Well, mostly emails, a few letters and some guest comments upon checking out. No matter how it comes to us, I want to say thanks for the time and effort that you have taken to let us know about your experiences at Coconuts. Please send us your email address to receive future issues via email. Read and enjoy! Tautai

We recently had a holiday at your resort … the holiday was all that we could dream of. Thank you to everyone for your hospitality. Coconuts offered and gave us everything we were seeking for a holiday. Our last year had been full of stress and worries … Your resort was peaceful, friendly, relaxing, delicious meals. Please pass on the photos enclosed …(and) our appreciation to the guide who took us into the lagoon via canoe. His wife freshly brewed some Samoan cocoa and he brought it to us in the evening … It was a special gesture.
--Tony & Eileen R Victoria, Australia

Hello to everybody at the coconuts team! Thanks for Coco News Nuts 12/2005. My wife and I stayed in Coconuts Beach Club at February 2000. It was a nice stay in one of the Over-the-water Fales for one week. We remember very often at this great time. It is important for us to hear what happened at Coconuts Beach Club … Oh no, a resort with 140 rooms and the government wants more resorts… In 2007 we want visit New Zealand again and then … Coconuts Beach Club for perfect relaxing. Best regards from a very very cold Germany – 12 degrees C Minus.
--C&R

It’s hard to tell you how appreciative I am for having visited Coconuts and having had the pleasure of your fantastic staff. Everything was delightful – the rooms, Mika’s food, the marvelous beach setting, the island tours … I plan to acquire my “Returning Nuts” T-shirt in the not too distant future.
--Lynne N USA
 

Thank you for keeping our 1997 memory of Coconuts as fresh as a Maninoa coconut through the medium of Coco News Nuts and Nuts Letters. We think fondly of our stay at CBC. The arrival of your bulletin is like the arrival of a Pacific breeze in our home. Hearing about the continuing improvements, the preservation of some of the excellent facilities that we remember so well, the continuing caring staff who looked after us with such patience and friendliness and the delightful relaxed ambiance of Coconuts creates an irresistible force which will draw us back soon. We are working on it!
--Denise & Malcolm M Western Australia
 

Talofa Coconuts friends. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with you and have already been telling our family all about your beautiful resort; you certainly deserve to be well known by everyone. We would definitely have Coconuts in our sights for a return visit … all of you at Coconuts will be in our hearts and minds for a long time to come. With our sincere thanks and the very best wishes to all.
--Pam & David C New Zealand
 

I just looked on your very nice website, this reminds me of a wonderful time I had at your place (in a Treehouse)! I especially want to thank you for s e n d i n g y o u r newsletters over such a long time – for sure I once will be a returning nut! Warm greetings from Kiel in Germany.
--Connie S
 

Hi Everyone!!! Just a quick email to say that we LOVED our stay at Coconuts just recently and we are already saving to try and come back very soon! We could not have wished for a better honeymoon … In the meantime, here is a photo of us enjoying one of Lanu’s magical Coconut Cocktails by the pool!
--Sharryn & Peter D Australia
 

Talofa! Hello again! Having fallen back on our feet with a thud, back at work etc, I thought it timely to offer our utmost thanks to your resort for the wonderful wedding and tremendous stay we enjoyed at Coconuts. It was tremendous to witness the Fa’a Samoa, the Samoan way. I cannot thank your staff enough, particularly on our wedding day. Your girls who were o r g a n i z i n g  o u r ceremony on the day were an absolute delight. On our return to Australia, we were overwhelmed by the quality of the DVD wedding presentation put together by the Samoan photographer. Ten out of ten. It was also wonderful to see you, Barry as owner, being a fantastic host, always enjoying treating us and other guests to a warm hello and a chat at breakfast and dinner. Congratulate Mika on his fabulous food. Our Samoan experience was without exception a total surprise, as we were taken aback by your resort, the beautiful beaches and coastline, lush tropical jungles, beautiful water falls, and best of all, the beautiful Samoan people! We have already recommended without exception Coconuts and Samoa to everyone we know … we look forward to enjoying our first wedding anniversary at Coconuts in March 2007….The accommodations were perfect, the food was sublime and the staff were an absolute treat.
--C&R Taya Australia
 

Great to hear from you again, Barry. We’re coming back – just don’t
know when.
--Gil & Mary R USA
 

Thanks for your latest missive. The newsletter always stirs a brief but happy memory … I was a journalist from the Manchester Evening News in northern England … I promised my wife that I’d bring her after I retired. Hopefully that day is closing in so who knows? One day I’ll be sitting up at the wonderful bar again. Anyway, keep up the wonderful work of making people happy.
--Richard F

