30 years ago an adventurous British man, Russ Fielden was sailing in Baja California, Mexico and met his Mexican born future wife, Magdalena. They worked together for many years for the Moorings Charter boat company, and opened up many new Moorings operations in the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Already their life sounds glamorous doesn't it !
Eventually they married and had 2 adorable little girls, both of who are now in their 20's. Once they had children they decided it was time for a bit more stability, so they started to look for a business to buy in the Caribbean. The 2 islands they decided were "right" for them to move to, were either Tortola in the British Virgin Islands (north east Caribbean) or Grenada, which is also a British island, but down in the Southern Caribbean.
They had all their island friends keeping an eye open for opportunities and got a call one day to say that there was a plantation for sale in Grenada. Russ flew to Grenada to have a look, and while he was there he had lunch at the restaurant at True Blue Inn, where he found out this tiny 7 room hotel with a small restaurant with was actually in receivership. Magdalena flew down, and clearly remembers standing on the small pier early in the morning, looking up at that beautiful hillside location and the stunning blue bay. WOW how amazing to have the opportunity to own such an incredibly stunning place ! She was hooked!
Have you ever had a dream that seemed so incredibly amazing you find it hard to believe it could actually come true? How inspiring that once the seed of that dream is planted, everything that happens thereafter actually makes it come true. Our sailing to the Caribbean was a dream just like that. Look at their DREAM swimming pool now.
Russ & Magdalena have been hard working owners of True Blue Bay Boutique Resort for 18 years now. They have grown this tiny Caribbean inn, into a stunning 47 room boutique resort. There are villas, suites & rooms to choose from, plus a 20 yacht marina, a popular waterfront restaurant seating 150 people, a dockside bar, a yoga studio, scuba diving centre, 2 swimming pools, 2 playgrounds and the most adorable little island boutique. That's quite an achievement! How is this for a yoga location....
I just love that after all these years in Grenada, they like to empower the local community by supporting education and culture, organizing regular craft bazaars, inviting the local artisans, organizing the annual Grenada Chocolate Festival and supporting local schools and the Grenada Community Library. They are also great believers in operating sustainable & environmentally friendly operations, and in 2016 they were named as one of the Top 3 most sustainable hotels in the Caribbean. Can you believe they actually recycle over 60% of their hotel waste.
If there is one thing I love most about the Caribbean its the COLORS - I just LOVE the colors they have painted their resort buildings. Here is our Plumeria Sarong on display outside the True Blue Boutique.
Magdalena says.... "In the boutiques I try to find a good variety of island wares for both tourists and local shoppers. West Indies Resort Wear is a perfect match. It has been lovely to conduct business with Kim for a long time now, over 10 years on and off. I remember the first time Kim arrived on her sailboat to visit us in Grenada and we sat down in my office so she could show me her lovely collection. Our guests and locals love the soft cottons and happy designs, perfect for our Caribbean weather. We often see WIW clothing worn at our yoga sessions."
How nice is that, I remember that exact visit also, in fact Magdalena was one of my very first customers. Thanks to buyers like Magdalena who believed in me in those early days, and gave me the confidence to keep going. Here is a photo of my daughter playing peek-boo in the playground cubby house at True Blue, while I was in the office with Magdalena. She loved that there was a playground, as there was not a lot of facilities for kids when we were sailing around the Caribbean, so her life was all boring beach toys and boating.
Visit the True Blue Boutique Resort website here or you can also find them on Facebook here. Better yet, visit the "real deal" down in Grenada, it is definitely one of the most adorable resorts I visited in the Caribbean.