Set in the hills above Apia with views across the harbour and Mount Vaea, Samoa’s first serious luxury villa retreat opened in April with three signature villas available now and a fourth completing shortly.
Samoa is not short of natural beauty, but it has been short of a place to stay that does the landscape justice. Moanalei Villas, which officially opened on 17 April in the hills of Apaula Heights above Apia, is a reasonable attempt to fix that.
The property was developed by Caitlin Lei Sam and her co-founder John Churchill, the former describing the project as a labour of love that was probably not the smartest investment but was the right thing to do for Samoa. The name comes from Lei Sam’s daughters combined with the family surname, which tells you something about the personal stakes involved. Seven villas are planned in total; three signature villas with two bedrooms, private ensuite bathrooms and 14-metre infinity pools are open now, with a fourth completing within weeks.
The location earns its keep. Each villa looks across Apia harbour to Mount Vaea, and the combination of ocean and volcanic ridge on the horizon is the kind of view that justifies the hillside build, which co-founder Churchill acknowledged came with considerable structural challenges. Indoors, the design blends contemporary architecture with natural materials and an indoor-outdoor living philosophy that makes the most of Samoa’s warm Pacific light.
The dining offer is the most significant thing about Moanalei Villas beyond the setting itself. TASI Restaurant has been developed in collaboration with Monica Galetti, the Samoa-born, New Zealand-raised chef best known to British audiences for her work in Michelin-starred kitchens and her long-running role on MasterChef: The Professionals. Her husband David Galetti, a hospitality director and sommelier, has overseen service training and the beverage programme. The opening night menu gave a clear signal of the kitchen’s ambitions: charred taro and ulu crisps, tuna poke with pineapple salsa, Tasi oka with whipped avocado, and a dessert list that included pai fala with lime leaf meringue. Modern Pacific cooking with genuine technical foundations and an honest grounding in local ingredients.
Samoa’s luxury tourism market has been thin. Moanalei Villas is a meaningful addition to it.
More at moanaleivillas.com