There had been murmurs around Puerto for the past 2 months that Heavenly Hotel’s founder and owner, Milton Hutto, was in the process of negotiating a sale.
And now, last week, the rumors became true. Milton has sold his 11 room beachfront hotel and restaurant.
The new owners have renamed the hotel/restaurant.
It is now called, Big Daddy’s Beach Resort.
I have had several opportunities to chat with the new owners (Chris, Dave and Justin). They are young, friendly, energetic, and very approachable. And they have lots of experience in hotel/restaurant management, tourism, and culinary arts.
If you have eaten at the hotel recently you have experienced 1st hand the delicious food they are already serving.
These guys are well aware of what it takes to be successful in the hospitality business in Panama. And food is a critical element of that success.
According to the new owners, they have had their eye on Puerto Armuelles for the past 10 years
Like Betsy and I, they recognized Puerto’s potential the 1st time they came to town. However, 10 years ago, Puerto was not ready to give them a good return on their level of investment.
But now, they feel the time is right. It is the ideal time to invest in Puerto Armuelles.
The new owners have hit the ground running. They are getting all their systems set up, connecting with the community, and fine-tuning their plans. Once they do that they will have a Grand Opening event.
At least for now, they have will continue to have the hotel host the Puerto Armuelles Saturday Market.
Click to watch a short video of the 1st Puerto Armuelles Saturday Market
The new hoteliers want to invigorate tourism in Puerto Armuelles.
Boquete to Puerto Armuelles Link
The new team is going to work hard to get their many Boquete friends to Puerto Armuelles. This should strengthen the already existing highland/beach tourism link between the two towns. Expats & locals from Boquete have been increasingly coming down to enjoy the beach life in Puerto Armuelles. Boquete is a mere hour and a half drive from Puerto Armuelles.
With 3 well-known Boquete hotel/restauranteurs promoting the connection, it is likely to become even more popular.
Puerto Armuelles to Boquete
It works into the other direction too. I have been going to Boquete for years to hike, particularly in the dry season, when it is hot here and the surf is flat.
Also, as much as I love Puerto, sometimes it is just nice to blast out of town in the morning, walk in the mountains, and come back in time to jump in the ocean before dinner. Or even go for the weekend. For me, this can be just the refreshing reset that I need.
I know it sounds like an exaggeration. But Panama is such a small country that you can easily get from beach to mountain and back in one day. A couple of years ago I wrote about day-trips to Boquete from Puerto Armuelles.
I have not gotten in contact with Milton Hutto to congratulate him yet and ask him what he plans to do next. One thing I am sure of is that Milton has no plans to retire.
Milton is not quite as young as the new hotel owners, but he, too, has boundless energy and enthusiasm. He is never still, and he has a million good ideas that he follows through on.
Milton Hutto has been an amazing contributor to the development of our expat community in Puerto Armuelles. Milton has been a great “connector” of people here in Puerto, which has been a great help to our expat community.
Milton has built and operated Heavenly’s Hotel and restaurant, at least a couple of other business, as well as building a few houses. We are very grateful for Milton’s many contributions.
It is my understanding that Milton will continue to live and invest in Puerto Armuelles (This is only rumor)
The sale of Heavenly’s Hotel is a “win-win-win” for Puerto Armuelles, Milton, and the new owners.
You can find more information on the hotel here.
Thanks for reading,
Reyn
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