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.
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!
Every once in a while, Fiji seems to have a political coup. These coups take place about as often as the Olympics, and when they occur tourists tend to get squeamish about traveling to Fiji. When the islands are coup-less, tourists flock there. It is, after all, an island paradise.
We aren't going to pretend to understand the Fijian political climate, but we can tell you that since late last fall there appears to be a bit of unrest going on in the country. Furthermore, we can tell you a decent way to know whether or not now is a decent time to go to Fiji--ask an Australian. Fiji is to Australia what Hawaii is to the US, as far as vacation spots go. The Aussies always have their finger on the pulse of Fiji internal strife, when they aren't gripping a pint that is, but we digress.
Anyway, if your Aussie friends give you clearance, check out Yasawa Island Resort, a secluded 18 bure beach resort 25 minutes from Nadi--by island hopper.
Each bure has a big private deck, a hammock, outdoor showers, oh and, of course, they are beach front.
We couldn't find the exact location of Yasawa on Google Earth (stupid cloudy skies), but we attached the general vicinity map link below.
Bonus: You get a welcome "Bula" from a bunch of folks in neon green shirts. How late eighties.
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by amandak
