Visions of Blue: Book I in the Visions Trilogy

by Inia Jardine

  The native Vanille de Madagascar, also made from the vanilla orchid are featured here in our complimentary liqueur. Under the domes we put natural geodes with sapphire and ruby which Madagascar also produces. The bathroom, well, let's just say that the orchid shaped Jacuzzi bath will be hard to resist. It is the epitome of kitsch turned into a must have accessory. It is comfortable to the extreme and guests may find it hard to leave the bath!

  The mural in France, the next room, is a depiction of 'Bosquet of the baths of Apollo', found in the gardens of Versailles. It was incredibly hard to do, and is quite detailed. I absolutely adore this water feature with its natural cave backdrop and magnificent Apollo served by the Nymphs. Designed by the sculptors François Girardon and Thomas Regnaudin, it portrays the sun god's stay among the nymphs of the sea goddess Thetis.

  I included the national iris flowers in the foreground, and a sly little Gallic rooster (their national bird) to the side. The bed is a huge four poster on a little elevated 'stage', draped with rich brocaded floral materials. Under the domes we put aragonite clusters and specially selected photographs of Madame Toussauds, Versailles gardens and postcards of our favourite art from the Louvre.

  The complimentary liqueur in this room is Benedictine, made from 27 herbs and spices. The bathroom, well it would have been fit for Marie Antoinette. It is opulent in its gold and white marble with an antique claw footed bath, the only modern twist is that we had it made for two, for that romantic interlude. It has gently sloping sides and enough room to lie comfortably next to each other and soak.

  They will then go down to the ground floor to Egypt, the next room to be visited, where I painted a scene somewhere on the edge of the Nile. I used as my inspiration the death mask of Tutankhamun, with its rich colours of gold, blue, turquoise and red. I added the national bird, the steppe eagle sitting on the papyrus, hippos and reed beds with lotus flowers floating on the river. We used mostly creams and golds for the linen and drapes, with the rich jewel colours of the mural as accents. The huge four poster bed is draped in cream, gold and taupe Egyptian cotton, with belly dancing coins and tassels sewn all around the edges. This bed will make music when it rocks! Arak, the liqueur native to Egypt will assist in that process. Under the domes we put lapis lazuli, gold coins and belly dancing figurines. All the furnishings in this suite are rattan, exclusively obtained from World Wildlife Fund approved sustainable farms in Africa.

  Indonesia is the next room. One of the Indonesian animals, the great but so sad looking orang-utan, is the most intelligent, gentle and kind primate, but threatened into almost extinction by habitat destruction. I have depicted him here as I remember him, 'Laggies', my friend. Free after death in the heavenly forests of old Borneo and Sumatra, surrounded by moon orchids and still holding on to the pink blanket I gave him one winter. His memory lives on. Under the domes we have photos of him, together with geological treasures from Indonesia, opals.

  The colours in this suite are muted pinks, purples and greens. The four poster bed is draped in scalloped rose local silk with light green tassels.

  The linen and drapes are all muted pink and off-white with accents in green and maroon, a deep rich wine colour. The Pisan Ambon complimentary liqueur, made from bananas, is based on an old Indonesian recipe.

  The room is extra romantic and feminine with an almost ethereal ambience. We made the bathroom a heavenly Balinese retreat with beaded local silk flower curtains, hanging plants, rose marble and a deep square bath for two resembling a rim flow pool.

  A man who would like to seduce his woman should book this suite.

  The last room inside the building is dedicated to Finland. It is normally a very cold country but in this room, cold feels warm. The mural depicts the Aurora Borealis over a dreamy snow landscape and a starry sky. I used fluorescent paint for the northern lights in varying shades of green, so at night you will actually feel the mood, like looking out of your window at the real thing. A whooper swan can be seen on the lake in the foreground, together with a Saimaa seal, one of three remaining fresh water seal species in the world.

  On the edges of the lake, the national flower, the gorgeous Lily of the Valley can be seen with their tiny bell shaped racemes. The northern lights resemble the incredible semi- precious gemstone spectrolite only found in Finland which together with Unarovite, orbicular granite and antimony are shown under the glass domes. All the linen and drapes are snowy white with small accents of emerald green and silver. Fluffy white drapes over the canopy of the sunken bed complete the snug feeling. It is embroidered with Lily of the Valley motifs.

  The bathroom resembles the inside of an igloo, but a luxurious warm version of one with curved fittings and fixtures, all in white with pebble shaped wall finishes - resembling a white Aero Bubble chocolate. The bath is also sunken and is a curved shape with stepped sides, similar to terraces. This would be the place to 'chill' with your favourite companion and a glass of Lakkalikööri liqueur, made from the cloud-berry fruit.

