Misha reports on our recent trip to the tropical islands of Fiji
There wasn’t too much reaction from people when Andy and I said we were off to Fiji, however there were quite a few raised eyebrows when we added that it was not a holiday but a business trip! After a forecast of 130 km/hr winds, dealing with a power blackout in Cromwell on the morning we were leaving, a road-closure due to falling rocks on the way to Queenstown airport, we finally made it onto our plane and flew to Nadi (pronounced ‘Nandy’). Our first night was at the Novotel Hotel near the airport where we spent most of the night – with the help of Duty Manager Seramana – dealing with wine stained clothes in our suitcase after a bottle of our Reserve Pinot Noir broke in our suitcase. Our luggage must have taken quite a drop to break such a well packed bottle!
Next we went for a quick visit to the Suva HQ of our Fiji distributor, Victoria Wines, and were shown around by the lovely Liam Hindle who established the company over 20 years ago. Then it was off to Nausori airport where we were flown to Laucala Island (pronounced “Lothala”) by the island resort’s private plane. Laucala Island has been listed as one of the hundred most beautiful hotels/resorts in the world by Hideaway Hotels which ranks them as a 7 star resort! The island was originally owned by publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes, but the island was sold to Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz in 2002 who has spent millions redeveloping the island and creating an extraordinary luxury retreat opening in 2009.
General Manager David Stepetic, who has nearly 20 years of experience with the Four Seasons Group, oversees the island’s 370 staff – and with only 25 luxury villas (and never all occupied at the same time), it gives you some idea of the level of service that’s provided!
Laucala Island has its own farm which produces a large proportion of the food it requires – from vegetables to poultry, a world class 18-hole golf course, a spa and various restaurants to eat and drink – all of that for their few but discerning guests. Our stay on Laucala Island involved training of the large hospitality team one afternoon which the team thoroughly enjoyed – especially when it came to trying all the wines! We then we hosted the first wine dinner that Laucala Island had ever held – an inspired idea from Kylie Hole, the delightful Australian F&B manager. The dinner was for 18 guests and it was held on a long table on the outside colonnade of the Plantation House – a spectacular location overlooking the palm trees. We can’t tell you who was at the dinner, but suffice to say the island attracts the rich and the famous!
We also visited the two Nadi based retail wine shops of Victoria Wines and met the teams there. Our final night was an informal wine dinner at the Sofitel Hotel in the V restaurant! Amazingly we ran into several people we knew at the dinner who were staying at the Hotel and had seen the Misha’s Wine Dinner advertised including John Lowther, the General Manager of Panprint, who print all of our wine labels!
We did manage the odd few hours here and there soaking up some beneficial rays and the odd cocktail but really most of our time there was for business – no really – it was!