Celebrating Valentine the WheatBaker Way

Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that the WheatBaker, the premier luxury five-star hotel in the heart of Ikoyi, Lagos, is geared to excite its potential and existing customers this valentine season with mouth watering offers

While the name Wheatbaker connotes one that churns out pastries, the Wheatbaker Hotel, a five-star hotel in the serene Ikoyi area of Lagos State, is not far removed from this. While its main forte is certainly not wheat baking, it still boasts of a sumptuous and intercontinental cuisine with a bit of the local flavor of different races.

Destined to be Lagos' premier five star boutique hotel, the Wheatbaker, one of the South African Hotel chain, The Legacy Hotels and Resorts, located in the residential heart of Ikoyi metropolis, has since inception provided its clientele impeccable services that brings them back for more.


With the knowledge that the customer is the king, the management continually strives to anticipate its client's needs and simply assuage it especially by keeping in tune with special seasons and ensuring that all have a blast.

While its customers were still reeling from the euphoria of the Christmas season, the hotel had already set plans rolling for the Valentine season. A visit by THISDAY to the hotel revealed decorations of different sorts in the colour and shape of the season; red and heart respectively. 

Tagged the 'Valentine's at the Wheatbaker', the bonus covers foods, drinks and even accommodation with a live performance from Alice, featuring a guest artist Kaline to boost the tempo. 

The Set Menu made available to THISDAY listed the following as the course meal for the promo; Salmon Garden, roast Butternut Soup served with strawberry and goat cheese on toasted baguette, Lemon Mignon, Prawn and Salmon Salsa, Chicken Supreme, dark decadent Chocolate Creme Brûlée smothered with berry sauce and Chantilly cream and Banofee pie amongst others.

While the valentine dinner bouquet for singles were pegged at N12,000 and comprises of four course set menu and a glass of wine at the grill room, the bouquet for couples were fixed at N40,000 which covers champagne, canapés, surprise gifts for the ladies, vodka and entertainment at the grill room too.

The special promo also spilled over to accommodation. Tagged the 'Accommodation special', N61,225 will be the charge for the number of days the promo is running and this includes bed and breakfast for two, sparkling wine, five per cent VAT and 10 per cent service charge. 

Speaking to THISDAY, Wheatbaker manager, Mr. Gerald Gultig, said the price of the suite is a far cry from what it would have ordinarily costs but for the promotion. He said the Luxury King room would have cost N86, 000, a clear difference of N25,575.

He said, "Basically, what we aim to do is starting from tomorrow, February 14, which is Valentine's day down to the end of the week on the 17th, which we call the valentine week, we will have a Set Menu in the Grill Room and it entails a four-five course meals including a bottle of wine depending on the people at the cost of N12,000 per person."

He said the aim of the promotion was to thrill lovers and loved ones for a whole week in the spirit of the season. "We believe in Nigeria and that was why we had the valentine decor put on earlier to show our seriousness. Ordinarily, the meal would have been expensive 

"Again, we swung into the valentine mood because of the response we got from the one we had last year. The response was great and it influenced our decision to repeat the tradition. It was hugely successful. Our customers loved it and this year, we already have a couple of booking for the special bouquet."

Admitting that the hotel would not be the only one in the hospitality sector offering a similar package, he however said the unique part of theirs is the impeccable and personal service they offer.

A year and four months after inception with 65 luxury rooms and 40 more under construction and staff strength of 207, Gultig said the hotel keeps exploding. He said, "We keep growing day by day. We offer services like the five star full service, baby sitting services.

"Car rental, doctor on call, laundry/valet services, concierge, conferencing and banqueting, fax and Internet services, airport shuttle on request and secretarial services amongst others."

Speaking on plans to expand, he disclosed that there are plans yet to unfold. He said, "Although we have only one branch in Lagos, we are looking at expanding in Abuja and two more in Lagos. It's not in concrete yet. It's still in the pipelines and in the next five years, I hope to see this hotel grow greater and bigger.

"For every customer that wants to patronise us, they should expect an excellent service in return because it is what we strive to give them because before we even opened we had employed the members of staff six months earlier to train and re-train them."

Gultig believes its unique service delivery perhaps explains why the hotel is preferred by the Nigerians as it offers comfort, class and the convenience of any 5-star hotel anywhere in the world.

Buttressing their quest to always go for the best in terms of service delivery, he said they import their meat from South Africa and this is because: "its the best meat you can get anywhere. We have tried all over the world but nothing comes close to those from South Africa."

With the challenges inherent in running businesses, Gultig said theirs is no different. He said one of the major challenges lies in handling people, although he added that the perfect solution is to listen to their needs and rectify it.

He also cited poor service delivery in terms of getting supplies as part of the day-to-day challenges. According to him, it is very difficult to get prompt and continuous supply but he said that has been rectified.

The Legacy group is known for its collection of exclusive and luxury hotels, resorts, lodges, golf, executive suites and residential estates and its focus is to become Africa's leading lifestyle brand, committed to enriching the dreams and lives of all with whom it's associated, driven by the simple adage to leave all who come into contact with them better off than before they met.

Perhaps, what better way to sell their objective but to encapsulate it in their Unique Selling Point (USP); Legacy... Creating Lifestyles, Enriching Dreams, Leaving Legacies.