A DREAM project that started off in with just four beachfront bure in 2010 has now grown into a spectacular 10 villa resort, winning accolades on international travel sites.
Maui Palms is owned and managed by Wayne Lawrence and his wife Christine Badia who have invested more than $6 million in the establishment over the years.
What makes the resort more special is the fact that all the staff members have helped out in the construction and maintenance of the property at one time or another, giving it their personal touch.
Being an engineer by qualification and his wife from the property industry, Mr Lawrence said the only experience in hospitality they had was through secondary job as working in cafes and restaurants during their schooling days.
“It takes time to start a resort or a hotel and that’s why it took us some time but now we are in full scale operations with our villas being fully booked even when its not the peak season here,” he said.
He said majority of their investment was in infrastructure for the property – putting up a reticulation system for the resort, generator and other requirements.
“It not easy in this industry because tourism is a dynamic industry with people’s expectations and requirements changing and therefore we can never be complacent even for a short time or we will be left behind.
“We were lucky to get people (staff members) to work with us here and they have stayed with us throughout our journey. They care about everybody who work here and our guests which has also contributed to our great reviews by guests on travel and booking sites,” he said.
According to Mr Lawrence last month they were booked 100 per cent and most of their guests come from Australia, New Zealand with a mix from US and Asia.
He said the resort doesn’t do any major marketing and all their guests are attracted through the reviews they get on TripAdvisors and other sites.
Mr Lawrence regards his staff members very highly and he said they had helped him in building and maintenance of the property.
“With most of the experienced construction workers busy with other bigger projects, we decided not to wait for them to be free and so we started doing the maintenance and building work ourselves.
“One time my chef helped me repair the roof of one of the villas. My two staff members Ravikesh Mani and Moji helped me build the swimming pool.
“For most of the bigger resorts and hotels that own three or more properties – they can always get staff from their other properties to fill in for other staff who are either ill or off duty.
“But we do not have that so all our staff work in all departments and are skilled in different areas so that they are able to keep the place running in case one of them is not there,” he said.
According to Mr Lawrence, what makes Maui Palms special and what makes Fiji special is the people who are always ready to help others. Most of the features that guests will notice at the resort is the wooden tables, chairs and wood carvings.
“My dad moved to Fiji from England in 2010 and he hasn’t gone back since then. He has been an integral part of the property.
“He is an artist and he has carved the doors, tables and hanging light holders from the wood. This has given the place a special touch,” he said.
FETA finalist Maui Palms is one of the finalists in the deluxe accommodation award and Mr Lawrence said they were thrilled with the recognition.
“We have won lots of awards and have been nominated countless times on TripAdvisor and Booking.com but this is the only locally recognised tourism award and we are very excited,” he said.
He said the resort was a finalist in the same category last year and this year they were optimistic of a win.
“We have won a lot of awards internationally from booking sites but for my staff this is the only real locally acknowledged award – so for us this is the
most important because this is where the staff gets recognised for their hard work.
“We are a small family run resort yet we are going up against some of the big guns in the industry.”
