Spa Stories

Read about places our team has been to.

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Bula Fiji - by Marc Llewellyn

A trip to Fiji has traditionally meant a package holiday, and a week or more at the same resort. But what happens when you have worked your way through the spa and cocktail list? And the place is beginning to lose its freshness?

Moving to another resort may seem like hard work, especially if you have heavy luggage, or kids in tow. But Fiji is so relaxed, and efficient, that the journey between cocktail lists can be easier than you think.

The best starting point is the land-locked Denarau Island, which is just 20 minutes by taxi from Nadi Airport. There are several places to stay here, including an inexpensive Trendwest resort and the five-star Westin Fiji. But perhaps the most luxurious is the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa.

The Sofitel's lagoon-style swimming pool is the largest in the South Pacific. A nearby waterslide will entice the children, and a kids' club will keep them occupied well into the evening.

There’s a family wing, with a separate alcove in each room to hold a bunk bed and a second TV, a DVD player, and a games console.

We arrived in the evening and it was a an immediate relief to know that the resort was only a 20-minute shuttle bus ride from Nadi Airport. We were greeted by smiling staff and ushered to an electric buggy that scooted us to our room. The resort has two restaurants: an upmarket French affair, and a more casual outdoor eatery beside the beach. When you're not relaxing around the pool, you could opt for a massage, or try paragliding at the extensive watersports club.

Mandara Spa at the Sofitel Fiji consists of nine private bures, seven of which are designed for exclusive spa treatments. One private deluxe suite is also available for salon services.

Sofitel’s spa bures also cater for couples who want to enjoy treatments together. Each treatment begins with a Floral Wash Ritual to symbolically cleanse life’s stresses and tensions. Each villa is equipped with a waterfall shower and a private Hydrotherapy Jacuzzi tub for one of the spa’s signature bathing rituals.

We opted for a Balinese and traditional Fijian massage, and were very impressed. I would heartily recommend a stay at this resort for a few days.

From here you could head out to the islands, or take a 50-minute trip through the countryside to the revamped Shangri-La Fijian Resort.

This resort has been a family favourite with Australians since it opened in 1967. The rooms are large and comfortable enough, and there are three pools, one for adults only. The island is so big that if you want to be alone you can be. Just head out along one of the long outer beaches, or explore the mangrove mud flats, where thousands of fiddler crabs wave their colourful claws.

Children are well looked after, with a kids-eat-free program, a video game complex, and supervised movies each evening. Local village women charge a few dollars to babysit.

It’s a very large resort, and it’s rather more mass market than exclusive. The CHI Spa here offers a range of treatments in pleasant bures, including a Himalayan Healing Stone Massage, and a CHI Balance, which includes acupressure, an energising massage, and a relaxing massage.

Back at Denarau Port, you can drop your bags at the desk in preparation for a slick transfer to one of the Mamanuca islands on a catamaran run by South Sea Cruises.

The company also offers day-trips to various islands in the group, and out to the Yasawa Islands.

The catamaran stops off at the well-known island resorts of Bounty, Treasure, Mana, Castaway and Malolo. One of the best is Yasawa Island Resort and Spa, an exclusive retreat on one of the most remote and unspoiled islands. It has just 18 luxury bungalows hidden among the palms, each just a few steps from a pristine white beach.

One of my favourite’s is Castaway Island, not just for its beautiful coral-white beaches and shallow pastel water, but also for its delightful staff and its sumptuous food.

As soon as you step foot on the island you know you have arrived somewhere special. The shallow sea is a tempting green and traditionally thatched bures peek out from between hammocks and flowering trees.

A well-priced meal plan includes three feasts a day, with dishes often surpassing what you might expect from a five-star restaurant in the city.

Even better, the gourmet three-course dinners include Indian and Fijian options. These are often relegated to once-a-week theme nights at other resorts.

Castaway is a paradise for kids. As well as hunting frogs by torchlight, and catching crabs by day, they even get their own separate dinner time, with friendly kids' club carers acting as monitors.

Relax and pamper yourself with a traditional Fijian massage in the serenity of a bure surrounded by tropical gardens. You can also have a professional massage treatment with fragrant Fijian oils on the beach or in the privacy of your own bure.

Add to this a romantic cocktail bar overlooking the sea, incredible snorkelling, and a feeling of tranquillity and solitude, and you can understand why nearly half the people who stay here have been to Castaway before.

If you are catching an early-morning flight home you should stay in a hotel close to the airport, like the three-star Hotel Mercure Fiji Airport. You can use it as a base to explore Nadi and its markets.

In the end, doing it yourself can work out to be an adventure without the usual hassles – and you'll get to see more of Fiji and its people too.

Spa Files:

More information: Fiji Visitors Bureau, Phone: (02) 9264 3399.
Website: wwwfijime.com

Getting there

Air Pacific flies daily from Sydney to Nadi. Bookings 1800 230 150 or www.airpacific.com

Were to stay

The Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa and the Hotel Mercure Fiji Airport are both managed by Accor Hotels. Phone: 1300 656 565. Website: www.accorhotels.com.au. Shangri-La Fijian Resort, www.shangri-la.com. Castaway Island Resort, www.castawayisland.com.

When to go

The best time to visit is during the dry season, between May and October. The wet season, between November and April, is still pleasant, though you should expect short bursts of heavy rainfall most days.

Visas: Australian passport holders do NOT require a visa for stays up to 30 days.

More information: South Sea Cruises, www.ssc.com.fj