More about InterContinental Fiji Golf and Resort Spa
Best hotel and beach on the main island - wonderful trip
by TripAdvisor Member Live4TravelAlways
For my 1st trip to Fiji I was happy we stayed here. At first we couldn't decide if we would stay on the main island or on one of the outer islands. Staying here allowed us to experience the mainland and still get a great beach like the outer islands. Yes it is 45 mins from the airport, but it worked well for us. We spent 7 nights in Fiji and being an adventurous couple we didn't just want to stay at the resort for 7 days straight and not doing anything else, although it is absolutely gorgeous. The location offered us the opportunity to do tours on opposite ends of the island since the hotel is centrally located half way between Nadi and the Pacific Harbour areas(close to Suva) , both of which have completely different tours. We did zip lining, water rafting and also went sailing to other outer islands as day trips. I suggest everyone do at least one tour to see more of Fiji and get a broader experience.
On the tours our van picked up other guest from other hotels and from what I heard and saw this hotel is the best. Even the locals believe this hotel is the best on the mainland.
The best parts of the hotel are the gorgeous landscape, the best beach on the main island, lovely infinity pool free from kids. They also shine lights on the beach at night and the light reflects off the ocean...gorgeous. We stayed in a beachfront suite and it felt like home. It was very large and I especially loved the cleopatra bathtub on the balcony, it was big enough for the two of us to take a bath together with candlelight and sip on wine. Very romantic. Beautiful view from our room, loved that we could hook up our IPOD on the bose sound system. Two flat screen tv's and in room dvd player although we never watched any TV. We also used the workout area and got couples massages. The spa was great and we paid a bit extra for the private VIP treatment room. It was like a mini apartment with our own plunge pool.
The staff was absolutely the best. Everyone was so friendly and the service was great.
The only parts that need some improvement is the food. I'm a self-confessed foodie and the food in one of the restaurants was just average. We never ate breakfast as we slept in. One restaurant had a different buffet theme each night so the variety was good, but the taste was just average. I didn't have any really bad food at the buffet, but nothing stood out and blew me away. But the food in the Navo restaurant was great. It's more expensive, but was worth it. Try the lobster..mmmm good. Also I had hoped for at least one night of some night time entertainment, a fire walking show or something. A few hotels do have entertainment at night, but for the most part it's pretty quiet on the island. The hotel is still building some villas and they say once everything is complete they will add some entertainment.
Back to the good stuff. My boyfriend played golf and he said it is one of the most challenging golf courses...PGA caliber, so expect to lose lots of balls.
Overall I would definitely recommend this hotel. If you can afford it, pay the extra for a beach front view. It makes your stay that much more enjoyable.
Deffinently recommend!
by TripAdvisor Member sabrina3232002
Just came back from holiday at the intercontinental in Fiji, and am seriously missing it!
It is such a beautiful hotel. It just opened about 2 months ago so is practically brand new!
the staff were abosutely amazing! So friendly, and willing to please. They were the best part!! We formed friendships with many of them, and will miss them very much!
But single ladies, be warned... There are no cute guys there! Absolutely none :( They are all old and balding... So not the place to look for a boyfriend... :((( lol!
The room was very nice. styled with modern furniture. And very well thought out. Every room had a lovely outdoor area with a couch, coffee table and outdoor bath! It also had a big curtain to pull across to give you complete privacy, which was great!
I do have one complaint about the room... We ordered a beach front room, and we were put in the beach front block. But couldnt see the beach at all! Unless we really crained our necks from the balcony! So obviosly we were annouyed because we had paid extra for the beach view! But we were unable to change rooms, as my mum and I were travelling together, and the beach view rooms only had one king bed in them. But we were tired, so put up with it and didn't complain.
So if you're booking a beach front room, call them to confirm that you can actually see the beach! I'm sure they can bring in a extra pull out bed if you need one!
The hotel has 3 restaurants, and the food was lovely at all of them. especailly Navo. Their specialty restaurant. I had my bithday dinner there, and they made me the most beautiful, and decadent chocolate birthday cake for me! But i have to say, their salads wern't much cope. Which was dispointing...
It was rainy one day so my mum and I went to the spa. the spa is beautiful but the prices are OUTRAGEOUS! $250 for a facial! no joke! So we did this water thing called the wai zone, which was fun and pretty good value. The spa also sells some good products, all natural, and smell delicious!
