While we might have been complaining recently about a few dull hotel videos, we found a slightly-above-average example today. The Outrigger on the Lagoon has just released what it's calling online DVDs which are, simply put, hotel promotion videos, but they're much more interesting to watch than the other stuff we've seen lately.
Yes, there's exotic music and promotional voiceovers, but the filming is pretty high quality and it all comes out looking very professional. Plus, there are lots of action shots of people doing what they should be doing on holidays--relaxing in a hammock with a drink, staring out at the view from their balcony, even sitting in bed (in their custom-made resort dressing gowns, of course).
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Amanda K celebrates a milestone, not hers, in Fiji. Enjoy.
I love celebrating birthdays, and I don't really care whose birthday it is. That's the reason my current pick for a dream vacation is a stay at the Yasawa Island Resort, which is celebrating its first birthday. I'm hoping they'll save a nice piece of cake for me.
Cake aside, Yasawa is described as one of the most isolated luxury resorts in Fiji, with its 18 bungalows tucked away under palm trees on a tiny island a half hour flight from Nadi. It also has the Baravi Spa with all kinds of great massage and spa therapies.
If I was in any doubt that Yasawa would be a great place for a holiday, their website got me with the slogan: "Fijians have fifteen words for heaven. The first one is Yasawa". On top of that they have a birthday special going where you can book for seven nights but only pay for five, valid until the end of March 2008. Yasawa, here I come.
The best part about Fiji's Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa is its infinity pool. It helps you pretend you're in the ocean without having to peel off layers of seaweed. Though the nearby beach is muddy and the water sludgy, the hotel coordinates plenty of excursion opportunities to other parts of Denarau Island where the quality of snorkeling rivals the Great Barrier to the west.
Since the $15 million renovation in 2005, visitors now say the hotel's amenities are closer to what they expect from a five-star Westin. The resort is spread over 30 acres. Guests have access to all the facilities at the adjacent Sheraton resorts including five restaurants, three bars and lounges and three swimming pools.
Guestrooms and suites, constructed using timber from native Fijian trees, has Westin's Heavenly Bed and Heavenly Bath, a 32-inch flat screen LCD TV, high-speed, Bose DVD player, and surround-sound home theatre sound systems. The Heavenly Spa by Westin features eight Fijian-style treatment "bures" (Fijian thatched roof huts) and two suites, a Vichy shower treatment room, a hydrotherapy room, a wet-edge lap pool, Jacuzzi, and a fitness center with state of the art fitness equipment.
Sure, you can't really go in the ocean, but who would want to leave the hotel grounds?
The luxury Likuliku Lagoon Resort in Fiji didn't quite make its planned opening in February, but finally on April 15 just gone its doors opened to guests. These guests, it should be mentioned, should be couples only. That's the stated target audience, so don't forget your partner.
Reviews from some of the first guests are overwhelmingly positive. From a simple "we can't wait to return" right through to a "we wept when we left", there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Likuliku. The staff are extremely helpful and friendly, the food is fantastic, and the location is heavenly. And one couple mentioned how pleased they were to have warm chocolate cookies delivered to their room every day.
Likuliku has some opening specials, like 6 nights for the price of 4, or a special package for renewing your wedding vows, if you want to get all romantic; honeymooners always get a free "private location" lunch or dinner and a bottle of French champagne.
Eco-tourism is a nice way of making us feel a bit less guilty for taking time off work and going somewhere far away to do nothing, right? In that case, might as well make it cute eco-tourism. At the Treasure Island Resort in Fiji, you can combine an island resort getaway with giving some endangered turtles a helping hand.
Treasure Island is very proud (and probably rightly so) of its Hawksbill Turtle breeding program, and they're happy to let guests get involved. Especially if it means some more money will change hands: at the moment you can "sponsor" a soon-to-be-released (into the wild, not the cinema screens) turtle by making a donation. Of course, the lil' turtle doesn't get the cash in his pocket, but money goes to help the breeding program by building a new enclosure, and you get your name on a special tag. Since the turtles only lay eggs every three years, and there are boundless natural predators around ready to snap up the little ones, this program keeps them in captivity until they're a year old and strong enough to survive in the wild, clearly improving the chances of the species staying around for a bit longer.
Apart from the turtles, Treasure Island is a full-island resort (the island takes about 10 minutes to walk around), small enough to be friendly and not overcrowded even when full. It offers a lot of package deals to Australian families, so might not be the most romantic destination, but the reviews are solid. And of course you can help the turtles.
As winter storms brew here in the Northeast, our search for the perfect overwater bungalow is intensifying. Know an overwater bungalow resort hotel we need to check out? Hit us on the tip line.
Ah, don't you love that new overwater bungalow smell?
Likuliku Lagoon Resort is not only the brandest, spankinest, newest resort in Fiji (opens this month), but it is also the first and only Fijian resort with overwater bungalows.
Fijian hospitality, Melanesian architecture, and an overwater bure over Likuliku Lagoon, what more do you want?
All bures feature air-conditioning, music systems, phones, internet access, a DVD player, and incredible views of the lagoon.
The best part? This place is brand spanking new. No conflicting web hotel reviews to confuse you, yet, no glowing reviews from the travel glossy mags, yet, just you, and whoever you choose to bring with you to enjoy a virgin experience at Likuliku without a cluttered predisposition--that is rare these days. The only thing better would be if this place was named Likulikme--just couldn't help it, sorry.
Bloggers Lucy and Andy were proud of themselves recently: having a family member in the know, they managed to score a week at the Worldmark Denarau Island Resort in Fiji for only a few hundred dollars. This resort is part of the Worldmark "holiday share" program, where members can choose from a number of resorts to spend their "holiday credits" each year. Lucy and Andy would probably say that if you had to go back to the same resort each year, this one wouldn't be a bad one:
We stayed in a beautiful fully self contained villa overlooking the ocean. And when I say fully self contained...it had everything! A blender and all! ... Beautiful rooms, relatively tastefully decorated ("beachy" with the baskets of shells and wicker chairs, you know the style). Comfy beds, lovely staff, free bicycles/board games/bus/entertainment. The largest pool in the southern hemisphere (apparently) was conveniently located and had a swim up bar.
That's the nice thing at Denarau Island, you can splurge at their fancy restaurants or you can stay in and use the blender (and other kitchen equipment) to whip up your own meal--they'll go to the supermarket for you, just fill out the form!
If lazing around by the pool or doing some casually calm snorkelling outside your water bungalow is not enough for you on a holiday in Fiji, the Sonaisali Island Resort reckon they have what it takes to keep you amused. With paintball, jetskiing and sports fishing already entrenched on their Adventure Sports activity list, they're now promoting their new dawn jetski "safari adventure".
Along with your Sonaisali Jet Ski Guide, you'll start of by motoring along to some of the best snorkelling places in Fiji; when you've been down below long enough, the guide will take you mountain climbing to get a view over all the islands. Or you can spend a half day surfing on some of the great waves of Fiji.
At the end of these kind of action-packed days then you definitely need a good bed to lay your head in. Air-con and ceiling fans turn up everywhere (definitely necessary), and the best relaxation comes in the beachfront spa bures, where you'll find a private spa on your balcony.
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by amandak
