Sea Change at Seabreeze

Wendy and Chris Booth are clearly a couple who know what they want. They are, from first meeting, proud, passionate, hard working and completely dedicated to Samoa.

They first visited the island nation in 1996 and were drawn back several times before finally deciding to call it home. It’s been a labour of love they both admit, but one which has netted award after accolade and many repeat guests they now call friends.

“As a child growing up in the North of England I dreamt of living on a tropical Island. Chris, a lifelong surfer also loved the islands and together we dreamed of creating an island paradise,” Wendy says.

The avid travellers set the bar very high, having stayed at some of the best hotels in the world.
“There are beautiful beaches everywhere in Samoa, however we remembered a cute bay where a local taxi driver, Tau, took us swimming. On the most perfect day, we drove down into the bay, the sun was glistening on the lagoon, the view was mesmerizing and we knew instantly that this was our piece of paradise, aptly named Paradise Cove.”

Chris, an Australian Master Builder of 40 years turned bush carpenters into skilled tradesmen as together they built was is now Seabreeze Resort Samoa.

Chris and Wendy have learnt valuable lessons along the way but have always believed in up-skilling local talent at all times. Waiters become chefs, cleaners become entertainers, drivers work towards management. Walking around the beautiful resort Chris jokes with the staff and you get the sense they are a real family at Seabreeze.

Seabreeze is Samoa’s ultimate resort for boutique luxury. With the focus clearly on outdoor living, all villas have ocean, lagoon and reef views. A total refurbishment took place in 2010/11 with each room carefully structured with the tropics in mind to encourage cross flow ventilation from natural sea breezes.

All the usual ammenities are in place, from minibars to air-conditioning, indoor and outdoor showers and beautiful linen, but it’s the extra touches that really make Seabreeze something special.

At check-in there is what seems to be a mountain of paperwork to fill in and at first I thought it was all a bit of a bore. But the paperwork is so the staff get to know you, what you like to eat and drink and what activities you have in mind so they can take care of everything for you.

Of course this can be done from the comfort of your room and before you know it, the paperwork is done and your every beck and call is being attended to.

Each afternoon guests are offered complimentary canapes and alcoholic drinks (Seabreeze is an adults-only resort), delivered to your room. And the turndown service after dinner is really quite lovely.

Wendy has spent hours with the housekeeping staff watching YouTube videos of how to make quirky and cute ‘towel art’ and I’m greeted with an elephant and a packet of locally made Samoan taro chips on my return. It’s cute and you can see the staff has gone to a lot of effort.

The 12 luxury villas at Seabreeze are complemented by a stunning waterfront restaurant, pizzeria and poolside bar. The menus all focus on fresh local produce and seafood and fine New Zealand and Australian wines.

In-room spa services are available along with glass-bottom kayaks, snorkelling and many cultural activities. Seabreeze is a place to relax, unwind and enjoy.

Samoa Airways flies from Australia and New Zealand to Apia. Fiji Airways flies from Nadi to Apia.