He Runs a Dream Hotel. How Did He Manage That?

"You plan to do these things," said Gevinski, as he surveyed the rooftop cactus garden that required weeding, "but you never know what's going to happen. So you really can't plan more than half a day."

Whatever was going to happen was going to have to wait, because as the sun started its evening drop, Gevinski made a quiet break for Sun Bay Beach, a curved strand walled in by sea grape trees and coconut palms. "I haven't been to my favorite beach since last November, and it's only three miles away," he said, admitting that he often settles for Sun Bay over his preferred beach because his hotel cellphone works there. Midway through his walk along the water's edge, a cloud of mosquitoes swarmed his head. He raced back to the car and drove off, his rare escape rudely interrupted.

Sunday is hardly a day of rest for a hotel manager, and Gevinski's seventh day started ominously: "I dreamt that I didn't turn off the pump, and the pool shed was on fire." No inferno, but plenty of chores. On top of the usual busywork, he had to head to the supermarket near the town of Isabel II to buy food and drinks for an impromptu happy hour, a lesson in patience, creative menu planning and odor overkill. Also on his shopping list: new snorkel gear, after the Finnegans brought the hotel's faulty equipment to his attention.

Indeed, responding promptly to guest requests was one of the first lessons he learned. Obvious, but not always easy when other demands are tying your hands. "The first year, you make mistakes. The second, you learn from those mistakes and do better," he said after plunking down hundreds of dollars for new fins, masks and snorkels. "The third, you are doing things perfectly."

Reminder: Gevinski is in his second year, which means he has achieved some state of enlightenment. He learned, for instance, that he does not have to buy fruit from the island's main produce vendor; a seller on Puerto Rico proper offers a cheaper and fresher selection. He knows which stains and discolorations on white sheets and robes can be bleached out, and when to call a linen past its prime. He is informed about order times for Italian linens from Frette: at least two months, but maybe more, so always keep spares handy. He understands that by adding a coat of paint, he can transform an uncomfortable-looking chair into a cozy piece of furniture. And even when skies are blue and the winds caressing, he is highly aware that a storm can blow in, like the one that threatened Vieques's shores in October, and ruin a vacation. For those dire situations, Gevinski has filled two giant plastic bins with emergency supplies.

Another of Gevinski's key responsibilities is to know Vieques as if it were his home town. When guests ask for recommendations on restaurants, beaches, fishing charters, etc., he must be able to answer with authority. So he carves out time to lunch at the Blue Crab, a new dining spot in Isabel II that is co-owned by Washingtonian Marty O'Brien. He also pays a visit to Peter Berbula, owner of Peter's Restaurant, another recent addition. "I pulled up the stakes and tried something new on one of the last undeveloped islands in the Caribbean," said Berbula, who previously owned an establishment in New Jersey. "Sometimes you have to have a little crazy to do something like this."

To be sure, when you have a pool to fill, hors d'oeuvres to assemble, a scrappy dog to feed, inventory to restock, reservation requests to answer and an approaching hurricane to contend with, you might start missing that bitty cubicle on the 17th floor. Or not.

"There are moments of panic," Gevinski admitted, "but at the end of the day, I never say, I wish I were doing something else, I wish I were in a skyscraper in New York City, working the phones." Then, he drove off toward the hotel, because his guests needed him, and he needed them.

Epilogue

The Finnegans finally swam in the guest pool, two days before they had to return to Chicago. Gevinski is considering staying on at the Hix Island House for a third year, or perhaps managing a hotel in another country. Returning to Boston is also an option, however slim.