I just brought your last newsletter back from Newcastle whilst sorting out my mother’s papers following her death. She always talked about what a wonderful time she had in Samoa and the relaxing times on the beach next to the bar where the girls in the restaurant were always gigging whilst going about their work … Keep spreading the magic and friendship that comes from Coconuts Beach Club and spreads all over the globe. I hope to see you all before too long.
--David P. England

With every new Nut letter there are more memories that surface again.
--FK Germany

Hello Barry. I have just entered a dream holiday comp, you had to list the best holidays you have had. I had to list three places in the Pacific. Of course, Coconuts was my first pick. Hope I win so that we can enjoy Coconuts Beach Club again. Wish me luck.
--Cheryl R Australia

Thank you very much for all that you did to make our stay a really pleasant one. Upolu is a great pacific island Paradise – weather, water, mangrove lagoons, mai tais, whoops – well I had great time eating too. My print and ginger masher from the gift shop have already found a place to call home. My only regret was having too little time and that I probably didn’t give credit or reward enough for all the thoughtful and pleasant help your staff gave a set of down home folk from far away.
--Paul B
 

Coconuts is a beautiful secluded place on a beautiful island – we loved the location, the resort architecture and the free and easy atmosphere, no rules or regulations, no high rise modern buildings, no large scale tourism, we don’t know many places like that in the world these days!
--Tony & Veronique W

 

Thanks again for all the letters! 'till the next time...Tautai

Coco News Nuts

Published irregularly by Coconuts Beach Club
P.O. Box 3684 / Apia, Western Samoa

Fax (685) 20071  / for Members/ Coconuts Beach Club ("Coco Nuts") / December, 2006

Talofa from PARADISE: A Special Talofa Lava to all Nuts, and would-be Nuts! Ah yes …. another year has flown by and it’s time for your annual news from Paradise. I like to think of it as my offering to you of a cup of Kava, but one that you read instead of drink – and hopefully gives you the same, relaxing effect. As an old friend of mine from those long ago Beverly Hills days used to ask me – “are we having fun yet”? In those days, it was the pressure of dealing with the normal, every-day stuff that went into earning a living and trying to have fun in the jungle that was then Los Angeles. Judging by the news from the “real world” today, if I ask you that question I think the answer would probably be “not yet”. Just when you think the news can’t get any worse it seems to do exactly that. And now, instead of just dealing with the usual every day tasks, the daily routine contains the added pressure of trying to stay safe, or trying not be afraid all of the time! There is a bright spot. In our world - Paradise – things are still terrific, I’m happy to report. I hope you enjoy reading the news from Paradise and letters from our dear NUTS. If you decide to exchange the pressures of your world for those of ours, please come and join us! Now, for the State of Paradise Report ……Your Samoan chief, Tautaimatapalapala Barry Rose

PROGRESS IN SAMOA: An oxymoron? Decide for yourself (Now, this is the part of the newsletter that sometimes gets me in trouble, so I will be very careful this time) ... Last time I told you about the takeover of Polynesian Airlines by Virgin Blue and the emergence of the new carrier called Polynesian Blue. Well, I am happy to say that the change has been very beneficial for us at Coconuts and, I think, for Samoa.There are now a lot more flights from New Zealand and Australia than there used to be under Polynesian and the fares are cheaper too! What more could we ask for you say? How about the restoration, after more than a year, of flights from Hawaii. That would be nice! For at least the past 15 years, there has always been a direct flight from Hawaii to Samoa – except since Virgin took over. HOW RUDE!! Well we keep on hoping. … The government seems happy to report, on numerous occasions, that plans are now in place for a major resort to be built on our South Coast, in Vavau – about 30 minutes to the East of Coconuts – by the Warwick Hotel group of Fiji fame. It’s size has variously been reported as anywhere from 45 to 150 Fales and the date for the start of construction has variously been reported as anywhere from January 1, 2006 to January 1, 2007. By the way, it’s supposed to be  very fancy.

NEWS FOR OUR COCO NUTS : Once again, I hope you enjoy the latest edition of NUT LETTERS … all 100% true! ... It often takes me longer to put together the Nut Letters than the “hard news” part. That’s because I get to read and re-read all of those wonderful letters and emails that we receive from our wonderful NUTS throughout the year – and I forget that I am supposed to be gathering together letters to share! I just get so caught up in reading about the wonderful experiences that our NUTS share with me that I get distracted. OH MY!! You see, life in Paradise can be stressful too!!  … I do have a bit of sad news to report – our beloved nighttime bartender, known to legions of NUTS as PK, passed away this year. Papali’i, a retired land surveyor, had been a chief in our village and a long time employee of Coconuts as a security guard (in the Samoan tradition) and as a bartender (in the Palagi tradition). Actually, his real job was Ambassador Of Samoan Hospitality, at which he excelled. He also happened to be one of the greatest teller of tales that I have ever heard. He enchanted a legion of NUTS, telling stories at the bar well into the night – for which he will always be remembered … Many thanks to NUTS Ernie and Helen Van Luyn and Kevin and Beverly Dunne – all here for their 6th time. And welcome back to Elizabeth and Alan Kasehaen ,returning once again – after an absence of 11 years!

