Part 2

The business was growing slowly but surely until September 21, 1998 when the 165 mile an hour winds of Hurricane George tore through the valley. Electricity would not be restored for 3 weeks. Phone service was out for 5 weeks and the entire water supply system had to be rebuilt, leaving the property dry for about a month. The hotel was closed for business until late November.

As time went on Steve spent more time in Puerto Rico and less time in New York. He sold his house in Sea Cliff, Long Island, closed his office and formally retired from the practice of law. In the year 2000 the couple divorced and Steve became the sole owner of Casa Grande. He resided in Room #8 for 3 years working the business day and night. He now lives with his partner, Frédérique Blanco, in a restored open-style cliffside villa located 15 minutes downriver from the hotel overlooking Lake Dos Bocas.

Frederique first arrived at Casa Grande on September 11, 2004 as a guest. She had taken a brief vacation, with her doctor's advice, from her job as Executive Director of Portal de Amor, a home for battered children in her hometown of San German, Puerto Rico. She was quite taken with the peace and tranquility of the place and knew spending some time at Casa Grande would be beneficial to her health and wellbeing. Today she would also admit that when she first laid eyes on Steve at the front desk when checking in, she knew she was in trouble. On her third visit, upon checking out and deliverying the keys to the office, Steve spontaneously came around the front desk and opened his arms wide to embrace her. She instinctively accepted the overture resulting in a brief and tender hug. Two more visits down the road Steve was playing bartender and Frederique invited him to her home for a Christmas celebration. He was delighted to accept and on the moonlit evening of December 23rd while sitting on a garden stone bench at her family's estate, she turned to him and said "some day we'll look back and remember this evening". He returned to Casa Grande on Christmas Eve after inviting Frederique to spend Three King's Day weekend at Casa Grande. From that time forward a day never went by that they didn't speak to each other by telephone. Since they lived 2 1/2 hours away from one another a long distance courtship ensued. He would pick her up in San German on a Thursday and they'd spend the weekend together at Casa Grande. Then weeks would go by when they wouldn't see each other. They had much in common and even shared the same birthday, February 20th! In August 2005 Frederique moved in to The Sanctuary, Steve's mountaintop hideaway. Frédérique now works hand in hand with Steve supervising and operating "The Casa".

Renovation of the facilities is an ongoing activity. The roofs of the guest quarters have been remodeled to allow for the escape of hot air up and out of the ceiling peaks. All bedrooms have new tile floors and entirely new bathrooms.

The Café has brightly colored cast aluminum furniture and receives a fresh coat of paint when necessary. The former conference center has been transformed into a fully equipped yoga facility. Steve is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher and offers morning class at 8 am daily to the guests and visitors.

Steven, a gardener since the age of 6, has nurtured a botanical garden here with more than 100 varieties of plants, trees, and flowers. Some garden areas are structured while others are totally wild. The flora has been acquired from many sources. Some have been collected form the roadside, others come from employee's farms, guest's contributions, small local nurseries, and large nurseries in the metropolitan areas.

Although small with only 20 rooms, Casa Grande enjoys an international clientele. Nature lovers find their way to "The Casa" from points near and far. Half the guests live in Puerto Rico, many in the San Juan area. It is not unusual to find people dining at The Café who hail from Canada, Alaska, New Zealand, Texas, Spain, or California. While most diners are guests at the retreat many day visitors travel from afar to have lunch or dinner.

When first opened, Casa Grande was part of the island's parador program. Paradors are privately owned properties marketed and otherwise supported by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Upon sale to Steven and Marlene the status changed to that of a small hotel. They re-named the place "Hotel La Casa Grande". In 2002 the name once again changed to Casa Grande Mountain Retreat to more accurately describe its setting and intention.

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