It was our first time. When Ollandini, one of the oldest Corsican tour operators, got in touch to ask us to host a group of 35 people with dinner and a working meeting, we took a deep breath… and went for it. Today we can say it: everything went beautifully. Here is how.
The challenge: 35 people, one sitting, a team of three
Hosting a group of 35 for the first time is no small thing for a family hotel. Everything has to line up: the timing of the meal, the space in the dining room, the coordination between kitchen, bar and service, and — often underestimated — the meeting that was to follow dinner.
Our team that evening was small and close-knit:
- My wife at the stove, running a single set menu served to the whole table
- Me at the bar, preparing aperitifs, wines and Corsican digestifs
- Kathy in the dining room, orchestrating the service and the pace
Three people for 35 guests. On paper it looks tight. In practice, with a single menu and tightly organised timing, it is the most efficient arrangement there is.
Why a single menu changes everything
When you host a group, a single set menu is not a compromise: it is the best idea. Here is why:
- Consistent quality: every dish comes out at the same time, at the right temperature, with the same care
- Fast service: no individual orders to take, no working out who ordered what, everyone eats together
- A kitchen in control: my wife could concentrate on executing one menu perfectly rather than juggling 35 different preparations
- Conviviality: the meal becomes a shared moment, not a run of individual orders
The menu chosen for Ollandini was Corsican-French, with local produce and careful presentation. The feedback from the guests? Excellent.
The breakfast room turned into a conference room
After dinner the group needed a meeting room for their working session. Not obvious in a 26-room hotel with no dedicated seminar space. Our solution? Our breakfast room.
Once the tables were rearranged into a conference layout, the space turned out to suit perfectly: 35 seats, good acoustics thanks to the materials, natural light during the day and warm lighting in the evening. Not a grand hotel's seminar suite, admittedly — but functional, welcoming, and steeped in the Corsican atmosphere the agency was precisely looking to offer its clients.
The key role of the fibre connection
There is one thing you only notice the moment you need it: the quality of the internet connection. And here I have to be grateful for the investment we made in fibre optic for the whole hotel.
During the meeting, the group was able to:
- Run a video presentation with a remote partner, without a single dropout
- Share documents in real time on their laptops
- Keep receiving their emails without the slightest lag
In Porto, in semi-rural Corsica, that is not a given. Many hotels around here still run on ADSL or unstable Wi-Fi. For a professional group, that is a deal-breaker. For us it has become a point of difference — and the Ollandini evening was the best demonstration of it.
What we learnt (and what we take away)
This first experience confirmed several things for us:
- Hôtel Le Vaïta can host groups. With 26 rooms we can accommodate up to about fifty people depending on the configuration. The restaurant, hired privately, seats 35 to 40 comfortably, and the breakfast room converts into a meeting room.
- The family spirit is an asset, not a limitation. Many tour operators are looking for exactly that for their clients: a human experience, not an anonymous chain. My wife in the kitchen, Kathy in the dining room, me at the bar — it is a signature we were proud to live out.
- Investment in infrastructure counts. The fibre, the lift, the air conditioning — what we invested in for the comfort of couples on holiday serves professional groups just as well.
We offer:
- Group accommodation: up to around 50 people depending on the make-up of the group (single, double, triple and quadruple rooms)
- Private dining: a single menu open to discussion, Corsican-French cooking by our chef
- A meeting room: the breakfast room, reconfigurable in conference layout (up to 35-40 seats)
- Fibre connectivity: video calls, presentations and file sharing without worry
- A personal welcome: a small but committed team who know your group by name
📞 A group enquiry? Contact us directly by telephone on 04 95 26 10 37 or by email at hotel.vaita@gmail.com. We will put together a personalised quote covering accommodation, catering and the room, according to your needs.
Thank you to Ollandini — and to those who follow
A closing word: thank you to Ollandini for trusting us with this first group. For a family hotel it means a great deal that a historic island tour operator should choose to try out its services with us. It was a risk on their side, and we hope we were up to it.
And for agencies or companies hesitating to organise an event in Porto: we now have experience. The next group will be calmer. The one after that, calmer still.
Vincent, Hôtel Le Vaïta
