the signage hasn’t been placed yet, but when it is, it will invite you to the University Inn. 
There is an air of tranquillity that seems to invite pause and reflection – a place that suggests that you stop and smell the roses (while you write an academic paper!) with a steaming cup of aromatic coffee nearby.
Two students from UWI’s BSc in International Tourism Management are currently doing two-month internships at the Inn before beginning their third year when the semester begins in September. The programme, offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences, is a mixture of courses in financial management, tourism planning and development, integrated service management, event management, and so on. It also requires a two-month internship at a local hotel, and a four-month international one. 
Right now, her immediate excitement is about the prospect of doing her four-month internship at a Marriott Hotel in New York, where her brother lives, and where she can look forward to some international experience, and some more ‘spoiling’ from home.