The owner of the Hodges Bay Club, Jeff Wellmeyer, has offered an apology to residents of Hodges Bay for the disturbance caused by a late night fireworks display during a surprise 40th birthday party for Grammy Award winning singer, Ashanti. The recording artist, her entourage and other celebrity guests traveled to Antigua for the event on Tuesday night. Following the event, Wellmeyer said he was sorry for causing the resort’s neighbours to lose sleep because of the event.
“I did not appreciate the noise level that would be a part of the fireworks and certainly did not expect them to go off that late,” Wellmeyer said in a written apology. He explained that the fireworks were delayed, in part, to a number of precautions which had to be taken. The fireworks show was originally to have occurred from 10:00pm to 10:30pm, however it was delayed until Ashanti arrived at the surprise party at about 1:00am. According to Wellmeyer, he received a call from Ashanti’s agent who requested that the resort host the surprise party late last week.
The hotel owner said hosting the event was a major undertaking given the short amount of time in which they had to prepare. “As most of you know, Ashanti is a Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, record producer, model and actress and the fact that she wanted to come to Antigua for her 40th birthday is very special. To make it even more complicated this elaborate birthday celebration included some of the biggest names in music and included a number of famous guests coming to Antigua for the first time as well as a “Virtual Party” which was filmed for MTV,” said Wellmeyer.
He continued that it had been challenging to implement social distancing measures with the number of guests in attendance while still creating a fun atmosphere for the star and her famous guests. Wellmeyer also commented on the global exposure Antigua and Barbuda has received, and will continue to receive, as a result of the hosting of the event. “It represented a massive opportunity for Antigua, signaling to the world that we are open for business and have the capability to accept guests in a COVID safe environment,” he said.
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WOW…. Should I comment anymore ? WOW !
An apology ! Oh give me an aspirin. No make it an Advil instead.
How sickening can this country get ? Is it all right and legal for some people to get the right to do as they like. Ashanti…who is the heck is she ? As far as I know, all man are equal at the foot of the cross. It could be the queen of England. No special treatment ! Everyone should be subject to the same regulations as stipulated by the medical officials and government.
Good publicity for Antigua & Barbuda ! Give me another break ! YOU MUST BE ANOTHER JOKER IN THIS WILD PACK OF CARDS. Since when bringing tourists to the nation is more important than the health of the people of the nation ?
Covid-19 has certainly exposed all the FAKERS in this country.
No wonder this nation is so much of a mess ! Are you to tell me that the all this is worth is an apology that goes for naught ?
ANTIGUANS…WAKE UP ! YOUR TIME IS SOON TO COME ! LET A LITTLE RICHES CORRUPT YOUR SOULS,
YOU MAY GAIN A FEW …..BUT LOSE YOUR SOUL.
YOUR TIME IS SOON AT HAND. WHERE WILL YOU BE FOIUND STANDING: ON THE SIDE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS OR ON THE SIDE OF WRONGTEOUSNESS ?
MAKE YOUR CHOICE.
WORLD “CRYSIS”: END SOON COME !
All tourists that come to Antigua are tested, in this case they all stayed at the hotel and had a birthday party (in an open space). No one left the the resort! You can’t blame the other hotel guests to join in or do you want to limit all hotels to 25 guests ? How exactly should that work???
What was wrong is, that locals are mingling with them – they Shouldn’t have been allowed at the hotel and a firework that woke all neighbours up (including myself) wasn’t great either. Ashanti will attract a lot of tourists and Antigua made it on all the news outlets because of her birthday. I think we need to do better and promote Antigua especially in those days.
And of course you have to treat Tourist different because they are 90% of the Island income. How do you want to feed anyone here ? We depend on tourism yes – to feed the family. That’s the reality if you are not a retired millionaire!
And by the way not a single patient is at the hospital at a respirator. Keep your mask on, wash your hands and keep a distance and we will be fine. This shall pass
So once again one law for one and one law for the other!. This resort thinks that the laws in Antigua don’t apply to them.
So you sold your soul to the devil for a few pieces of silver? The fireworks shouldn’t have gone off if the time agreed to had passed, and her reps or whoever should’ve understood that from the beginning.
She arrived at 1:30? Where was she staying? Where did she arrive from? I am sorry but she needs to be made aware of what happened because of her, and she or her team needs to make a public apology. Was her team not made aware of the rules and laws? Or did they know and didn’t care? Someone needs to be held accountable because if that was my neighborhood you best believe I would be at the hotel entrance with the police and we are all going to jail.
well well well i don’t even know what to say about this @ WORLD CRYSIS: END SOON COME you are on point with your assessment… now about this apology i have to laugh at Wellmeyer when he said “As most of you know, Ashanti is a Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, record producer, model and actress and the fact that she wanted to come to Antigua for her 40th birthday is very special. ahahah … Ashanti still living off of her accolade from since 2003-2004 me mumma .. Ashanti has been wash up and has not done anything sensible since then, so for you to use what she previously got from a fake ass music industry as some sort of automatic privilege to put people is danger that alone is a sorry ass apology and after the fact apologize for the noise, whether its 10:30 – 1 – 2 – 3am it no matter fireworks go still mec noise… hey me so upset about this me cant even comment no mo … Antigua and the governments of Antigua will always remain the kicking bag for everyone a so anything goes here .. let me correct that any foreign entity has the automatic rights to do anything they want in Antigua .. but mec a local do it , u find your ass in trouble lol…. cartoon country me say …
ÀND WHEN I COME TO ANTIGUA THEY WANT TO PUT A TRACKING BRACELET ON MY HAND LIKE I’M CONVICTED OF SOME CRIME. ÀNTIGUA LAWS ARE INFORCED VERY SELECTIVELY .
