Leading the expansion charge

The Balboa Bay Club, which originally opened in 1948, continues its

$55-million renovation and expansion along West Coast Highway. The new

and improved resort is scheduled to open in early 2003.

Assistant City Editor James Meier caught up with Henry Schielein, the

club’s president and chief operating officer, to discuss the ongoing

project and the club’s goal of becoming a five-star and five-diamond

resort.

Q: How are the club’s renovation and expansion coming along?

A: Right on schedule. We finished the clubhouse, which is phase one,

in less than a year. We broke ground in October 2000, and we opened in

October 2001.

This is the clubhouse. It’s for members only. It has 28 guest rooms

and two suites, all waterfront. We have a full basketball court, squash,

a major exercise facility, a beautiful lady’s spa and men’s spa. The

restaurant is Henry’s Bistro, which is going to be the casual restaurant

once everything is in operation. Right now, this is the only restaurant

we have, but once the two restaurants in the main building open up, then

this will become a very casual dining room overlooking the pool.

Over in the resort, we’ll have the formal member dining room and

lounge. We also have a little lounge here where members can watch TV,

play cards and otherwise. We have a beauty shop. Basically, we have a

beautiful bar and pool.

But it’s transitionary, phase one, until we open phase two and then it

all comes together. Then, we will have three restaurants. We will have

Henry’s Bistro here, the First Cabin, which is the restaurant that’s open

to everybody -- the public and the members -- and the Bay Club Grill

that’s on the second floor.

There will be an entertainment lounge called Duke’s Place in honor of

John Wayne, who was governor at this club. Then we have the meeting room

and board room and a dining room, which is the First Cabin. Outside, we

have dining and cocktail service on the deck. We’ll have a 550-seat

ballroom, pool Jacuzzis, pools and all that, fountains. Then we have

guest rooms and offices.

The original has 120 rooms. This will have 160 rooms. The ballroom

will be the most beautiful ballroom in Orange County. It’s magnificent.

Q: Tell me how the Firefighters 911 fund-raiser at the club, where

about $60,000 was raised, came about in September.

A: We raised about $30,000, and then the club matched it. We thought

it was a good thing to do. And we had a big party here. It was a very

worthwhile cause when you think of it. There was an open house that

afternoon for the members to see the place.

Q: What are your thoughts on the 5-foot walkway the City Council

accepted that runs along the harbor between Lido Village and the bay

club?

A: No problem. I had a similar walkway down at the Ritz-Carlton and it

never bothered us. It’s something nice for the public to have. After all,

they can look at the yachts, you know.

Q: Newport Beach was unfortunately No. 1 for beach closures in the

county last year. Of the 18 closures, three were the result of a blocked

line at the bay club. Have the problems with that line been solved?

A: That was construction-related. It’s unavoidable. After all, some of

those lines have been in there 50 years. We don’t expect any further

problems. The old lines had to be removed.

Q: Is there anything else happening at the bay club?

A: There’s enough happening as it is. Between this and the

construction, it keeps me pretty busy, so I’m not looking for anything

more than this. We obviously have a lot of planning to do.

Q: After this, are there any other projects in the works?

A: Our project is to make this the best possible club in California.

Q: How close is it right now?

A: Well, right now, this is so transitionary. Once all the facilities

are open and operating, that’s when we want to accomplish our goal of

being the best. When I say the best, I mean in quality of facility, in

quality of food and beverage, quality of service, quality of ambience,

the overall feeling -- that’s what I’m looking for.

Q: Is that certainly within reason?

A: Oh, absolutely. I managed the only five-star hotel south of Los

Angeles. Right now, there is no five-star hotel south of Los Angeles. The

Ritz-Carlton used to be. Five stars, five diamonds. No more. They lost

them. They don’t tell you why you lose them.

We obviously will do our best to make this as good as possible. I

won’t call it a five-star hotel because you don’t call a place five stars

until you have the five stars. So I never want to be accused of false

advertising. But we certainly will aim to get there by providing quality

service. The place is being built according to five-star specifications,

which means you have certain size bathrooms and bathtubs, etc. They’re

very specific in what they’re looking for.

It will take time. The earliest a hotel has received five stars and

five diamonds is two years. So you won’t know until you get the

recognition. It’s something to work for.

Q: Any final thoughts?

A: When this place is done, it’ll be a magnificent facility. It’s

going to offer a lot to its members.

BIO

Name: Henry Schielein

Age: 60s

Birthplace: Munich, Germany

Residence: Newport Beach for eight years

Occupation: President and chief operating officer of the Balboa Bay

Club

Previous workplaces include: Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Laguna Niguel,

where he earned the AAA Five Diamond Award; Grand Wailea Resort in

Hawaii; and the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles

Education: Grand hotels in Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia; hotel

school; work on cruise ships

Family: Wife of 36 years Carol and son Ryan

Hobbies: Kayaking, snow skiing, golf and travel