A temporary sign for the Eau Palm Beach was installed July 1. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Tim O’Meilia
The former Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach is now the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa.
But eau so many Manalapan residents dislike the new name and the loss of the Ritz-
Carlton brand.
“How and why did you change that name?” wondered Manalapan Town Commissioner John Murphy at the June 25 meeting. “In general, people don’t like it. The reaction has not been favorable.”
Nevertheless, the commission approved by a 5-0 vote two temporary signs with the new name to adorn the 310-room luxury resort.
The Ritz officially became The Eau on July 1, following a mid-June announcement by the hotel owners, RC/PB Inc., that a management agreement with Ritz-Carlton, owned by Marriott International, had been canceled following a two-year dispute over management fees.
The resort will be affiliated with Preferred Hotels, which handles 15 other five-star, five-diamond hotels worldwide.
Former mayor Basil Diamond suggested that the hotel name could not be changed without the commission’s approval, based on an amendment to the planned unit development agreement that led to the hotel’s opening in 1991.
“The only reason we have a hotel in Manalapan is because we had a Ritz-Carlton, a brand everybody knew and everyone understood what that brand was,” he said.
At the heart of Diamond’s concerns — and those of other residents, including Mayor David Cheifetz — is the future of the La Coquille Club at the hotel.
In an unusual arrangement, the town approved the construction of the Ritz on the oceanfront site of the decades-old La Coquille Club under the condition that a club be maintained at the resort for the use of town residents.
In recent years, resident-members have complained that private-member lockers had been used by resort guests, a promised steam room is only a steam shower, food and service at the club has deteriorated and a 20 percent summer dining discount was discontinued, among other things.
Eva Hill, president of Britannia Pacific Properties which owns RC/PB, met with interested town residents last week and spoke at the commission meeting.
“We don’t anticipate any changes to (resident) rights to use the club and access in and out of the property,” Hill said, adding that the owners were considering adding 15 nonresident members to the club. Unlike residents, nonresident members pay a fee to belong. Club board member Kathryn Diamond — the former mayor’s wife — estimated there are 25 to 35 nonresident members.
“It is our extreme desire to bring the La Coquille Club back to the vibrant club your members want to enjoy,” Hill told the commission.
She said the locker sharing has ended. The hotel is considering offering special party and event packages to members and the dining discount would be re-examined.
Hill said she already has met with club board members Kathryn Diamond and Chauncey Johnstone, who is also a town commissioner.
RC/PB must seek an amendment to the PUD in coming months because of the management change.
“It needs to include safeguards so we don’t find ourselves in the same position, being asked to rubber stamp changes after the fact,” Basil Diamond said. “What if another group comes in? We need safeguards so it doesn’t become a Motel 6 or a Ramada.”
Cheifetz asked Basil Diamond to sit on a committee that will negotiate the revised PUD. “I want to assure everyone that this commission will be looking out for the town’s interest,” the mayor said.
“What we really want is a first-class luxury hotel with our La Coquille Club in it,” Basil Diamond said.
As for the name of the hotel, Hill said it was titled Eau Palm Beach to capitalize on the brand equity of the Eau spa, built at the resort in 2009. “The name is now recognized as quality,” she said. “We didn’t want to go with just another household brand.”
Said Commissioner Howard Roder: “With everyone talking about the name change, you’re getting a lot of free
publicity.”
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