{"id":555599,"date":"2026-08-02T03:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T03:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/555599\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T03:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T03:39:11","slug":"swiss-belhotels-maua-brand-plans-3-more-luxury-hotels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/555599\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss-Belhotel\u2019s M\u0101ua brand plans 3 more luxury hotels"},"content":{"rendered":"

M\u0101ua Nusa Penida, built in 2022 on an island accessible by ferries from terminals on the mainland. Rooms at this five-star eco resort are set into a steep hillside; M\u0101ua Olea on the Bali mainland in the popular Ubud area north of Denpasar, which only opened in June, with 32 rooms surrounding an outdoor pool in tropical gardens, priced up to US$250 ($430) per night.\"TheThe central pool at the new M\u0101ua Olea Ubud hotel, which opened in early June. Photo \/ Swiss-Belhotel International<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

M\u0101ua is \u201ca heritage brand inspired by the M\u0101ori culture of New Zealand\u201d, the chain says.<\/p>\n

\" M\u0101ua Nusa Penida, Bali \u2013 an eco-resort built on a steep hillside. Photo \/ Swiss-Belhotel<\/p>\n

Three new hotels being planned will take the chain to five are:<\/p>\n

M\u0101ua Novo Ocean Uluwatu, Bali; M\u0101ua Labuan Bajo, Indonesia;M\u0101ua Anara Bihn Tien, Vietnam.<\/p>\n

A distinctive symbol is prominent at the two existing M\u0101ua-branded hotels and will also be used at the next three.<\/p>\n

Keyrings, menus and poolside cushions carry the image of a M\u0101ori carved head or upoko that the Faulls have a close association with: they own the carving, which is on their Taranaki dairy farm.<\/p>\n

Restaurants at the two hotels are branded P\u014dwhai.<\/p>\n

\"AA Matariki greeting at M\u0101ua Olea Ubud, Bali. In July, this featured on each of the tables in the K\u014dwhai Restaurant at the resort. Photo \/ Anne Gibson<\/p>\n

Spa\/wellness areas are branded Pounamu.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Kiwi Gavin Faull, Swiss-Belhotel president, said that in te reo M\u0101ori, the pronoun m\u0101ua means togetherness.<\/p>\n

So it only seemed right that hotels aimed at couples brought that kupu (word) to the world, he said.<\/p>\n

\" M\u0101ua, a rock carving from Taranaki, which inspired a new luxury hotel brand now in Bali. Photo \/ Faull Farms<\/p>\n

Swiss-Belhotel explains the m\u0101ua symbol\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

The Taranaki andesite rock was carved by sculptor and carver Rangikapuoho\/Peiri Bailey (Te Atiawa, Ng\u0101ti R\u0101hiri).<\/p>\n

He made it at Te Kupenga Stone Carving Symposium on the New Plymouth foreshore in 2009 and 2010, according to Faull Farms.<\/p>\n

\" M\u0101ua Olea Ubud, a new hotel in Bali, opened in early June 2026. Photo \/ Swiss-Belhotel<\/p>\n

It portrays the upoko kanohi or face unique to North Taranaki and Te Atiawa iwi.<\/p>\n

The toka\u2019s (rock\u2019s) small mouth and large eyes depict the proverb: \u201cSay little, but observe much\u201d, according to the hotel\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The peak or the top of the toka is Te Maunga Taranaki. <\/p>\n

The spiritual implication and significance of the carved upoko (head) on the toka is prominent yet subtly expressed.<\/p>\n

\" Poolside luxury at M\u0101ua Nusa Penida, Bali. Photo \/ Swiss-Belhotel<\/p>\n

The symmetrical kowhaiwhai pattern on the back is the potae (head covering\/scarf) representing the gathering, storing and attainment of knowledge, the business says.<\/p>\n

Faull said the word m\u0101ua had significance in other languages, which made it potentially a global brand. <\/p>\n

In Arabic, the word means shelter, refuge or sanctuary, Faull says.<\/p>\n

The business he heads has hotels in Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which makes it even more appropriate, he says.<\/p>\n

Anne Gibson travelled to Bali as a guest of Swiss-Belhotel. <\/p>\n

Anne Gibson<\/a> has been the Herald\u2019s property editor for 26 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.<\/p>\n

Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"M\u0101ua Nusa Penida, built in 2022 on an island accessible by ferries from terminals on the mainland. Rooms…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[31272,4463,138,34521,52000,44934,20588,6735,20285,20924,17319,194,45499,206,130,272902,111,139,69,7497,2171,10903,2249,272901,1529,17489],"class_list":["post-555599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-bali","tag-brand","tag-business","tag-destination","tag-elsewhere","tag-expanding","tag-hong","tag-hotel","tag-hotels","tag-indonesian","tag-interests","tag-kiwi","tag-kong","tag-luxury","tag-more","tag-mua","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-owned","tag-plans","tag-popular","tag-soon","tag-swissbelhotels","tag-three","tag-tourist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}