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Meet Juba, head gardener at the Riu Palace Tropical Bay

To make sure that our hotels look lush, luxuriant and fresh during your stay, a lot of work is carried out behind the scenes by silent heroes who, with passion and dedication, make sure that even the smallest details are taken care of.

In the gardens this principle is magnified, as we are dependent on external factors, such as the weather or the seeds of the plants themselves.

Today we want to introduce you to one of the people who ensure the green spaces in our hotels in Jamaica always look their best.

What it’s like preparing for the opening of a new hotel?

Since 2007, Dwayne Allen, known as Juba to his friends, has been part of the Riu Palace Tropical Bay team, where he is currently head gardener. His colleagues describe him as a crucial figure in every opening and refurbishment that takes place at the destination. So that he can combine the two duties, he has a highly committed team that takes care of the hotel’s day-to-day tasks while new openings and renovations are being prepared. Without them, organising everything would be impossible.

Juba’s daily work includes creating and maintaining the hotel’s gardens, beaches and natural landscaping. He is also in charge of hiring and training gardening staff, ensuring that everyone follows safety procedures and making sure that all his colleagues have the equipment they need to carry out their everyday tasks.

The gardens of the Riu Palace Tropical Bay.

However, for the past 16 months, he has been working flat out on the Riu Palace Aquarelle, preparing the landscaping ahead of the hotel’s opening in early May. Juba explains that “Starting in August we will get ready for the remodelling of the Riu Negril“. For a new opening or refurbishment, the teams must follow strict safety protocols. Juba is in charge of making sure that the whole team complies with them.

But what are the main challenges faced during a new opening or renovation? Juba knows what it takes: “One of the main challenges I face when working on a new opening or a remodel are the strict deadlines and making sure we meet them. It is very important that the venue is totally finished when the doors open to welcome our guests.”

Another challenge is less easily managed: the weather. “If it rains a lot or there are strong winds, it is difficult to finish the projects planned for that day.  I have to adapt quickly when problems crop up to make sure we hit our deadlines”, says Juba.

The nursery project at the Riu Palace Aquarelle

Now that you have met Juba, we are going to introduce you to one of the projects in Jamaica that is particularly close to his heart.

RIU has two greenhouses in this Caribbean country: the largest is located in the new Falmouth hotel and there is a smaller one in the Riu Ocho Rios. The greenhouse holds tropical shrubs from the Euphorbiaceae family and species from the Verbenaceae family, like Durante Gold, which are particularly used for hedge lines. The most common plant is West Indian jasmine, which has clusters of red flowers. And, obviously, there are palm trees. In this case, the most widely used in our Jamaican hotels is Coco nucifera, the coconut palm. There are currently 23 types of plants in the nursery that will soon brighten up the different hotels in the chain.

A special feature of the nursery is that all plants are sourced from our local hotels. A large number of cuttings are taken from each plant that can later be supplied to newly built hotels or hotels undergoing renovations. Having the plants ready in-house helps to ensure the gardens can be completed in record time.

Juba explains the project’s goal in more detail: “The purpose of the greenhouse is to raise the plants we want to use for the new gardens as well as maintain the existing ones. We built the greenhouse in Falmouth, not knowing that we would have to move it to an even larger site on the property. “We had 60,000 plants in the greenhouse for the new Riu Palace Aquarelle, which gave us a really strong inventory right here in our backyard for this project.”

To get the greenhouse up and running, Juba had to scour the chain’s hotels, of which there are now seven, to collect cuttings from all the plants they had in their gardens. “Once we sufficient cuttings, we began preparing the bags for germination and propagation. For some plants we had to use rooting powder, but others can simply be planted naturally in the planting bags.”

Juba reveals the secret to keeping the gardens and the greenhouse looking beautiful: love and care from the RIU staff.

We hope we have surprised you once again with this project and now when you visit us in Jamaica you can take a look at the beautiful plants we have in our gardens. And of course, don’t forget to say hello to our beloved Juba!