Fresh, Fun, Funky and Fabulous Fiji Top 5 & a Flashpackers!
Rosies / Travelscene Holidays Fiji Famil
Terri Bettany
24-29 August 2006
Recently I was lucky enough to visit Fiji for the first time – well at least the first time I was able to set foot as I did visit Fiji whilst working onboard the Oriana however I didn’t have a chance to get ashore.
We had 5 packed days in Fiji this time around visiting many different hotels – a lot of which have been furbished. We were hosted by Rosies/ Travelscene Holidays and Air Pacific.
The Air Pacific flights were better than expected with a very tasty meal and good service. They don’t have seat back videos but did play one movie on the way to Nadi and return. As well as the meals and movies, Air Pacific offer all the other expected extras such as blankets and pillows for no extra cost unlike some of the budget carriers.
We were welcomed in typical Rosies friendly Fijian fashion and were looked after in this same way the whole or our trip. Eroni our guide was just sensational!
As we visited a great number of hotels I am just going to concentrate on 5 of my favourites.
FIJI RESORT BY HILTON
The Fiji Resort by Hilton on Denarau was in the very final stages of completion when we visited. It was a truly  luxurious 5 star resort with surprising reasonable prices for food and beverages. This was one of the biggest surprises with Fiji that their Food and drink prices are higher than many good restaurants here in Australia.
The Fiji Resort by Hilton has 219 rooms ranging from Studios, to 1,2 and 3 bedroom Villas. All are very modern and spacious in appearance with white and platinum themes. The 3 bedroom Villas also have their own private pool.
The whole resort exuding casual luxury! The only downside was their didn’t seem to be a lot of vegetation due to the newness of the resort once this grows it will be a Tropical Paradise!
SOFITEL
The Sofitel is another brand new resort at Denarau and also very luxurous. Lots of white open areas in the foyer and the a beautiful bar called breeze where you can look down over the resort and beach and experience exactly that a call Breeze!
The Sofitel has 296 rooms all Ocean view also including family rooms and suites. It is a full 5 star resort complex with plenty of activities ranging from watersports to the amazing day spa and of course as most resorts have in Fiji now the wedding packages.
They also have extensive conferencing facilities and function rooms.
THE PEARL
 The Pearl South Pacific Resort is at the very far end of the Coral Coast and was another great surprise. It is a refurbished resort and has been done in a modern funky style. Complete with bed lounges on the verandah off the lobby to nap, drink and just be merry.
The tiered look to the rooms does remind me a little of Hayman on the Great Barrier Reef as does their themed penthouse collection. They have both garden view and ocean view rooms plus their penthouses.
They have a gorgeous a la carte restaurant overlooking the ocean which as well s beautiful food had an enviable wine list with reasonable prices.
The resort is just across the road from it’s championship golf course and country club. We had a lot of fun touring the golf course on their buggy’s!
While we were there the Pearl was also host to cast members, crew and the eviction interview for UK Tv’s Celebrity Love Island – complete with all the latest and greatest B grade celebs!
NAVITI
The Naviti is also just about finished her refurbishments and is looking much better than her sister property the Warwick. The rooms are well appointed and the bathrooms are extremely spacious (something that the Warwicks were not).
You do also have reciprocal rights to use the facilities at the Warwick and there is a shuttle that runs between the two properties.
The Naviti is located a 9- minute drive from Nadi airport and has 240 rooms that included Mountain View, Ocean View, Suites and Villas.
The Naviti is ideal for families and couples as they cater to all. They have a great all inclusive food and drink plus activities package which is highly recommended as great value for money.
They also have a brand new spa and offer wedding packages as well as conference facilities.
MANGO BAY BEACH RESORT
Mango Bay was the real surprise of the whole trip – A flashpackers! Basically an upmarket, funky, fun backpackers.
Located on the Coral Coast about half way between Nadi and Suva on their own little stretch of beach it is a flashpackers paradise!
As well as the pool and swim up bar they have a great restaurant that is either A la Carte or buffet plus all the traditional Fijian cultural events such as Kava. They also have great activities like fishing and diving.
They also have a nightclub with guest Dj’s and an outdoor cinema.
There are three main styles of accommodation – Beachfront Bures, African Safari tents and Group Bures.
We had a fantastic afternoon at Mangoes and truly didn’t want to leave. It really isn’t just for backpackers more just for the young at heart!
SONAISALI ISLAND RESORT
We arrived at Sonaisali a little the worse for wear after picking up a none too friendly bug. The staff at Sonaisali couldn’t have been more helpful and caring in looking after us. Not long after our arrival in our beautiful beachfront bures (complete with spa on the balcony) the get well brigade arrived with powerades, water and the DVD list. They were also able to get the doctor out to us and get us any food that we were able to eat.
The Bure’s were fantastic – two adjoining in each block so you could have a 2 bedroom bure. As well as the Beachfront Bure’s they have Oceanview bure’s set back behind the Beachfront and also the Beachfront hotel rooms.
They have all the activities as well from sailing boats, windsurfers, jet ski’s, diving, paddle cats etc.
 They also have conference and function facilities.
The other hotels visited were Sheraton Fiji Resort, Westin, Warwick, Shangri La Fijian Resort, Crusoes, Hideaway and the Outrigger.
Unfortunately I missed out on Malolo and Castaway as I was unwell.
Overall it was a fantastic time in Fiji and I can highly recommend it to anyone looking to get away to a tropical beach destination with the beautiful Fijian culture thrown in!
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