About Us

Dominical Mavi Hotel owners

The Dad (Massimiliano, a.k.a. Max)

Dominical Mavi Hotel owner

 

Engineer by degree, comedian by vocation, he fought and sweat in the Medical Device industry for some fifteen years before deciding that the time had come to enjoy more (and better) family time, and (in general) an easier life.

 

(Unfortunately) NOT a natural born surfer, he fell in love with the discipline on his first “family trip” to Bali back in 2008, and, from then on, it has been … “surf whenever you can.” (Not only) For this reason, he moved with his family to Costa Rica at the beginning of 2014 to start building the MAVI Surf Hotel.

 

You may find him … fighting and sweating to master the Waves of Dominical Beach, criss-crossing here and there in desperate search of a good (but easy) ride (Andrew, Jeff, … I promise I’ll be more disciplined!). It is reported that, at times, he succeeds in catching a good wave.

 

Around lunch time, you may also happen to find him in the “most local” sodas in San Isidro, sipping a “Crema en leche” (a.k.a. “Batido de crema”) as the accompanying drink of a spicy “Gallo Pinto” (his favorite local dish).

 

He is way funnier, nicer and … smarter than he actually seems!


The Mom (Barbara, a.k.a. Barbys)

Dominical Mavi Hotel owner

 

Maybe not a case that this text was written the day of her birth (her … birthday).

 

Computer Scientist by degree, Hotelier (we hope!) by vocation, she handled diverse hardware and software platforms with reasonable success before falling in love with serious E-Learning applications. She expressed herself at full speed in the top end E-Learning arena for just one short but intense year (right in the period when the “big move” decision was about to be taken), then slowly but surely she transformed into the best Hotelier (and “Breakfaster”) ever seen.

 

(Unfortunately) NOT a surfer (at all), she has always been in love with tropical beaches, warm weather, and nature rich locations. (Not only) For these reasons, she moved with her family to Costa Rica at the beginning of 2014 to “help” build the MAVI Surf Hotel (and later be the Hotel Witch).

 

You may find her … carefully adorning tables with flowers, dishes, and cups for the MAVI breakfasts (fork to the left, knife and tea spoon to the right, …), precisely cutting fresh fruits into tiny, symmetrical, and identical pieces (that is the way fruit needs to be cut for a salad, she says), brilliantly maneuvering her brooms here and there (correct, Stefania?) to swipe away any little piece of dust or fallen leave, rather than gently watering her flowers and greens in the late afternoons. It is reported that, with all these activities under her arms, at times she takes a brief afternoon nap.

 

She is the core of the family, the corner around which everything revolves and evolves. At times (most of the times) solar, at times blue (when she is upset: not too frequently but when she is, she is veeery upset), but always and always, a super-mom, super-wife, … super-woman!


The MA in MAVI (Margherita, a.k.a. Marghe)

Dominical Mavi Hotel owner

 

The family scientist, the scholar, the philosopher, the “lawyer”, … She’s the irreducible defender of all revolutionaries (herself first), rebels and naysayers.

 

Has attended Italian schools with exceptional results up to 6th grade and later followed her family in Costa Rica (not without rebellion!) There (here) she is following up her studies with no lower grades, neither inferior quality. She’s just a super-student, a super teen-ager, and a super daughter.

 

You may find her … with her nose, face, and head immersed in a good book, laying here, there, … anywhere (the more comfortable the place – e.g., couch – the most tempting the read and “isolating” the concentration).

 

Shy as it suffice, she knows how to be friendly and joyous. She at time seems too serious for the family (or the family is not serious enough for her!)


The VI in MAVI (Viola, a.k.a. Violetta)

Dominical Mavi Hotel owner

 

The family athlete, the dancer, the performer, the “lovely”, … She’s the irreducible supporter of about anyone and everyone. Always (at times she is criticized for being too good and generous).

 

However “solar” and “new age”, she achieved equally stellar results while attending Italian schools up to 5th grade and later followed her family in Costa Rica (with way less rebellion!).

 

There (here) she also is following up her studies with no lower grades, neither inferior quality. She as well is just a super-student, a super soon-to-be teen-ager, and a super daughter.

 

You may find her … jumping in and out of the pool (not without her inseparable SALVIMAR diving gear), jumping up and down the closest chair, dancing just in front of the couch where her sister lies reading, other than chatting through her Tablet with Marty or the Musketeers. However … not sitting, neither still (the less the space, the faster and wider the movements … this is the reason why “at times” she happens to inadvertently break or make things fall).

 

Never shy (at least, not at first glance), she is a super friendly high powered girl that might seem too energized for the family (or the family happens to be too lazy for her!).

 


The Cat (Penelope, a.k.a. Penny, or just “Gordo”)

Dominical Mavi Hotel cat

 

The (one and only, at least for some time) family pet.

 

She spent the first four years of her life within a third floor (with no elevator!) apartment in the historical centre of a small town in the Italian province, mainly lying on the couch (equally shared with Margherita reading).

 

Such sedentary life seemed to have raped her feline instinct: at times excessively aggressive, she was easily scared by anything (journeys in the car to see the Vet were an horror movie made real).

 

Luckily enough, she survived the severe doping (Envisioners … know nothing!) that was necessary to handle the family move to Costa Rica (three hours by car to Milan airport, more than fifteen hours of flights in total to San José, one night in the capital, and three additional hours by car to Dominical).

 

There (here), after a few weeks’ long adaptation, she re-discovered her feline instinct, forgot her fears whilst maintaining her aggressive stance (no journeys to the Vet yet!), and ended up being the best guardian of the family place: dogs, mices, iguanas, geckos, snakes, burglars … beware!

 

What she was not able to forget  was … the yummy canned food for cats!

Probably the best (most?) fed cat in all Costa Rica, not without reasons was nick-named “Gordo” (“Fat”) by Don Oscar, the one and only “maestro de obra.”

 

You may spot her jumping off the Palmex-leaved roof to get to the Hotel grounds, leaning over the terrace fence looking at pedestrians passing by, rather than hiding below Dad’s motorbike, ready to ambush Margherita or Viola calves.

 

Or just ... waiting for you at the Hotel's Reception!