The Mole chats with Patrick Wong, GM of Matamanoa Island Resort, Fiji.
The GM of Kiwi owned Matamanoa Island Resort, Patrick Wong told The Mole over an excellent lunch of grilled fish, overlooking the azure Pacific Ocean and reefs (yes it is hard life!) that the Resort was doing well, finishing December at 85% and January running at 82% occupancy.
[Patrick pictured right at the “the office”!]
The impact of the coup had been minimal with only 400 room night lost by this stunning Resort, whose key attributes, Patrick told me are small, secluded and private and as I gazed over the reef, I reckoned I know who the losers were in the lost nights and it was not Matamanoa!
Patrick told me that he only works in resorts and not hotels and that at Matamanoa, what made it really special along with one or two others resorts nearby was that there were no children under 12, giving couples a truly tranquil experience, one of all relaxation, while still offering all the activities one would expect on a Fijian island, with great evening entertainment offering authentic Fijian experiences.
Patrick said that the wholesalers and tour operators knew that the impact of the coup on the resorts in the islands would be non existent, but the consumer media had beat the whole thing up and out of all proportion, adding that it appeared that coups are away of life in Fiji.
He also said that he thought that the advisories were not fair in their assessment of risks, with inconsistencies between the Australia advisory to Fiji and some other countries where things were really bad and people had been killed or injured.
[Left – the view from Patrick’s office!]
The facts he said were simple in that if there were any issues in Fiji, which quite frankly there were and are not, then they would be in Suva and not in the islands where life went on as normal.
He said that there had been no staff lay offs at Matamanoa with life simply carrying on, adding that what was critical though was having Jill Palise in Australia because she knows Fiji so well, having been in Fiji for 25 years and the wholesalers and operators also know here well and trust her – she does a great job.
In terms of the mix of clients, Patrick told me that one third of Matamanoa’s clients were from the UK and Europe, with two thirds from Australia and New Zealand with a smattering from the USA, Canada and elsewhere, but wherever they were form they all arrived amazed by Matamanoa, leaving refreshed, relaxed and reinvigorated.
Matamanoa is small with only 20 bures and 13 hotel rooms and while there are plans to expand, including 4 deluxe bures with their own pools, any expansion to be undertaken with the maintenance of the ambiance and tranquillity of the Resort and its setting and location maintained at all costs.
Patrick waved goodbye to me from the beach calling a Bula Venaka after me and leaving me with a clear imprint on my mind that Matamanoa was a very special place and that I would be back.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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