In the past few years many resorts have openedi n Da Nang; some of them are famous establishments and others are smaller boutique-type resorts.
When driving from the airport to Fusion Maia, the resort remains nearly unnoticed; there’s a low profile wall, promise of a place intended only for connoisseurs. A stylish, personal, welcoming and peaceful environment is right behind that wall.
Fusion Maia opened in 2010 and is to date the only resort along the coast offering an all pool villas-type of accommodation. The villas have a very private feel; the lovely swimming pool, the cared small garden and the spacious living area allow the guests to relax and enjoy, making it unnecessary to even get out of the room during the day.
And this is only one of the special features of Maia, designed to offer its guests complete relaxation. Another one is ‘breakfast whenever, wherever’, allowing the guests to eat breakfast on the beach, at their villa, at the bar and at any time of the day. Clients really enjoy it and many take advantage of the opportunity.
Fusion Maia is mostly praised for the exceptional spa treatments, which are completely free of charge for the guests. “We train our spa therapists from scratch internally”, says the GM of Fusion Maia, Michelle Ford. “Initially we had a Thai trainer but we quickly changed to a Vietnamese girl who had been with us from the beginning. We noticed that everything worked much better because she spoke the same language andhad a similar cultural background. We do still invite specialists from outside for short-term workshops or trainings, but that’s only occasionally”.
Michelle sure knows what works best for the spa, having managed many of them internationally and wellness being one of her specialities. Her style and her confidence are assuring, her knowledge and her smile captivating.
She worked with Fusion Maia from the start. “I was working in Dubai before but I somehow rediscovered my values and the reasons why I started to work in hospitality only once I came to Vietnam,” she recalls.
Fusion Maia has its own philosophy: caring and being passionate about the job is part of it. A lot of work is required to convey that but staff is taken good care of and the results are visible. “We want everyone to feel good in what they do, to take pride and feel responsible for the job,” says Michelle.
“We offer two hours of English as part of everyone’s working day per week, hence dramatically improving their language skills. In that way our employees feel more confident in talking to the guests. To allow staff to excel, we invite people from outside to impart specific trainings. These people come from various countries and that makes the staff more flexible, more understanding of different styles of working, cultures and languages,” says Michelle.
This is Fusion Maia, an environment where staff cares for each other and transmits the same spirit to the guests. As a matter of fact, Fusion Maia has a 96% customers satisfaction rate.
“Every client is assigned a Fusionista, someone who will personally take care of a guest for the duration of the stay, making the experience a truly individual one,” says Michelle. “Typically the Fusionistas meet at breakfast with the guestto have a chat. Through that, we find out if there’s something extra that we can do or if, for any reason, something is not right. That helps us to react immediately if needed. The core is that we want to connect with the guests, make them feel at home.”
Being in a caring environment, nurturing it and being nurtured by it brings along beautiful and special things. Michelle shares: “I was very tired one day and sat down to just have a quick lunch and the supervisor asked me: “What can I do for you?” I replied that I was fine and she left just to come back with a cold towel and said: “I just wanted to do something!”
Fusion Maia is full of these beautiful, touching stories but I guess it happens inevitably if the spirit is about having fun, being kind, fresh, passionate and most of all, caring.
