In 1971, the Arthur’s came from California to Micronesia - with a crazy idea about building a thatched roof hotel.
Everything was given away, and a ticket was bought. The original idea was Bob’s, but Patti and the kids were talked into coming along.
While the hotel was being designed and built, Bob and Patti, and their four children, lived in a big thatch house they built.
Because Bob didn’t know anything about building hotels, everything was brand new. Bob did the construction, and Patti kept the company running.
The landowners didn’t know what a lease was; the government didn’t believe a hotel could be built out of town; and the bank needed to know that a loan would be paid back.
They all thought Bob was crazy. Maybe he was.
Building the Long House, the Gazebo, and fifteen bungalows took eighteen months, and was the easy part.
Poles and thatch, cut in the forests by hand, were reassembled into a hotel. It’s easy when you have a crew that knows what to do.
In 1991, OPIC, an agency of the US Government, gave the Village the first Eco-tourism award for building a hotel in tune with nature, with a low impact on the environment and the culture.
