Feature destination
Stepping off the boat you are greeted
by the manager, your personal butler
and the dive instructor (and general
island bird and plant person if he
can’t get you under the water), smiles
abound, and then everyone quickly
disappears and you start your island
holiday.
The most important person in your
life for the next few days is your butler,
not because anything is difficult or
because you are left wanting, but
merely because, for him, you are the
most important person in his life for
the next few days. And therein lies the
difference between Quilálea and most
other islands: it is personal. It is very
personal!
Never invasive, never pushy, always
there but never there – qualities with
which a person is born, recognised by
Quilálea as important, and selected and
fine-tuned by the island’s management
team. The butler subtly forms a
partnership with you, quickly tunes in
to your needs and desires and smoothly
makes each component of your visit a
pleasure.
Coming a very close second as
the most important person in your
life for the next few days is the chef.
Don’t get me started on island food
elsewhere: often slop, often boring
or too elaborate and often a lot of
other things that makes a burger back
home appealing. The chef at Quilálea,
however, is right on the money –
young, enthusiastic and with the right
amount of humility, he prepares fresh,
exciting food. Exciting in that it does a
lot for the eye and even more for the
palate. It’s home cooking, professionally
done, with the right balance of flavours,
the right size of culinary challenge
and, importantly, the right portion
size, allowing you to get to his mouthwatering desserts without feeling as if
you need a round-the-island swim to
work off the calories.
Of course, if you feel you do need a
round-the-island swim – a fraction far,
although you can walk it in 45 minutes
or so – there’s the island whistler for
you. No, not a rare species of the
feathered variety, but rather the young
Afrikaans dive instructor, whistling
away as he adds yet another personal
dimension to the island vibe.
Whether in the water, below it, on
various boats or on land, his switch is
always in the ‘on’ position – again, he’s
not in your face, but there for you when
you feel the need to shake it up a gear
or two. And having dived all around
the world and seen some amazing
things under water, I can easily say that
he’s by far the most excitable person
under water ever, making every dive
memorable.
Throw in a spa with an amazing view,
lunches and dinners set for you in some
beautiful, romantic locations and large
bedrooms with tasteful island decor
and you have close to the perfect
romantic island escape.
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