MAIA - What is your Wine Sign?

MAIA appoints a new chef and launches a new wine experience for guests

MAIA Luxury Resort and Spa; the Seychelles’ all-villa resort and a member of Leading Small Hotels of the World was recently listed in Condé Nast Traveller’s 2010 Gold List of ‘Best Food Hotels’. Now with five Head Chefs on board and a new wine programme launching this month, to help guests discover their wine style, the team continue to develop and refine the MAIA experience.

Indoors or al fresco, villa privacy or in the hotel’s intimate restaurant Tec-Tec, MAIA offers a selection of spectacular settings in which to enjoy its array of outstanding culinary creations and at anytime - day or night. And, with such protégée chefs on board, menus as we know them have been discarded in favour of a more bespoke approach to dining. Guests can choose the location, time and cuisine to suit them.

Highlights include MAIA’s recently appointed Asian Head Chef, Khampan Pukdangpan who brings the total number of Head Chefs to five. Each Chef has a very different style:

• Fish and Seafood - George Billionis, Australian born, previously at One & Only Royal Mirage in Dubai

• Middle Eastern - Manhal Herch, Syrian born - previously based at the One & Only Royal Mirage in Dubai

• Créole – a native Seychellois, Jean-Paul Nourrice serves specialties such as Bat Curry. Guests can also accompany Jean-Paul to the local food markets in Victoria to get a taste of the local food scene in Mahé

• Asian - the newest recruit to the team Thai born Khampan Pukdangpan. Previous experience includes Palais Manaskar in Morocco and Halaveri Resort, Maldives

• French – for the French touch, Maia has recruited one of Paris’ best pastry chefs, Sebastian Bernis, previously at Fauchon, one of Paris’ most famous food shops

To take advantage of MAIA’s exceptional cuisine, the resort is offering a special Dine for Free promotion throughout 2010 where guests can enjoy one-night free and a complimentary dinner each night.


• Stay three consecutive nights on a Bed & Breakfast basis and receive the fourth night free (4=3 or alternatively, 8=6 or 12=9)


• Guests will also receive a complimentary dinner each on each night including the fourth night (excluding beverages) and unlimited diving throughout their stay. (Diving includes equipment hire and applies to introductory and exploration dives only. Private boat hire and dives can be organised at an additional cost.)


Package valid until 25 April 2010 and then from 10 May – 25 December inclusive

Discover your Wine Sign at MAIA

Also new for April 2010 is The Wine Sign® at MAIA. The result of a longstanding collaboration between La Winery founder Philippe Raoux and Frédéric Brochet, an oenologist, The Wine Sign® was created to encourage guests to discover their own wine tastes and the corresponding wines that suit them. This unique tasting was originally created in Bordeaux at La Winery which is just a few miles from Château d'Arsac, the home of Philippe Raoux.

MAIA is the first partner to offer the experience which initiates guests into the art of tasting. The personal consultation with a specifically trained sommelier includes a blind-tasting of six Grands crûs wines, each with clearly defined characters. Each participant records their reactions and experience by means of a simple electronic voting system, the votes are then analysed by The Wine Sign’s® exclusive software and the profile of each guests is outlined using the eight existing Wine Signs. Whether it’s "Gourmet", "Strong" or "Refined"... in all cases each participant receives a personalised cellar book featuring a selected list of wines that correspond to their tastes. The MAIA wine menu (which features over 280 wines) references the wines corresponding sign to help guests choose a wine specific to their taste. The wine session costs €250 per couple.

Oyster Box Hotel and Spa ....

It has been 6 months since the re-birth of the “Majestic Lady” and feedback from guests during this time has been superb. Feedback that I can now personally identify with!


I was lucky enough to stay at the hotel myself in January and can honestly say that it exceeded my every expectation – and more. I found the staff to be extremely friendly and sincere. The spa just blew me away! I highly recommend the Rungu massage. The fabulous pedicure I had was also an absolute treat. The Lighthouse Bar and Oyster Bar both offer guests a chic place to relax and enjoy a cocktail or glass of bubbly. The rooms were all lovely - each with its own unique décor and feel. The super fast complimentary WIFI was also a hit with me. The Garden Villas, Cabanas and Family suite were some of my favourites... not to mention the breathtaking Presidential suite. More than anything the history behind the hotel was what grabbed me.


