10 things you didn't know about James Samuels

Say the name James Samuels and, for many, the name is synonymous with the tourist and hospitality industry. And not just the tourist and hospitality industry either as, indeed, the hotelier and entrepreneur, has been identified with the successful boutique brand properties, representing style, comfort and culinary excellence.

In recent times, Samuels has taken that love of the tourist and hospitality industry to launch two new products - Caribbean Concierge - a tourism management consultancy company, and The Village Spa, located in the upscale Island Village Shopping Plaza in Ocho Rios, offering the very best in Swedish, Thai, hot stone, deep tissue, reflexology, and aromatherapy massages, plus all the other treatments such as facials, coffee scrubs, hair and nail treatment, plus body waxing.

Today, we share 10 things we did not know about the hotelier and entrepreneur.

1.James is the firstborn of six children born to his parents, with all his five siblings being women.

2.He is a perfectionist but will not allow that to imperil success.

3. Is considered an introvert and an extremely shy person despite his public persona.

4.He is an an avid reader, who enjoys reading classic literature and suspense thrillers.

5. Having worked in the hospitality industry for years, he is not a fan of the cruise-shipping industry but believes, on balance, the cruise-shipping industry is a necessary evil.

6.He is a yoga enthusiast who enjoys playing squash, bridge, chess and cricket and walks 15 miles each week.

7.James is an amateur farmer who keeps a mini-garden of herbs, spices and select tubers and vegetables, and other foods, as he firmly believes we should eat what we grow as the effect of that is a healthier population and a more stable economy as this practice will reduce our food import bill.

8.He enjoys entertaining and especially experimenting by revisiting old dishes to produce something new, and particularly enjoys experimenting with herbs and spices in the kitchen to achieve this.

9.He thinks ganja should be decriminalised, as the decriminalisation would free up the police, the courts and judiciary to tackle other crimes besetting the country, and would ease the tension and decriminalise what for some is a cultural practice.

10.He is a firm believer that the tourist and hospitality industry, packaged and marketed properly, is Jamaica's economic panacea, and thus the pathway for social and economic revitalisation and prosperity.