  Last but most definitely not least on Jonah's list is the Jamaica suite. We call it Cacibajagua, the Jamaican ancestral cave*. My Jonah was the inspiration for this one, he is so strong, my rock. This is the only suite separate from the hotel, as it is built into the rock with quite a few steep steps leading through the garden and past the top rock pool. This room is only for the fit oldies. It is extremely special as it has as a unique feature: the view of our waterfall and grotto.

  We get pristine spring water from a fountain up in the mountain which comes down through the rocks, down the waterfall and into the grotto pool.

  Here the colours are not Rastafarian as everyone would expect, but the blues of the ocean, lagoons and cove. The Lignum vitae flowers with their blue to purple colours, the bright emerald green and black of the doctor bird, and no mural. I could not do cave drawings on the rock so instead went with fabric painted linen and curtains of those special birds, butterflies and flowers to brighten up the dark space.

  Our local artists are incredibly talented and other similar patterned linens are for sale in the curio shop. This exact pattern however will never be replicated as it is unique to Gorgoleta. The furniture is lush and luxurious like in the other suites, but slightly more rustic with a hand carved limestone bed. It was hollowed out of the rock and filled up with thick mattress padding slightly resembling a thick pie crust, lush extra fluffy duvets and about a million pillows.

  Sangster’s Jamaica Rum cream liqueur, Jonah's favourite, is the complimentary liqueur in this room. The bathroom is extra special with a dark turquoise blue-green sunken Jacuzzi, up-lighted from the rims to give an almost fluorescent effect to night time bathing. The light fittings here are quite natural and rustic with driftwood and shell lamps. This is ideally the room for the couple who are wild and free and practise very noisy lovemaking, they will not be overheard and the bed can never be broken!

  ~

  The two groups doing the room tours with Jonah and I will meet up in the lounge for the draw in about ten minutes’ time. All will be revealed. I wonder if there will be quick paring up of strangers just to stay over. Maybe we should let the winners pick partners. After all, a friend is just a stranger you have not met yet. Who knows, Cupid may string a few bows tonight. After this small ceremony Omar will do a garden tour for those unlucky ones leaving today and we will be answering last questions. The reporters who stay over can do the garden tour at their leisure tomorrow.

  'And now, I have a hat with all your names and Lilia will draw 16 winners. As the rooms are all for couples, you are free to pair up. We are not here to judge.' Jonah smiles at me and holds out the hat, well he pokes me with it and directs my hand as I am blindfolded. I take out sixteen business cards after which I remove my blindfold with a flourish and announce 'Here are the winners! Your position in the draw will also be your room number.

  The first guests of Gorgoleta Boutique hotel will be One. Heidi from Country Living and Heidi you can choose anyone to share with if you as you have tw
o rooms, or keep it all to yourself.'

  'I will take Janice if she does not win a room!' Heidi calls out and Janice gives her a hug. Looks like they have already become friends.

  'Two. Izzy from Homes and Gardens,

  three - Jackson from Visi,

  four -. Gianna from Panache,

  five - Albert from E zine,

  six - Janet from Country Lady,

  seven -Vondra from Buzz,

  eight - Patricia from Home and Decor,

  nine - Philip from Architectural Digest,

  ten - Carrol from Elle Decor,

  eleven - Pauline from Country Houses,

  twelve - Lorenzo from Dwell,

  thirteen - Roxanne from The Globe,

  fourteen - Damien from World of Interiors,

  fifteen - Armando from Metropolis,

  and our last winner, I hope you will enjoy our Jamaica room, McNally from The Times!

  McNally, feel free to make as much noise as you want.' Laughs and shouts are heard and I suspect that the minibuses will go to the airport later with more than sixteen missing passengers.

  'Enjoy your stay people, the staff will be here around the clock to sort out any difficulties. To those leaving us tonight, you know where to find us if you would like to book a real holiday. Feel free to have drinks and snacks before you go, the minibuses will leave at around 17:00. To the guests staying behind, we will see you tomorrow at breakfast. Thank you all for coming.'

  Jonah takes my hand as we smile and wave to the happy crowd and leave the rest to our hopefully competent staff.

  'Jonah we did a good thing here. It's going to work.'

  'Yes and all thanks must go to my clever wife. You had some brilliant ideas, you still do though. I can see you are thinking about our next project – the community centre.'

  'And lucky for me, I have a very generous and supportive husband and father in law. You know Jonah, seeing all those rooms ready and waiting, the reporters from all over the world so excited, even the stuck-up ones, put me on a real high. I want to climb into a nice bubble bath with you and a bottle of wine. After we have soaked our tired feet and gotten slightly tipsy, I will make you the happiest man alive.'

  'I already am Lilia, I already am.'

  THE END

  Please note that there is a ‘100 Simple and Easy Steps to a Plant Based Diet’ (simple, unpretentious e – cookbook and known as Vegging Out the Gorgoleta Way in these novels) available now.

  The sequel - Visions II – Visions of Rain, available now.

  Visions III, Visions of Time, available now.