Published
irregularly by Coconuts Beach
Club / P.O. Box 3684 / Apia, Western Samoa
Fax (685) 20071 or 22538 / for Members/ Coconuts Beach
Club ("Coco Nuts") / October, 20001
Talofa From Paradise A Special Talofa to all Nuts, and would-be
Nuts! Today, as I fire up my trusty old Mac, grab the mouse, and say hello to
all of you, I am more aware than ever of just how privileged I am to be doing
this. As the “real world” gets more
and more insane, I appreciate more and more just how lucky we are to be living
in Paradise. I am happy to say that all of the news from Paradise is
good! Travel writers continue to praise Coconuts ... we have completed two fabulous
additions to our resort ... more Nut Letters to share with you - so much good
news! We are truly grateful! This past year has also been very eventful for
us on a personal level. After living in Samoa for more than 10 years, Jennifer
and I became naturalized citizens at the end of last year. Then, in a ceremony
held on my birthday in April of this year I was bestowed the chiefly title of
Tautaimatapalapala - a very high title that was given to me by Atanoa ,the highest
chief in our village of Maninoa. The traditional Samoan ceremony which lasted
all day was attended by representatives from throughout our district of Siumu
and the neighboring district of Safata. This is not merely an honorary title,
but one that carries with it all of the duties and obligations of any other
Samoan matai and can only be bestowed upon Samoan citizens. After a lot of thought,
I accepted this title as a way of manifesting our commitment to Samoa, our village
of Maninoa, and our desire to participate in the meetings of the council of
chiefs, which influences all aspects of village life. It is a great honor for
me and our family and I willingly undertake my responsibilities with great enthusiasm
and respect for the fa’a Samoa - the Samoan way.
As is the custom in Samoa, my honorific is usually shortened to “Tautai”,
so please feel free to use the shortened version
- as other Samoans do. By the
way, Sieni, as the wife of a Samoan
chief, is now referred to as the “fale tua”. I would like to acknowledge and
thank all of our friends in the travel industry and all of our past guests (Returning
Nuts), who have made this past year possible. Mika, Sieni, Ned and I are very
gratified that you enjoy our unique brand of hospitality to the extent that
you support us and come back for more. We thank all of you Nuts and would-be Nuts for your encouragement. And, please
continue to write to me. I welcome your comments! Tautaimatapalapala
Progress in Samoa An
Oxymoron? Decide for yourself! ... I mentioned in my last newsletter that Polynesian
Airlines was taking delivery of a new Boeing airplane and starting twice weekly
service between Honolulu and Apia. Well,
they did take delivery of the plane and have been more or less reliably flying
from Honolulu to Samoa for about one year! Unfortunately, the twice weakly (HOW
RUDE!) service has been an “on again - off again” affair. As I write this article
it is off again. But hey - they have been flying between the two destinations
for one year now, and that’s an accomplishment. I am very happy to report that
during the past year there have been NO NEW BIG HOTELS
in Samoa. In fact, there have been no new small hotels either. Now, that’s progress - isn’t it?
News for our COCO NUTS First of all, I hope you enjoy the enclosed edition of NUT LETTERS. And - believe it or not - they are all 100% true! ... To all of our Nuts who were married at Coconuts - which is now happening on a regular basis - please check our web site for pictures of your wedding. We are adding new pictures all the time. Speaking of our web site, we continue to improve (?) our website at www.coconutsbeachclub.com !! If you haven’t seen it for a while, please check it out. ....Erskine and Christine Rodan, RETURNING NUTS from Melbourne, were recently back for their eighteenth visit.... I continue to receive lots of queries about our special deal for RETURNING NUTS. It’s easy. All you have to do is to write, fax, call or Email us - or your travel agent - and say that you are a RETURNING NUT. We will do the rest. You will receive a 20% discount on your room rate, and a complimentary upgrade if available (don’t you hate when they say that?) when you check in.
Coconuts "STAYS
FAMOUS" Where do we
start? There were many article written about us since I last reported to you.
There was a terrific article abut Samoa and Coconuts in the Los Angeles Times
Magazine of March 18, 2001. It was really long and had lots of good information
about Samoa in general. So, we had it reprinted and enclose one for your enjoyment.
