The first day we stayed at a motel near the airport in Apia. It was nice to see the town and we were able to meet the locals, try some of the Samoan food at a nearby restaurant and shop at the big market in town.
Our driver, Sam, picked us up from our motel and drove us to the resort at the south end of the island. When we got to the resort, we couldn't believe our eyes! It was the most beautiful and magical place we've ever seen!
We stayed in a beachfront fale and was astonished by the view we had each morning. We tried many of the massages, which were affordable, professional, soothing and relaxing. You were right off the ocean and could hear the waves. During the few few days we had a full-body traditional Samoan massage and also a hot-stone massage. Both were wonderful!
All the staff got to know us on a name-to-name basis, were always there to help us with anything, and made our wedding the talk of the resort. They made everything so special and they worked so hard to make the day a success! I don't think there's any other resort/island that could compare to this one! The people are so happy, the environment is magical and the views are beautiful! The gardens, ocean view, rooms, food (amazing Chef!), and people are more than you could ever ask for.
Some things we did during our first few days on the island:
-We got a few massages (traditional Samoan and hot-stone).
-We saw the cultural performance/Samoan fire-dancers. It was an amazing show and seems so dangerous! There was also a nice buffet this night.
-We went running in the morning out by the main road and there we saw traditional Samoan houses, pigs, horses and chickens running around.
-We went swimming.
-We met with our wedding coordinator, Kim, and made sure everything was set for the wedding.
-We drank cocktails and ate delicious seafood, pasta, Thai food, etc at the main restaurant (we LOVED the food! the chef, Ernest was excellent and all the seafood was so fresh!)
-We watched our canoe boat for the wedding being painted, built and decorated. We had the first canoe wedding since the tsunami last September so the canoe was built while we were there!
-We watched the sand crabs while laying out. This was fun because the crabs would fight with one another and one crab was digging and throwing sand into a pile to make his home/hole.
-We got to know the staff and also other people staying at the resort. Most guests were from New Zealand but there was one other couple on their honeymoon who now live in Hawaii but who are from the states (Chicago and Boston. They were really nice and even took photos on our wedding day for us.
We had been planning on leaving the resort to check out more areas on the island and to take a trip to Savaii, the other island of Samoa; however, we LOVED the resort so much and all the activities that were offered that we decided to stay at the resort and enjoy every minute of living like a King and Queen!
Check out the pictures below to see how beautiful the resort was! I especially liked the gardens and numerous colorful flowers all over the resort. It brought out the tropical look and the peaceful atmosphere.
No comments:
Post a Comment