The Kiwi influence was prominent at Matariki when restaurants at the two hotels explained the cultural significance of the event in Aotearoa on each table.
Māua is “a heritage brand inspired by the Māori culture of New Zealand”, the chain says.
Three new hotels being planned will take the chain to five are:
A distinctive symbol is prominent at the two existing Māua-branded hotels and will also be used at the next three.
Keyrings, menus and poolside cushions carry the image of a Māori carved head or upoko that the Faulls have a close association with: they own the carving, which is on their Taranaki dairy farm.
Restaurants at the two hotels are branded Pōwhai.
Spa/wellness areas are branded Pounamu.
All come with written explanations for guests about what those words and the symbol mean and their importance, partly to the Faull family, originally from Taranaki.
Kiwi Gavin Faull, Swiss-Belhotel president, said that in te reo Māori, the pronoun māua means togetherness.
So it only seemed right that hotels aimed at couples brought that kupu (word) to the world, he said.
Swiss-Belhotel explains the māua symbol’s significance on its website, telling how it originated from a rock carving in Taranaki, which represents the ideal state of togetherness and the will to strengthen communities.
The Taranaki andesite rock was carved by sculptor and carver Rangikapuoho/Peiri Bailey (Te Atiawa, Ngāti Rāhiri).
He made it at Te Kupenga Stone Carving Symposium on the New Plymouth foreshore in 2009 and 2010, according to Faull Farms.
It portrays the upoko kanohi or face unique to North Taranaki and Te Atiawa iwi.
The toka’s (rock’s) small mouth and large eyes depict the proverb: “Say little, but observe much”, according to the hotel’s website.
The peak or the top of the toka is Te Maunga Taranaki.
The spiritual implication and significance of the carved upoko (head) on the toka is prominent yet subtly expressed.
The symmetrical kowhaiwhai pattern on the back is the potae (head covering/scarf) representing the gathering, storing and attainment of knowledge, the business says.
Faull said the word māua had significance in other languages, which made it potentially a global brand.
In Arabic, the word means shelter, refuge or sanctuary, Faull says.
The business he heads has hotels in Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which makes it even more appropriate, he says.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 26 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
