Is Peppers Hervey Bay Finally About to Open?
Although there was still obvious signs of construction going on at Peppers when this photo was taken last week we may finally be getting close to the opening of the resort at Urangan.
Furniture for the bar and other public areas was being moved in when this photo was taken and advertising for the resort has begun to appear on Google although the online booking facility is not accepting bookings at the moment.
It’s believed that, after missing several opening deadlines, Peppers may be open by February 22 for they have a large function booked there for that day. However, if you look behind the page at the code you see a note that the resort will be opening in March.
I wonder if all the shopkeepers and small businesses that have leased space in the retail section of Peppers will be receiving any compensation for what the delays in opening will have caused them.
February 19th, 2007 at 12:50 am
There are a multitude of reasons Peppers has not yet opened and there is not one department or organisation can soley be blamed for this. As someone who has been involved in the end part of the process, the challenges have been enormous and it is far more frustrating for the people involved than those simply watching the resort take shape.
The retail shop owners that I have been speaking to understand the issues that have prevented opening and while I cannot speak for any of them, I am sure they will not be seeking compensation. No one is really prepared to open their doors when there is still so much construction occuring in other parts of the resort.
In a project of this size, there are bound to be delays and this has ranged from lack of labour, bureaucratic interference and the changing of laws and codes in the midst of the project. The latter has caused not only enormous costs for the developers but also the obvious delay in opening.
Believe me when I say that no one wants the place to open more than the people who make up the development and also the team set to run the resort.
It is definately a bit presumptious to assume that the running of a singular event, ie. the jazz club function indicates the opening of the entire resort. I can tell you right now, it does not.
Partly because of the hype and scrutiny that has surrounded the resort, no one is prepared to open the doors until everything is just right and even then we all know there is going to be a lot that goes wrong in the first few months. The resort teams would prefer to have as many structural and operational issues well and truly sorted as possible before we commit to opening to the public.
Forgive me for not writing my name or further details but as you can no doubt understand this cannot be an official statement of what is really occuring, just one person’s opinion who has been working behind the scenes trying to get the place open. I am not privy to much of the information that many would like to know and nor will I risk any comments being taken in the wrong light and jepordising the reputation of the outstanding organisation I do work for. This is only a comments page after all, though many readers I am sure, take much of what is said here as gospel.
I simply wanted to set a few points straight and I am a little tired of the flack that the resort is getting when the general public do not understand the enormous amount of effort that has gone into this project. I can tell you that the resort will be mostly open in a couple of weeks and not in June/July like many comments I have been hearing lately indicate.
On another note regarding the Cafe. The team there has done an outstanding job of getting their doors open and the food is terrific and very well priced. The no takeaway concept is probably not going to last forever and given they have only been open a couple of days, I think you should cut them some slack. Everyone involved in opening the shops, bar/restaurant and the resort are passionate about setting the standard in Hervey Bay and will not do things halfheartedly like so many other businesses around town. I am sure you will see the place change on a daily basis as we all try to get it right.
February 19th, 2007 at 7:15 am
Thanks for adding your thoughts. It is interesting to hear the story from the other side and I appreciate you taking the time to add them.
And you’re right to say that this is only a “comments page”. What appears here may be incorrect or filtered through my view of the world. You’re also right in suggested that people do believe what they see in print (and by extension what they see on the screen).
However, unlike other forms of media that also rely on various filters to report their version of the truth, this one is always open for comments from any member of the public and the only things that get deleted here are profanity and anything that might be considered libellous.
So I would welcome your input anytime and feel free to email me with any news about Peppers that you would like to have included here on the Gossip. You will find my email address at the bottom of the right hand column on the front page.
February 21st, 2007 at 11:22 pm
We are two Brits who are lucky enough to have a house in Hervey Bay where we spend 3 wonderful months every year.As such we rely on the “Gossip” to keep us informed of the developments going on over there.We were delighted to see how much nearer completion Peppers is now and how grand it looks. When we left at the end of November it still had a lot to be done along the front and we’ve wondered how it was progressing.Can’t wait to come back out and see for ourselves all the changes along the Esplanade etc. Thanks very much for your snippets of news which we look forward to reading, keep up the good work.
Ivor and Jan Ealden Bristol England
February 22nd, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Hi Jan
There’s no doubt that Peppers really is a beautiful building and it will be good to see it open.
The road at the back of Peppers is still quite a mess but work has started to clean it up and resurface it. And I noticed that the fire brigade was parked round the back of the building today so perhaps they were there to check on the sprinkler and hose system and certify them.