Terrie, a large woman with a generous demeanor, brought me a cup of coffee and guided me to the massive buffet tables. I had asked Randy in the bar the evening before the same question. He told me about a friend of his who had retired the year before after 49 years of service. I suppose this can only be expected from a hotel that has been operated by the same family for 70 years. The resort has 262 rooms, but 1,200 employees, which works out to a generous 4.6 employees per room.
People are hospitable and friendly in a no-nonsense way.
They are there to serve you, and they do it well and with warmth. The Cloister brought back memories of occasional trips to resorts with my parents as a young child in the '50s. The innumerable sports and recreational activities the resort offers will help shed the pounds put on at the interminable sequence of hearty, multicourse meals. But it's golf that's at center stage. In fact, it always has been since Bill Jones helped found the hotel in 1928 to attract the North's wealthy industrialists.