I have included some stories we received from past guests before the hotel reopened in this newsletter. It is amazing to see just how much this hotel means to people. The entire hotel still radiates that elegance of a time gone by - but at the same time sets a new benchmark for luxury in KwaZulu-Natal ..... Tesna Simonsen



The team from The Oyster Box will have stand at INDABA this year and I would be delighted to set up a meeting for you. Please let me know a date and time that would suit you and I will get it confirmed, by emailing me on tesna@luxuryrepcollection.com



Please also let me know if you would like to arrange a site inspection.




As we are approaching brochure production time we would be very happy to assist you with copy writing, images, training etc. Please drop me a line if there is anything I can do to help.

It happened at the Oyster Box....

 
Ruth Henwood wrote...



My first memory of the Oyster Box is a simple but very special one. It was in about 1969.


My grandfather and grandmother fetched me from our home on the Berea and said we were off to a special outing at the Oyster Box for tea. On went my best dress and off we set on a long drive to Umhlanga.


The tea, of course was scrumptious but the memory of my wonderful grandfather will always be associated with impeccable manors, distinction, grandeur and elegance.


I look forward to taking my grandchildren to The Oyster Box on a special occasion and hope the memories will be imprinted on their minds for as long as I have held mine.

 Mike Devereaux wrote....



My younger son came from the UK to South Africa in 1993 to celebrate his 21st birthday with other family members living here. He was accompanied by his grandmother, who had just experienced her first flight at the age of 84. To celebrate these events we brought them to Umhlanga Rocks to the Cabana Beach hotel for a week’s holiday.


On his birthday I had booked a dinner for us all at the Oyster Box to dine in style as a special treat. There were 9 of us, myself and my wife our 5 children and my mother plus my elder son’s wife. We ordered wine to drink from the waiter, a Bellingham Johannesburger and a Cabernet Sauvignon whilst we perused the menu.


Everyone placed their orders for starters and the main course and I ordered oysters as my starter and prawns for my main meal. The waiter returned after a short while to inform me that they had no oysters and seeing the disappointment on my face he quickly quipped and we don’t have the box either. The other family members dissolved into laughter as I ordered Portuguese Sardines as a replacement starter.


Over the years this meal involving the missing oysters and box has become a family legend and is recounted with great pleasure and nostalgia for the meal that we still thoroughly enjoyed at the Oyster Box that evening. Prior to the closure for renovations, my wife and I had dined frequently at the Oyster Box and we await the re-opening with great anticipation and hope that the oysters are present on my next visit.

The facts.....

 The Oyster Box stands majestically on Umhlanga’s prestigious beachfront, with lush landscaped gardens and direct beach access. The hotel is conveniently situated in relation to the Natal Midlands and the Drakensberg mountain range, as well as world-famous game parks and historic battlefields.



With 86 beautifully appointed rooms and suites, eight Garden Villas, each with its own private pool and a magnificent 450 sqm Presidential Suite, complete with private pool, once again the OYSTER BOX HOTEL stands in a class of its own.


The Red Carnation Hotel Collection has gone to extraordinary lengths to preserve the original character, texture, environment and allure of the hotel during the restoration project, whist carefully incorporating state-of-the-art technology to bring this legend into the 21st century, to satisfy today’s most discerning travellers who visit for business and pleasure.


History has been interwoven with essential modern touches of technology to ensure a truly ‘today’ 5-star experience, which adds even greater beauty to the hotel’s historical majesty. A generous array of deluxe amenities, thoughtful extras, personal features and services are provided for the pleasure and comfort of guests, including:


• Flat Screen Satellite TV with over 25 channels to choose from.


• Deluxe L’Occitane bath amenities, luxurious bathrobes and slippers.


• Housekeeping service twice daily.


• Soap and pillow menus.


• Heated towel rails.


• Well stocked mini-bar


• Fresh fruit and flowers in all rooms, plus a selection of current magazines.


• In-room CD/DVD players and iPod docking stations.


• Private in-room safes


• Finger-tip controlled heat and air-conditioning.


• Extensive 24-hour room service menu.


• Two direct dial telephones with voicemail.


• High-speed Wi-Fi.


• Beach gear - sun umbrellas, beach bags, balls, bats and suntan lotion.


• Children’s Club with qualified child minding staff so adults can relax






We have a good supply of brochures and image cd’s let us know and we will happily send you some


I leave you with this a fantastic write up on the new Oyster Box Hotel & Spa


http://www.showcook.com/2010/features/the-oyster-box-revisted/


See if you can spot Henry (mentioned in above story)