My favorite part is "Our first morning at Coconuts we stumbled along for
breakfast and met Mika, the enigmatic and delightfully crazed restaurant manager
and chef. An ex-New Yorker, he is a superb cook and has driven the Samoan dining
experience to new heights."...Then there was the article in the New York
times on January 21, 2001 by Jeri Clausing who said "...we discovered Coconuts
Beach Club, a small resort with a nice mix of Samoan-style fales and the luxury
of big beds, air conditioning and showers styled as lava-rock waterfalls. They
have a gecko-shaped swimming pool overlooking the pristine beach where you can
snorkel or kayak. We were lazy and enjoyed the chance to just lie around and
eat the good food offered in the small restaurant . It was a wise decision!"...
And lastly, in a n article featured in the San Francisco Chronicle magazine
section of October 14, 2001 called "Seductive Samoa" the writer says
"Coconuts turned out to be a relaxed but stylish beach hotel with fales
right on the water, and the best restaurant in all of Samoa". We sure do
love that stuff !!
Restaurant
News Here is
THE REALLY BIG NEWS - we have just completed a total renovation of our dining
room. We actually tore the entire structure down and started from scratch. Although
still in the funky, Coconuts style, Robert Ross (our acclaimed designer to the
stars from Los Angeles) has created the ultimate dining experience for Coconuts.
In the same location as before (adjacent to the three stool bar) there is a
new slate and lava rock floor, new larger windows and doors, a new shape, new
furniture and a slightly larger room. I am happy to say that we can now accommodate
all of our hotel guests in the dining room for fiafia - without having to sit
communally (unless you want to) and still have room for the fiafia to be performed
indoors. I will try to post some pictures on our website - coconutsbeachclub.com
- for those of you who can’t come and see the
real thing! The MEAL DEAL, now in it’s
third year, continues to be a great success! The price of the MEAL DEAL remains
the same - only US$39.95 per person for breakfast, lunch and three course dinner
- with unlimited quantities of our California House Wine at lunch and dinner,
plus unlimited quantities of many of
your other favorite beverages, including the ever popular Vailima Beer. And,
of course, there are still no buffets - just Mika’s wonderful food, cooked to
order for you, from the same great menu as always. With new lighting and permanent
tiki torches, the Palm Terrace has become a favorite for a great, romantic dinner.
Hotel
News The long awaited news is that we have
completed our new Guest Lounge - which
we call Fale Afa. As you probably know,
Fale means “house” and Afa is the Samoan name for the twine or sennit that is
woven by hand from the husk of the coconut.
In constructing the fale, our Samoan carpenters used more than one mile of Afa
to join all of the poles together and for decorative purposes, hence our name
Fale Afa. Another Robert Ross design,
this room is a welcome addition. A large room, open on three sides and constructed
entirely of round poles in the local custom, with great new furniture this new
addition has been very well received. It is a terrific place to read, write,
relax, enjoy the great ocean view, play games - and watch movies late at night.
Movies from our eclectic collection of some 500 videos, under the direction
of Mika (our resident movie expert) are projected via a state-of-the-art digital
projector onto a giant screen - with a great sound
system. We have already had several small meetings and conferences in
this room, bringing some of the “local” activities of the Samoan government
and the Peace Corps to Coconuts and providing an opportunity for our guests
to interact with local people. I am happy to report that Lina - who has been
with Coconuts since the early days and has taken care of reservations, arranged
the Coconuts weddings, and a host of other duties - has been promoted to Office
Manager and now resides on site so she can be available to everyone - 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. Only kidding,
Lina.
Tofa Soiufa : Wow! I’m exhausted! Time to shut down my Mac, head on down to see Mika, and have a sunset cocktail on the Palm Terrace. In these troubled times we are very blessed, here in Paradise. We have almost everything. The only thing missing is YOU. Please join us soon. Love from all of us here at COCONUTS to all of you COCO NUTS and would-be NUTS!
Tautai (Barry), Fale Tua (Jennifer),
Mika (Mike) Julia (Julia) and Ned