Tuesday 6 August 2013

Our special Romanian guests...



Georgiana and Diana from Romania
August has been difficult with temperatures in the high 30s most days. But guests at Ca’n Reus may have been surprised to see no drop in standards – not least due to our guests from a Children’s Home in Romania who have been staying with us for the past week. Although they were staying here as guests, they were determined to help. Every morning the 12 year old girls, Georgiana and Diana, would help lay the tables and 12 year old Albert and 13 year old Marcel would sweep the terrace.






Marcel's meatballs went down a treat!
Marcel is a super cook who plans to be Romania’s Jamie Oliver one day. (When I visited their home in Romania last year, he showed a copy of the Jamie Oliver cookbook, his most treasured possession, translated in to Romanian!) He cooked French toast and omelettes for breakfast and, in the picture, that is Marcel in an apron with his back to the camera having just prepared the most delicious Romanian meatballs for a dinner for 22 people!







The boys Albert & Marcel
But it was not all child labour here at Ca’n Reus. They went to the beach, to Aqualand, to the Aquarium, on our boat, to the swimming pool, they ate kilos of ice cream and still had time to make lots of friends from among our guests and the many Romanians who live on the island.

They leave today and I don’t know what we shall do without them. We have had so much fun introducing them to Ca’n Reus and showing them the island. I hope their first trip abroad was as memorable for them has been for us.

Saturday 22 June 2013

Strawberry Daquiris!

Yalina with her famous daquiris
The weather is now settled for at least the next five months - long, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. 

There are some disadvantages, however. Well, only one. Nick and I walked from Soller to DeiĆ” yesterday and concluded that it might be the last walk of the season. It is getting too hot for walking for us, though that does not seem to deter the younger of the hotel guests. 

We have one British couple here who are determined to complete all nine of my walks listed in the hotel information pack in the week they are here and, by the end of today, they will have done it.  The older generation, like Nick and me,  prefer to spend the days by the pool, on the beach or on our little boat. Funny thing about boats, isn't it? However hot it is on the shore, as soon as you get a hundred meters or so away, there is a cool, refreshing breeze.

But the best thing about the summer, for me, is the evenings. I just love sitting under the stars and in the warm until the early hours of the morning. Nick and I are doing our weekly BBQ and the Bar Sa Placa in Fornalutx has organised a programme of Thursday night live music which is pulling in the locals and hotel guests alike. We had the "Old Cats" last week and the "Blue Devils" come next. The bar owner, Jaime, has been clever enough to engage the services of one of our employees, Yalina, a Cuban from Havana, for these nights. She mixes the best Mojitos and Daquiris in the business. On Thursday, Yalina treated me to her speciality - Strawberry Daquiri, which was delicious. I can easily forgive her for making me turn up for breakfast duties on Friday mornings a little worse for wear!


Come and join the fun!

Saturday 19 January 2013

Winter in Mallorca, olive weekends, renovation...


WINTER IN MALLORCA is great. Since I got back here from my London chores in mid December, the sun has shone almost non-stop. We have taken long hikes in the mountains and have taken the little boat out. We sit outside for lunch and even have sundowner drinks on the terrace.

Last weekend's Olive Weekend was a great success. Our guests included Britons, Americans, Germans, Indians and a glamorous Iranian lady journalist thrown in for good measure. It was fun, very international with lots of good talk besides the scheduled olive picking, olive oil making and cookery class. 

We had a Spanish Classical Guitar concert in the entrada of Ca'n Reus on Saturday evening by Antonio Miranda. whose sophisticated and professional playing successfully blends classical with modern jazz. My husband Nick and I have become Antonio groupies and are going to a jamming session by him and fellow musicians at the Jazz Club in Palma next week.

But now Ca'n Reus gets down to some serious work. For the next month, we have only two rooms open while the roof is repaired and insulated, new air conditioning units are fitted in to all rooms, two bathrooms are being renovated and everywhere gets a lick of paint. As I write this, I am sitting in a pile of dust and packing boxes but the workmen promise me all will be finished on schedule.

What’s more, Can Reus is finally getting round to launching its online booking system. It’s designed to be interactive; all guest will be able select the room and dates they prefer instantly from the website. The system also uses PayPal to ensure a fast and secure payment.

By the time we reopen completely, in time for Valentine's Day, we shall be in fine shape...

Hope to see you all here soon