Sinalei birthday aims to lift spirits after Cyclone

By Nefertiti Matatia 13 February 2018, 12:00AM

Tropical Cyclone Gita is not stopping the Sinalei Reef Resort staff from preparing for their 22nd Anniversary this weekend.

It’s an exciting time for one of the Owners of Sinalei Reef Resort, Sose Annandale, her family and the resort.

The focus of this two-day celebration, by having corporate tables on Friday and beach bash on Sunday, is to uplift the spirit of each person that experienced the hard-hitting winds of Tropical Cyclone Gita.

“We are just thrilled to have reached twenty two years of service to the country and the community. That’s the drive behind this memorable event for Sinalei,” Ms. Annandale said.

Despite having their electricity disconnected, and internet and phone lines affected, they are still going ahead with their celebration plans.

“Our biggest issue was the debris left everywhere, so we are still doing the clean up, but thank God it didn’t last any longer, we could have been in trouble if it lasted any longer. We just don’t want a repeat of what had happened over the weekend."

“Everything was fine, the winds ended up stronger than we anticipated, but we were very well prepared.”

They had cut trees that were close to the building, which she said is all part of their preparation for an unexpected cyclone.

Ms. Annandale says they had about 14 guests when the cyclone hit.

All of them have left.

She said they expect more visitors because they were not able to make any bookings because of the poor network during the weekend.

“The water is fine for us and the internet was another big thing, but we are getting there." 

“I just hope that they prioritise hotels since we have visitors from overseas, so we can give them a comfortable stay. Having the power back on would be good for us to get back into business.”

Regardless of their situation, the Sinalei Reef Resort is determined to make their 22nd Anniversary a night to remember for everyone.

Ms. Annandale says it will be a night of enjoyment and on the last day, Ardijah and their whole band will perform at the Resort.

“We are having Ardijah on the beach and it is going to be a fun, more laid back kind of day on the beach." 

“Just bring your family and have a good time on the beach and listen to some good music. Have some snacks and drink some drinks. It starts from 1pm to 7:30pm."

“We have offered really good accommodation rates so people can just come and just stay the night instead of driving home,” she said.

There will be tents and candles that will be seen on Friday night during the corporate tables with different themes.

“There are bundles of tents that we will be set up and candles. We just want to make it look very festive; we would have food stalls, buffet style with different themes.”

“We try to feature and highlight everything that makes Samoa a special place, through our architectural buildings and the gardens. Samoa we underplay our gardens and the vibrant colors.”

By Nefertiti Matatia 13 February 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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