Oh please! How much times many of you have been woken up by gunshots in the middle of the night? People die from gunshots on a regular but not fireworks. What health problems does the fireworks cause?
Move on folks, nothing to see here. The Nattering Nabos, those in the purported #UpperEchelon, of our society(Coolidge, Hodges Bay) are finally getting a dose, of their own medicine, as it pertains to #CLASSISM.
They finally know how the People in Villa, Grays Farm, Ottos, Johnson Village etc, areas booming with #Brothels, #WhoreHouses, #HUEman Meat Markets(Bars) feel, about harassment! And, in more ways than one, many of them are patrons, owners and supporters of these businesses.
Me kno lib, inna glass house. Ah, undah tree me lib! So, me cyan dash ‘tone, to rass!
Hail, ANR post me comment!
Tourists and celebrities can walk off the plane onto the beach, no quarantine, no bracelet shackles, hold big birthday basements till all hours of the morning and nothing is done. Locals walk off the plane straight into 14 days quarantine and bracelet shackles and if they only dare to try and have a party, police on them like white on rice. Where is the fairness? Why two sets of rules? Why has this hotel not been penalized?
Notice Gaston not saying a thing about this. If it was a bar catering to locals, his mouth would be running none stop. He too busy counting he tourist money and the “free” gifts from China.
How apologetic is the manager? Will he give a day pass for all the nearby residents that he inconvenienced as a result of his indiscretions? What stupid excuse he trying to give because she is supposed to some celebrity? Ah we nu care. I supposed he would say, well you know it’s Jeffrey Epstein and he have plenty money and it was short notice. I did see a bunch of real young girls with him but again he have plenty money. Pure chupitness.
The police should be enforcing the laws. The laws are not for locals and another set for tourists and yet another set for politicians and their cronies.
The cancerous PM and his regime need to be removed from office.
So, can some of my friends who were fined one thousand dollars for not wearing a mask, slept overnight in a jail cell, be reimbursed and records espounged? Could they have apologized?
So is this saying she was not staying at the resort, but only had her party there?? How can they be arriving at 1am with an 11pm curfew. And did they leave party before 5 am and travel the roads again during curfew.???
Health Minister Quiet Prime Minister. Quiet INFORMATION MINISTER QUIET
NOTHING TO SAY Hmm !!!
Wow! I guess our latest motto as per our “outraged” posters is that “Tourism is nobody’s business” and attracting high profile celebrities (or “former” celebrity for the apparently more discerning!) in this difficult time is a definite no no.
After the sand, sun and sea our next best natural resource is Cassi bush so our so-called experts need to start developing agricultural and manufacturing industries around this before all those who are now receiving their guaranteed salaries soon start feeling the squeeze like so many of those below.
Money and income do not grow from thin air. It arises from the provision of goods and services so unless the Cassi bush industry takes off, then we are all doomed with this attitude and horror over some damn fireworks.
Our Govt over-reaching with ridiculous controls and shackles over 3 deaths is another matter entirely. People die in Antigua almost daily for all sorts of reasons and Covid is at the bottom of the pile but is suddenly the most important and you can die from everything else but heaven forbid, it just MUST not be covid.
🛎🎯🤣🤣🆘️🆘️🤣🤣…wow!
It is over. Done with. The fireworks came and went. However,the bull dung is here and continues every day in Antigua and Barbuda. So let us all gather our senses back in line. There is a curfew on from 11 pm to 5 am.So they did break that Curfew. For that the Hotel operators should be given a citation. A very stern warning. Not to let it happen again in the future.
Much as I hate to join the chorus of the notorious vipers, I too must loudly protest the actions of Jeff Willmeyer in the hosting of a party well after curfew hours, and brazenly announcing the fact with a display of loud explosives well after midnight. Someone in officialdom urgently needs to enlighten the populace about the arrangements made with tourist resorts so that we do not misinterpret what seems to be a clear, unfair case of double standards. Until informed otherwise I as a native and resident Antiguan object most strenuously. This is not the first time that reports have surfaced about this very establishment defying regulations imposed by the Covid-19 here in Antigua. Until informed otherwise, I view Wellmeyer’s apology most offensive and contemptuous. Rather than apologizing to the residents of Hodges Bay for the noise created by the explosives, Wellmeyer should apologize to ALL Antiguans for flouting the laws of the land and should in my humble opinion be sternly and publicly reprimanded AND charged.
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