In this exclusive interview with Jumia Travel, Miss Sophia Allison Oguru, a presenter at Pulse Nigeria, shares her experience at Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort in Ekiti, detailing the basics of her journey to the resort, the cost of the trip, her time and activities at the resort as well as her overall experience on the trip. She ends by giving some useful advice to those intending to visit the resort in the near future. Enjoy.
Introduction
Miss Sophia Allison Oguru is a presenter at Pulse, Nigeria. She is also a makeup artist that caters to all occasions from weddings to photo-shoots and so on, through her makeup business, ‘SparkleByMisaziba’.
Journey to the Resort
Her reason for the trip to Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort was mainly work-related. According to her, the trip was for a video and photo-shoot for a brand and she was the makeup artist on set. She went on the trip with a group of people, consisting of colleagues, crew members and friends. Overall, she described the 5-hour journey by road to the resort as a smooth one, but long and unending to her. She judged this to be caused by the fact that she had never gone on such a trip before, and added that returning to Lagos from the resort felt shorter and more normal to her. She shuffled between listening to music and chatting with people to entertain herself during the trip, and when she was doing neither she was quietly asleep.
Cost of the Trip
According to Miss Sophia, the trip was a sponsored one, a work-trip, and as a result was embarked on at no monetary cost to her. However, she did add that a stay at the resort is generally not really expensive and the cost should be a little over ten thousand naira (N10,000).
Time and Activities at the Resort
She left Lagos for the resort in Ekiti on Thursday and got there with her colleagues in the evening, around 4pm to 5pm. When she arrived, it seemed to her that she and her colleagues were the only guests around at the time and there was no electricity supply. When the management was asked about the lack of power supply, they explained that they typically switch on their generator at 7pm in the evening and leave it on till about 7am the next morning. However, when they do have guests come in before this time (7pm), they switch it on for an hour to give guests time to use the electricity to do whatever they need to until 7pm when it will switched on overnight. They explained that it’s done this way to manage operational costs as the resort has not be privy to national power supply for almost three years. In line with this, at the request of Miss Sophia and her colleagues, the generator was turned on for them to use the hourly supply to do things like charge their devices etc. till it will be switched on again by 7pm.
At the resort, a guide was assigned to Miss Sophia and her colleagues to take them on a mini-tour of the resort, and they used the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the resort and find the best locations for their planned shoot. After this, they had their dinner and settled in for the night. The next day, which was a Friday, was the shoot day. They were to finish with everything on Friday and return to Lagos the following day, Saturday. The call time for the shoot was 7am, so by 7am they were up and at the location to begin the work. The breakfast eaten was complementary, and according to Miss Sophia, consisted of either yam and eggs or bread and eggs, there wasn’t really variety when it came to the resort’s food offerings. Though the quantity and price was fair, the taste was, in her opinion, just okay.
Experience at the Resort
She tried as much as she could to enjoy the trip and have some fun because ‘all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl’, and she was successful at this as she shared some of her interesting activities and memorable experiences at the resort. Firstly, during her break from work Friday afternoon, she mentioned going on a walk. She described her experience during this walk as memorable and refreshing. The sun (which wasn’t too hot) and other nature around her was refreshing. The air, according to her, was different and soothing; the scenery was also pleasing to the eyes. Then, she talked about her work (the make-up work) and because as she enjoys what she does, making women beautiful amidst the calm and refreshing natural setting gave her enjoy and made the trip all the more memorable. Also, she mentioned intending to join a pool party happening Friday evening at the resort with her colleagues. However, it unfortunately started to drizzle and they had to return indoors. But in all, it was a memorable experience for her which she described in three words as beautiful, amazing and refreshing (with emphasis on the refreshing aspect).
Conclusively
After sharing her experience, Miss Sophia advised that because the resort doesn’t generally have good cellular reception, it’s just easier to prepare to be ‘incommunicado’ while there. According to her, the only social media she could use while there was ‘Whatsapp’ and if she had to make or receive calls, because the warm spring doesn’t have cellular service, she had to walk all the way back to the rooms, which was quite a distance considering how big the resort is. Coming along with your own food or junk food was another thing she recommended because the resort doesn’t really offer varieties when it comes to food and you might not exactly find their meals delicious. Finally, she added that in all the resort is indeed a great place to take a break from the world, which includes a break from work and the like. For her, a trip to the resort is a nice way to getaway and do something different, and it is especially suitable for couples that just want to escape for awhile and be together.
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