Strength in Synergy

Strength in Synergy

Text Emily Millet

ENRICHING THE GUEST OFFERING, A UNIQUE SYNERGY BETWEEN THE AMATHUS AND THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL MEANS THAT BOTH BUSINESS AND LEISURE VISITORS CAN ENJOY OF A WEALTH OF FACILITIES ACROSS TWO NEIGHBOURING TOP-TIER HOTELS.

As the operators of two of the most prominent hotels in Limassol – the Amathus and the Four Seasons Hotel – Muskita Hotels is in the unique position to be able to offer an impressive, combined collection of facilities, all located within a three-minute walk along the scenic swathe of Mediterranean coastline that defines the city’s urban landscape. Looking at the corporate and Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions (MICE) facilities alone, the two properties together boast a stunning ballroom, as well as a flexible collection of multipurpose conference rooms, meeting spaces and an executive boardroom, all of which can be fully equipped with the latest audiovisual technology and combined with the services of dedicated support teams. Add to the collective inventory a selection of five top-class, award-winning restaurants, each serving outstanding taste creations in its own right, and you have exactly what every MICE traveller is searching for today: a stress-free experience and, perhaps more importantly, a wide range of options. Constantly looking for new ways to upgrade the leisure facilities while simultaneously enhancing the offering for the thriving MICE market in Limassol, Muskita Hotels came up with the idea of synergising the two properties, offering guests the best of both by enabling them to use the restaurants and MICE facilities across both hotels. The result? A premium, near-limitless product for individuals as well as groups of all sizes. Recounting the birth of the synergy initiative, Sales and Marketing Manager Marinos Shaxiates says: “In 2013, when we started managing the Amathus, it was already one of the best hotels on the island, but we wanted to explore ways of adding value to it for the benefit of our guests. Two of the areas we identified were gastronomy and MICE facilities, and now, with this synergy, guests can combine two of the best hotels on the island, and in turn, we have more flexibility in terms of what we can offer.”

FEEDING THE DEMAND Shining the spotlight on gastronomy, a joint DineAround concept between the two hotels provides guests and MICE groups with a unique epicurean experience across five individually superlative restaurants. That means you can purchase vouchers to dine at any of the five restaurants and charge the meal directly to your room or account, regardless of which property you are staying at. It is worth noting that all five à la carte restaurants are independently ranked among the most popular eateries in Cyprus. At the Amathus, the collection includes Limanaki – the best seafood restaurant on the island – or its new indoor winter alternative seafood restaurant, Thalassa, and The Grill Room, which serves choice cuts of meat from around the world cooked to perfection in a firewood oven. A few minutes’ walk down the road, at the Four Seasons Hotel, three more restaurants await: the award-winning Vivaldi by Mavrommatis, serving Mediterranean cuisine and overseen by Andreas Mavrommatis, the first Cypriot chef to be awarded a Michelin star; Seasons Oriental, the most popular Chinese restaurant on the island, whose Hong Kongese chefs elevate the menu to something phenomenal; and finally the Seafood Bar, which serves very detailed sushi and seafood creations. “So, somebody who comes to stay at one of the hotels now has the option of feasting on Asian, Mediterranean, steak and seafood menus,” says Marinos. This foodie synergy is taken one step further with the added dimension of an in-house bakery at the Four Seasons Hotel, which produces deliciously tempting breads, perfectly soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, authentic French croissants as good as you might find in Paris, mouth-watering pastries, cakes and desserts, all baked fresh every day and served across both properties. “The Four Seasons Hotel provides the Amathus with all the bakery products for breakfast and for the rest of the day, including meetings and conference coffee or food breaks,” explains Yiannos Gregoriou, the Group Food and Beverage Manager. “Our baked goods are famous across the island, because we have the best chefs and we invest in continuous training in this sector.” Every year Yiannos sends his team to leading culinary schools and bakeries around the world for further training, while also inviting internationally renowned chefs to the hotel to share their skills and tips with the rest of the team. “Our Chef de Boulangerie trained at one of the most respected schools in France to ensure the highest quality of authentic, traditional techniques. This training is ongoing; for example, we brought the best croissant chef in Europe to the hotel for a week to train our chefs,” Yiannos explains.

COMPLEMENTARY APPEAL Using real life examples to show just how these two hotels and their collection of facilities complement each other, and how this mutual compatibility in turn can benefit guests, Marinos remembers a group of delegates from the UK who recently booked their conference at the Four Seasons Hotel. They were looking for a top-tier restaurant for the farewell dinner. The criteria: a fantastic location and a product and service offering of the same calibre as the Four Seasons Hotel. “We suggested the Limanaki restaurant here at the Amathus, and they were absolutely delighted; it was the perfect change of scenery,” says Marinos. “Imagine, you’ve been sitting indoors all day at a conference, but as soon as it is over, you can simply walk along the sea for three minutes to the best fish restaurant in Cyprus, where you can sit directly on the water’s edge and enjoy an exquisite menu of fresh fish dishes.” And the plethora of optional combinations goes on, with Marinos describing the synergy as limitless. “We are perfectly positioned to meet all requests and also offer something different and unique, and that’s what we do, every day.”