Praslin resort honours repeat guests |28 May 2005

Mrs Evelyn Eppert and Mr Jûrgen Lenk, both from Germany, joined Kamaruddin Baharin, general manager of the Berjaya group of hotels, and the Praslin Beach management for a cocktail reception at the Cot D'or resort, near the hotel's pizzeria.

Mrs Eppert, who was on her 15th visit to Seychelles all of which have been the Berjaya Praslin Beach Hotel, received a warm welcome at the Ile des Palmes airport that morning from hotel staff.

Coincidentally, long-time Praslin Beach guest Mr Lenk was also staying at the hotel last week.

Mrs Eppert, a travel agent from TY Leisure Travel in Bremen, Germany first came to Seychelles in 1991 for her 40th birthday.

"It was my birthday and I was thinking of what to do for the special day and since I knew a little bit about Seychelles, I said, 'why not come here.' And even my colleagues encouraged me to come," she said.

Even if she knew where Seychelles was located, Mrs Eppert pointed out that at that time she did not know much about the islands and this encouraged her to come and see for herself.

"And once I got here it was paradise. The nature, it is so quiet, there are warm-hearted people and there is always a friendly welcome here – people here always have a smile on their face compared to where I come from, where people always have long faces," she added.

When asked what was so special about Praslin, Mrs Eppert said she could not explain her feelings but she knew that she did not want to come to a big island.

"The location of the hotel is perfect. There is a bus stop close by, shops, everything is here. I have a lot of friends here and I love them very much and I have to come every year to see them – they are like family," she said.

Apart from Praslin, Mrs Eppert, who enjoys the quietness of the Anse Lazio beach, has also been to Fregate and La Digue among other islands.

Commenting on the tourism industry here, Mrs Eppert said that every year when she comes she notices changes. These changes, she said, should come in a good way and the development should not destroy the beauty of the islands.

Like Mrs Eppert, Mr Lenk enjoys the peacefulness of Seychelles, the friendly people and the beauty of the islands.

But the retired German has a preference for La Digue, which he described as "a more traditional place."

During the cocktail Mr Baharin said that he was honoured to learn that the hotel had "very loyal guests."

He was grateful to the hotel staff, who he said was the reason for the repeat guests to keep coming back.

"I'm happy that the staff takes good care of the guests or else they would not have come again and again. The customers are important, so we should treat them as our family," he added.

For his part Berjaya Praslin Resort Beach manager Churchill Gill, who was at the Praslin airport to welcome Mrs Eppert, said that he was looking forward to see both guests again next year, adding that "we will always do our best to make our guests feel that their presence is valuable".