COCONUTS "STAYS FAMOUS": The Sunshine Coast (Australia) Weekender Magazine of March 10, 2006 has a great article called “Go Nuts”. The writer, Susie Boswell has a delightful sense of humor and captures the essence of Coconuts quite well. Some of her comments about Coconuts are – “It’s a boutique, idiosyncratic spot, some rooms made from spent volcanic rock, gloriously and individually designed and featuring sensual open bathrooms and waterfall showers … The resort has a folksy vibe deriving from the owners’ intimate involvement; this is no corporate condominium complex designed by a committee and run by remote. It’s truly intimate and unique … So, if you’d like something a little alternative to mainstream resorts but still with all the pampering, why not tell your friends that you’re going Nuts” … And, from the Herald (Australia) March 19, 2006 article by David May – Relax the Samoan Way – “ … in 1990, with Honolulu-based restaurant owner Michael Pirics, opened a restaurant and three-stool bar…Two years later, Coconuts Beach Club became Samoa’s first luxury resort. It now boasts suites, traditional style fales (bungalows), two over-the-water fales, a tree house, a conference centre and the original Three Stool Bar. With a gecko shaped pool and swim up cocktail bar, fine dining, bar stools perched on the sand, luxuriously appointed fales and a range of water sports, Coconuts sparked a flurry of interest…” … Lastly, Coconuts was featured on an Australian television show called Getaway in Oz in October of 2006, with great footage of the new Villas, the local village, our village church and a riveting interview with Mika. … Although not a travel article, Sieni and I and Coconuts were featured in the 2006 edition of the Loyola Lawyer, a magazine published by Loyola Law School in Los Angeles – the alma mater for both of us.  Why us? Maybe because we don’t exactly fit the typical profile of their alumni?

RESTAURANT NEWS:  A couple of items here. The Coconuts Beach Club Band – the string band that has been playing for our dinner guests for 15 years - has finally produced a CD of their music. If you are interested in receiving a copy, please contact us. The price is US$22, including postage. … The Meal Deal is still available, and more people than ever are taking advantage of the lower price that we offer if you book it in advance. More than a third of our bookings now include the Meal Deal! All those smart NUTS!  Check out our web site for details. And, now there is a Kids Meal Deal offered for only 50% of the cost of the regular Meal Deal – and all the beer and wine that the kids want is included! Just kidding, we monitor their drinks! … Lastly, Mika has a new ice cream maker and he has gone bananas! Well, no bananas yet – but how about kiwi, chocolate almond, fresh strawberry, coconut (of course) and rum raisin! Naturally, all of these goodies are included on the Meal Deal.

HOTEL NEWS: I am delighted to report that the Royal Villas, which were completed at the end of last year, have proven to be one of our most sought after accommodations. Together with our Over-Water Fales, they are the most unique accommodations in Samoa… Well, we did it. In August we opened the Coco Beach Spa– and changed our name to Coconuts Beach Club – Resort & Spa. In all honesty, I have to say that we “borrowed” the basic architecture from the Four Seasons Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii, but added the special touch of our architect, Robert Ross. Located within an impressive outer wall constructed entirely of local lava rock are two single and one double treatment fales. These open air, thatched roof bungalows are built in the traditional Samoan style yet privately located within their own quartzite stone and luminescent wall enclosures. The combination of this traditional Samoan open-fale design with the serenity of contemporary shoji-style privacy creates an incomparably quiet and restful ambiance. The spacious spa grounds also feature a mini-gecko shaped heated spa pool, private outdoor shower, and a separate, dedicated, hardwood floor yoga room with full ocean views.

TOFA SOIFUA: Wow! I’m exhausted! This is hard work! Time to see Mika for a Catapult – maybe two. We are very blessed, here in Paradise. We have almost everything. The only thing missing is YOU.  Love from all of us, to all of you …………! 

 Tautaimatapalapala (Barry), Faletua Sieni (Jennifer), Mika (Mike), Ned (Ned), Onolina (Lina)

Coco News Nuts Archives