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Beginning with the
St. James Clubs in the late 1970s, English-born entrepreneur Peter
de Savary has been a pioneer of developing the great leisure clubs
of the world. With the keen business eye that saw his interests in
steel and oil pay huge dividends, De Savary saw a niche for the
affluent; leisure properties that were small enough to make guests
feel as thought they were on their own private estate, but equipped
with all the facilities of the world's great hotels. For a man whose
passion for travel began at the age of 16, he can now boast several
"homes away from home" all over the world, including Skibo
Castle, the old highland home of Andrew Carnegie, and Bovey Castle,
his latest acquisition within Southwest London's Dartmoor National
Park.
We had the chance
recently to sit down with Mr. DeSavary, and talk about his
properties, his passions, and Bovey Castle, a featured GolfTI
destination.
 Golf
TI:
I know that when we tried to do the first interview, you were at
Abaco in the
Bahamas. And then our next efforts were thwarted because you were in
Rhode Island (on Narragansett Bay) and difficult to reach. How much
time do you have in your schedule to visit your various clubs
throughout the year. And further to that, Peter, do you have any
particular favourites, depending on the time of year, or the holiday, that you find
yourself constantly returning to?
Peter
de Savary:
I spend 3 weeks of each month visiting the
clubs, so I'm travelling most of the time. In terms of personal
preference, I don't really have any. The time I spend at each club
depends on the seasonality. I take holidays at each one with my family during their appropriate
weather season.
GTI:
I know that just prior to buying Skibo Castle and beginning this new
direction in your business life, there were a couple of serious life
incidents—the plane crash in 1986, and your surgery in 1989—that
gave you a new outlook on life. How those events may have been a
catalyst for the new direction your career has taken, and further to
that, is there something in particular about your lifestyle clubs
that you feel embodies the new direction you took yourself?
PdeS:
My
plane crash and surgery taught me to make the most of every day,
really, and to live each one as though its your last. Don't put off until
tomorrow what can be done today.
GTI:
Starting with Skibo Castle, it seems as though the ambition was to create a place where
members could feel as though they were living like royalty—as
Carnegie and his guests had a century before. Is Skibo a success in
this regard, in your eyes, and does this objective hold true for the
other properties you’ve developed in the last 13 or 14 years?
PdeS: Members and guests
should always feel at any of my clubs that they are a house guest
and are treated in the spirit of a visiting "relative".
They should find a sense of individualism with attention to detail
and they should live like a "king" in the style and
manner of a more gracious bygone era.
GTI: Now
Bovey
Castle
in England
is one of your newest works. What was the attraction of the
property, and how do you feel it has turned out?
PdeS:
Bovey
Castle
attracted me for the following reasons:
a)
It was originally a magnificent private home.
b)
It is set in one of our most beautiful national parks.
c)
It has a feeling of romance and peacefulness - a touch of Agatha
Christie, etc.
d)
The extensive and varied sporting activities including challenging
golf have made this property the only one of its kind in England.
GTI:
With the course renovation being undertaken by Donald Steel, you have gone
back to working with the firm that created Skibo’s golf course.
How do you think Steel’s outlook fits so well with your goals?
PdeS:
I
have done five courses with Donald Steel. I believe golf courses
should be designed and landscaped for the natural landscape and
environment rather than the other way around. We both have a
natural desire to complement the environment and provide superb
challenging golf without gimmicks. We are both traditionalists,
which makes it a perfect working partnership.
GTI:
Are there any projects in progress as of right now, and are there any
sites in particular that you are looking into as possible future
projects?
PdeS: I am currently
considering a place in Tuscany,
in Italy.
GTI:
Turning to golf, you’ve said in the past you’re not much of a player?
Has that changed?
PdeS: I do not play golf but
I enjoy participating in the creation and management of great golf
courses. I sail boats in my spare time.
GTI:
What about the landscaping interest? Has that carried over to include golf
course design, and the merging of landscape and game?
PdeS: My landscaping
interest is complementary to the interest I take in the game.
GTI:
You’re a very prominent philanthropist – Save The Bay initiatives in
the Bahamas, for example, which I know this summer raised more than $100,000
for the cause. Are there any other regular charities you contribute
to?
PdeS: I contribute very
substantially to a range of charities and prefer to keep a low
profile in this regard.
GTI:
Are
you still smoking cigars? Still the Cubans?
PdeS:
I
smoke about eight Cuban cigars a day. I
thank you very much for the opportunity of answering your questions
and hope you will visit our properties at your convenience.
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