Tess & I have been members of Colette since it opened in 2002. At the time, we had an off-premise club about an hour from Colette, but we were only open on Fri & Sat and we would often head down to Colette on the weekdays to get away from work and have some fun. Before Colette even opened, the owners contacted us and we met for lunch. We talked about each of our business plans and where we expected to be in 10 years. There is no way either of us had expected ourselves to be where we are today, but we are both very happy with the outcome. Eventually, we closed our Off-Premise club to concentrate on our larger events and conventions and that is what led us here, to the Couples Cruise, Naughty in N’awlins, Couples Fest in Key West and LLive in Las Vegas. We’ve hosted several other national conventions and are in the planning stages for other great events as well. Throughout the years, we always kept going back to Colette, as it provided us with a local place to meet couples and not have to work for a change. When Katrina swept through New Orleans in 2005, it took with it all of the furniture at Colette and caused a lot of damage on the ground floor. After replacing much of the sheetrock and other renovations, Colette was open again, but furniture-less and a little stark.

At first, I loaned them some of the convention furniture we had used for a past events, but this wasn’t a permanent solution, just a temporary fix so people have a place to sit down. About a year later, I was visiting the owner (John Melfi) at the club and I mentioned that it was time to upgrade the furnishings and the decor and mentioned that I might be able to help. That night, a partnership was born.

We had several meetings after that and just before our Naughty in N’awlins convention in 2009, we unveiled a “New Colette”, with a complete makeover. We brought in a designer/seamstress (Becky) from Las Vegas who works with us on our conventions and she and I spent two solid weeks (with a lot of help from friends, volunteers and employees) to complete the re-decorating.

Each year, we start our New Orleans convention with a party at Colette. Many of our attendees were impressed with the new look. Rich, red velvet drapes covered the entire length of the club, sexy white curved couches lined the dance floor, modern black sectional sofas tripled the seating room and large, oversized (5’ tall!) black & white photographs showcased the high ceilings. We also brought lots of accessories like candles, statues, pillows, trays and other things to tie everything together. All of a sudden, Collete felt brand new again and so was the Colette experience.

We took what we did at our conventions and we applied it to a brick & mortar club and the results were great. Our goal at our conventions was always to make the place look more than just a “party suite” or a regular hotel room. Our goal at our conventions is to transform ordinary hotel space into extraordinary play areas where ladies would feel sexy and inspired to expand their boundaries and explore their fantasies. We have done the same on this cruise. Colette is that place 52 weeks of the year. It wasn’t someplace we had to quickly erect in a couple of hours and then tear down a couple of days later, this installation became a home for its local couples and a sanctuary for those visiting from afar. It was exactly as we had dreamed of and with the help of John and our team, it was more in line with his dreams too.

Caribe

Tess and I travel quite a bit and in the fall of 2009 we were invited to a Lifestyle Leadership Conference in the Dominican Republic at Caliente Caribe. We had wanted to visit this property for some time and this looked like a great time of the year for us to check it out. We met other club owners as well as convention planners, website owners and travel agents. It was an awesome week, not only to be able to enjoy the resort (which we did!), but it was great to be able to hang out with so many of our peers. The resort far exceeded our expectations. The photos we saw didn’t do the resort justice as it was one of the most beautiful properties we have ever set foot on. We couldn’t get over how beautiful (and private) this bay on the north shore of the DR was and we knew that this would be the beginning of many visits for us. The one thing that Caliente Caribe didn’t have, that we would have liked to see included was a place for people to be able to play. An on premise area, similar to what Desire opened up next to their disco, but even bigger and better. We talked about this with the other industry experts and they all agreed, to create the” next big thing”, a real on-premise club would really be great. And then it hit us... why couldn’t we do what we had done at Colette in New Orleans to Caliente Caribe in the Dominican Republic? We talked to John first, because while designing, decorating and furnishing a space was just part of our idea we had bigger plans: why not set up an actual Colette at the resort? Not only would this give people a place to party and have fun while at the resort, but it would also bring a brand name that would immediately let people know that Caribe was more than just “lifestyle friendly. It was a true lifestyle resort with the best on-premise club at any resort in the world!

Of course, John loved the idea so our next stop was a meeting at Caliente in Tampa to pitch this to the main decision maker at the resort, Steven Dorsey. He was immediately intrigued with the idea and a couple of meetings later we were ready to rock & roll. Colette was heading to the Caribbean!

It took several visits to the resort, many meetings and more than a few shopping trips to put a plan in action, then in January 2011, it was time to get started. Our entire team converged from Las Vegas, New Orleans and Tampa and we got to work. Two weeks prior to our arrival Steven sent down a crew to oversee the painting, construction and most of the structural work that needed to get done prior to our arrival. When we landed, we hit the ground running and started to turn the place into a full-fledged Colette. It was finally, on a Sunday night, when we opened for a trial run, while a sexy group from Lifestyle Lounge happened to be on the property (we figured they’d make good guinea pigs). What a great party that night turned into and then the next and then the next...We tried to close down so we could go back and put the finishing touches on the place, but they kept insisting that we open every night so they could use this wonderful new amenity at the resort. We just had to work during the morning and afternoon hours to get the place exactly the way we envisioned. Truth is, it came out even better. I’ve always had a knack for putting together great play areas that touch at least 4 of the 5 senses (sight, sound, smell & touch)- although I’m working on taste.

The “Official Colette Grand Opening” is actually May 14th-22nd and we will be there with our partners John and Monika of Colette and Steven from Caliente to cut the ribbon and officially open as “Colette Caribe”. We hope you consider joining us for this unique vacation opportunity to party with others at a club(and a resort) unlike any other. Hope to see you there...

Check out the club and reserve your room at www.coletteclubs.com

Tags: Colette Domincan Republic Swingers Club Lifestyle Resort

Bookmark: