Leave the Stress of the Office Behind with a naked Retreat to the Bamboo Forests of Moganshan, China
naked Stables Private Reserve has launched its teambuilding and corporate meeting programme for 2012, giving companies the ideal opportunity to be inspired by nature. Situated just two and a half hours from Shanghai and an hour from Hangzhou airport, the newly-opened 121-room resort creates bespoke teambuilding and meeting packages tailored for the exact needs of companies.
naked Stables Private Reserve is uniquely designed and positioned as a teambuilding retreat with a dedicated on-site activities team organising stays crafted to each individual company’s requirements, so there are no hidden fees or external agencies involved – an approach that helps to offer
something new, interesting and rewarding for teams and companies.
“Through our committed team we are able to offer a wide range of truly unique experiences, unlike any other in the region. The benefits are clear to see, and continue to make a difference when companies head back to their offices,” said naked Retreats Sales Director Teun Hanegraaf.
Central to naked Retreats’ teambuilding expertise and packages are the activities available that can help push the boundaries of employees, including a range of guided hikes in the surrounding Moganshan mountain area, mountain biking trips, kite flying and now horse riding on specially designed trails. Each trip is tailor-made to fulfill the diverse requirements of every company and case. One of the most popular activities in this regard is the signature naked Retreats Scavenger Hunt which incorporates a tea-picking challenge, raft building, a photo challenge, orienteering challenge, building and negotiation challenges among others. The Scavenger Hunt offers an opportunity for healthy competitiveness, with teams breaking into small groups to compete against each other for an entire day.
For less physical activities, art jamming is a great way to let people display their creativity by creating a giant communal art piece with multiple small canvasses, whilst local villagers host cooking classes focusing on traditional food from the region. naked Retreats can also help coordinate workshops focused on sustainability, corporate social responsibility and ‘greenovation’.
For corporate meetings and gatherings, the 800 square metre state of the art Conference Centre named Indaba (an African word meaning ‘gathering of the chiefs’) features six multi-functional meeting spaces and two large decks looking over the reservoir and tea terraces. The central Mandela Hall can play host to 200 people in a theatre set up, or over 250 people for standing cocktails, with ideal meeting break-out and coffee break areas offered by the Mandela Lake Deck (160 square metre) and Mandela Tea Terrace (260 square metre). Within Indaba, five other function rooms named Yao, Cai, Shen, Fang and Luo are multi-functional with full AV equipment and can be set up for a variety of needs, including theatre, classroom, round table and boardroom designs.
Away from the Indaba Conference Centre in the heart of the resort, meetings can be held in the secluded Tea House for over 20 people. The adjoining Tea House Terrace, hosting morning Yoga and Tai Chi classes, provides the ideal mental and physical space needed for truly focused meetings. For small, more relaxed groups, the two-, three-, and four-room Tree-Top Villas have varying sizes of lounge spaces as well as open decks with hot tubs and barbecue spaces that offer a relaxed environment for colleagues to brainstorm or unwind.
All event spaces have packages available from half-day bookings, with the naked Retreats team working with each individual corporate request to create an experience tailored exactly to their needs.
naked Stables Private Reserve’s signature restaurant Kikaboni, as well as th
e Pool Bar and Clubhouse Bar and Bistro, offer dining packages throughout the day and evening. Catering is also offered in the many open spaces and decks across the resort, with South African style barbecues serving as a popular way to round off the day.
While the resort is easily accessible, the ethos behind naked Retreats is that of being at one with nature, away from the stresses of everyday life – an opportunity for teams to bond in an uncommon environment. It is this seclusion, in an idyllic natural setting, that can work wonders for team morale and dynamics.
As Hanegraaf explains, “It helps push people out of their comfort zone and you begin to see differences in people. You are out of the city, out of the office and even out of your suit, so it’s great for changing normal working habits. The likes of Ali Baba and TNT have even gone as far as banning mobile phones on their trips or having a ‘flip-flop’ only policy in meetings!”
Following the success of teambuilding and corporate getaways at naked Retreats’ more rustic naked Home Village property since its opening in 2007, naked Stables Private Reserve was specifically designed to meet the needs and requirements of companies at its core. Year on year, MICE business with naked Retreats has grown. With 2010 seeing business grow by 300 percent and 2011 becoming the biggest year yet for teambuilding and corporate events across naked Retreats’ two properties, that figure has doubled again. Now, with the full opening of naked Stables Private Reserve, naked Retreats’ capabilities have reached a whole new level.
“With over 160 team bookings in 2011 and now the opening of the brand new naked Stables Private Reserve, naked Retreats is looking to grow even more strongly and become the resort destination of choice in the region for teambuilding. There really is something for every company, large or small, formal or informal,” said Hanegraaf.
