Last month at Les Cotils, 150 people gathered in the Harry Bound Room. They didn’t have to be there. But they were and they wanted to be there. They had come to mark the retirement of Fiona Naftel as managing director of Les Cotils, where she had arrived 13 years previously.
In 2012 Les Cotils was on its knees. There was no money in the bank. It had lost its way, and it was in the last chance saloon. In those 13 years Fiona has turned Les Cotils around to what it is today – a vital island institution through which all island life passes, a place of calm and peace, a refuge for some, a place to meet friends, a venue for celebration, and an example of what a difference one person can make. Those 150 people, who included the Lt-Governor, the Bailiff, the Deputy Bailiff, a former Bailiff, the Dean, charity partners, sponsors, staff and ex-staff, directors, family and friends, were in that room to acknowledge the impact Fiona has made to Les Cotils and to the many lives it has touched.
Fiona has created a place which has become a centre of island life. Of course it is not just Fiona, as she would be the first to tell you. It is also the people who work there, the directors, and all those who support what happens there.
But all those people have been brought together by Fiona; she has been the guiding light, the vision of what Les Cotils could be and has become.
The original house was the residence of the Tupper family, one of the leading families of Guernsey in the 19th century. Henry Tupper was a key figure in island life during the middle part of the century, and played host to Victor Hugo and also welcomed Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1859.
The Tuppers sold the property in 1904 to an order of nuns from France, and so it became a religious centre which hosted a school and also had a working farm. During the Second World War, however, Les Cotils was taken over by the occupying forces who wanted it for its commanding views of the harbour and the town. On returning after the war the nuns ran the property as a nursing home until the 1980s when the home was no longer viable.
In 1994 Les Cotils was bought by David and Jane Swiffin, who had a vision of turning it into an ecumenical centre. But it needed to be more than that to survive and so started taking paying visitors and renting out rooms for events, as well as adding capacity, including the extension in which the Harry Bound Room is located as well as the de Hubie flats next door.
Fiona was able to take inspiration from all the good things Les Cotils had been in the past as well as from what it was –its Christian ethos, its facilities, its 12 acres, its fabulous location, the well of support it had from those who wanted it to succeed.
But it was a daunting task. However, it now had someone who had unbounded energy, determination, a vision, a never-ending supply of ideas, and a persuasive way of getting, not only the best out of people, but also financial support.
Soon after Fiona joined, Les Cotils received a significant bequest which enabled her and her team to make the first moves towards creating what Les Cotils is today – rooms were refurbished, the restaurant was created, a bar was opened, standards were improved. And Fiona was prepared to do anything – clean, serve, even cook.
One challenge has been to balance the continuing Christian essence of Les Cotils with the modern-day needs of a more secular community. Prayer meetings are held each morning except Sundays (which Fiona has sometimes led), there are two rooms lined with religious books, Christian Fellowship groups meet on a Sunday morning, and active links are maintained with the island’s religious community.
But most people experience Les Cotils either as a place to stay for a holiday, to attend a wedding or a funeral, for a corporate event, a seminar or talk, for board meetings, book groups or bridge clubs, to celebrate a birthday or key life event, to eat in the restaurant or cafe, or just to enjoy the extensive grounds.
It is Fiona who has balanced these different facets to create a unique island place.
A turning point for Les Cotils was the Covid pandemic. Till then Fiona had been focused as much on the operational side of Les Cotils as the charity side. By then, though, operationally, Les Cotils was working pretty well. Once Covid arrived she realised the charitable potential of Les Cotils. With people locked down, and many not able to work, some families were struggling to feed themselves properly. Les Cotils had idle kitchens. So, Les Cotils started to cook hot meals for those that were in need, and a team of volunteers delivered four days a week.
And that’s when the Food for Families scheme started and which continues through to today, offering cooked meals to those who are referred to Les Cotils by its partner charities and States agencies. On the back of the Food for Families initiative, Fiona has also developed Fruit for Schools, where, every term-time week, 1,500 pieces of fruit are delivered to primary schools around the island to help ensure that all children are able to have a balanced diet. As well as that Fiona has developed a Supported Employee Scheme to assist those who are in the process of re-entering mainstream work, and, in conjunction with Employment & Social Security, Les Cotils takes part in its Return to Work scheme welcoming people on work placements for up to 13 weeks at a time.
Also, with the rebuilding of the conservatory cafe, Fiona has initiated a Community Cafe programme in which the cafe will be available in the evenings for meals to be provided for those who would benefit, and for the use by any charity.
There are also a myriad of smaller but equally vital things Les Cotils does to help someone in a time of need.
So, having stabilised the operational side of Les Cotils, Fiona, over the last five years, has been able to develop its true purpose, that of a charity serving the people of Guernsey.
The grounds are also an important part of what Les Cotils offers. From an original idea by Fiona she persuaded local architect Andrew Dyke and Chelsea Gold medal-winner Steve Welch to give their time free to design a garden which would offer tranquillity and peace and, with a generous donation from the Swallow 2018 Trust, the garden was opened in 2022.
This, together with the generous donation of a sculpture by Ken and Linda Acott, and the work the property team does to maintain the grounds in peak condition, Les Cotils has become a garden showcase for the Guernsey public to visit and enjoy.
No greater tribute to what Les Cotils has become can be the fact that royalty has visited Les Cotils three times in the last four years. In 2025 Les Cotils was chosen to host a dinner for Princess Anne on her visit to Guernsey on 9 May. The previous year Les Cotils was the venue for the King and Queen to meet with Sark and Alderney representatives on the eastern lawn, and prior to that Les Cotils had also hosted a dinner for Prince Edward and Princess Sophie.
And why did they come? As someone said, it was because of the high standards that Fiona demands, but also, I think, because of what Les Cotils has become under Fiona’s direction.
Although Fiona is stepping down as managing director, she is by no means leaving Les Cotils. She will continue to support its charity work, help with fundraising, and will become a trustee.
But more profoundly, Fiona will continue at Les Cotils because what Les Cotils is is what Fiona has made it. It is imbued with her vision and her values. In this world there are two ways to serve people – one is serving their desires and one is serving their needs. Too many organisations serve people’s desires rather than their needs. Les Cotils serves people’s needs. And whether you’re the King or anyone else, Fiona treats you the same, and that is the ethos that she has created in this place.
