Grand Turk Islanders Take Refuge at 'Dante's Cove' Hotel in Wake of Hurricane Ike

One of the sets of the gay soap opera series Dante’s Cove has now become a refuge for Grand Turk islanders left homeless in the wake of Hurricane Ike. The luxury Turks Head Mansion on Grand Turk Island, which masqueraded as ‘Hotel Dante’ in the first season of the here! original series Dante’s Cove, was one of the few structures left intact after Hurricane Ike rampaged through the Turks and Caicos Islands over the weekend.

According to a report by The Advocate, nearly every building on the Turks and Caicos Islands suffered heavy damage from Hurricane Ike. The few remaining safe structures, including the Turks Head Mansion on Grand Turk Island, are serving as shelters and relief centers for islanders left devastated by the storm.

Turks Head Mansion is located on Front Street on Grand Turk Island, only 50 feet from one of the island’s famous golden beaches. The luxury hotel, which was prominently featured in the gay gothic series Dante’s Cove, also plays host to a full-service, boutique film production studio. Over ten movies were shot on location at the studio last year.

Even before the owner of Turks Head Mansion, Paul Colichman, co-founder and CEO of Regent Entertainment and gay media outlet here! Networks, knew of the fate of the hotel—he was already offering up the property as a relief center for Grand Turks Island residents if it was still habitable following the hurricane. In a posting to Turks & Caicos Net News, Colichman stated he would “immediately like to offer it as a relief center for local residents, and will arrange to have food and other necessities brought in as soon as possible.”

Grand Turk Island is home to a population of approximately 4,000, with a large portion of the residents now left in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter following the impact of Hurricane Ike on the Turks and Caicos Islands. According to the Disaster News Network, Hurricane Ike damaged as much as 80 percent of homes on Grand Turk, with at least 60 percent of homes seriously damaged. Residents of the island may be without power for as long as two months, according to DNN.

For more information on relief efforts in Turks and Caicos, visit the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency at CDERA.org or make a donation to relief efforts through the International Red Cross at IFRC.org.