There are two pools, one family one and an adult infinity pool. We spent all our time at the infinity pool, which was lovely. There also plently lounge chairs, so no need to do like the germans and race down early to save your seats! They also have these adorable little cocoon sorta seats which were very comfortable!
One let down was the beach.. we herd it was named by Forbes magazine as one of the best in world. When we arrived it was covered in seaweed and rubbish. But this was probably becaused a storm had just come through. But the beach remained in this state for quiet a while after the storm which made it hard to enjoy. But eventually they cleaned it up and it looked much better.
But be aware... the beach is public, and right next the resort is a horse riding stable. And if you're walking down the beach they'll come up to you and pester you to go horse riding. And believe me you really don't wan to horse riding! You just sit on a dirty horse and a little boy pulls you around the beach by a rope... not very romantic.
the horses also made a terrible mess as they were pooping all over the beach! not a nice smell.
Also you can rent complimentary movies!! Which is great! And they have a really wide selection to choose from.
But all in all we really enjoyed our stay! I really do recommend this hotel. It is probaly one of the best on the Island. And you can also get a pretty good deal on a room right now, as its new.
They desperately need to be professional and train their staff well!!!
by TripAdvisor Member Pooja2109
My husband and I planned a romantic holiday at this hotel thinking it would be at its best right now. Let me first tell you about the ONLY TWO fantabulous features of the resort. One is the unbeatable sunset that you can royally enjoy from the Kama Lounge. And second is the sea view from the infinity-pool area. The shop, Tapoos, is very good. The tour desk very very good. Staff, in general, is quite helpful.
The real story begins now. We had booked a pool view room... and what a disappointment it was!!! It actually started the previous day itself when we requested for an airport pickup. The response came after almost 30 hours later when we were already in the hotel (3-4 hours AFTER CHECK IN).
In fact, little did we know that disaster was yet to follow.
So we arranged our own transport and our day one looked liked this...
We arrived around 2 pm and the whole check-in procedure took about one hour. Not much problem... just that check-ins and check-outs were all happening at the same time and a total of 3 members of the staff to attend. While we were waiting, we witnessed an argument where the front desk person was insisting that the guest consumed things from the mini-bar, while he repeatedly kept saying he did not. Don't know what happened later since we moved from there soon.
We checked into our room, settled down and had just fallen asleep when we heard noises from the pool. They were just little kids having fun. And as it struck 4, the entire pool was full with kids who were shouting and playing. No problems with the kids... they supposed to do that. But the rooms should not have been facing the 'family pool'! The sad part is - all the pool-facing rooms face the family pool and not the serene adults pool. Anyway, we shut doors but it did not help one bit. By evening, we wanted to run away from there because of the noise. So we went up to the reception and asked for a change of room. They were very obliging and promised to send somebody to get the luggage in 1 hrs time. So we packed up, had dinner and kept waiting for somebody to take our luggage till 9 pm. It was only then that I called to enquire. I must quote what the lady at the front desk told me... "I'm sorry we can't give you that room anymore. We had a guest "walk in" some time back and he gave more money and so we've given the room to him. I am so sorry about that."
My only issue is... they could AT LEAST have informed us and we would not have waited like fools till late evening!!! That was disgusting and highly unprofessional.
Later that night we asked if break fast was included in our room rate. Were not sure because we had booked directly from the website. The concierge informed us it WAS NOT. Reception told us IT WAS. And agin after some time, that it WASN'T - all in a span of 2 hrs!!! Well, we had had enough confusion and so took the breakfast package as well.
Restaurants - 3, Sanasana, Novo and a pool-side bar and grill.
Food - Very expensive, abysmal quantity, below average quality, pathetic variety! Although breakfast was really grand and lavish, it was the SAME everyday!!! Exactly the same!!!
Ambience - Novo and Sanasana are really really good. We were enjoying the bar and grill as well till music started blaring at a deafening volume beside the adult's pool. It just killed the tranquil atmosphere. Oh btw, that happens 3 times a day at intervals and it's so loud you can even hear it in your rooms!!! Oh and did I tell you... they charge $15 to deliver food to your room. I bet it comes over from another country!
Rooms - Nice. The mini-bar in the room was empty and was replenished after 2 days. Housekeeping needs tremendous improvement. Looked like they just made the bed. There was no sugar. Hand towels were not replaced. No shower cap. An empty vanity box. Water was not replenished. I had to call for all these things!! Will somebody tell them, keeping hibiscus flowers on the bed at check-in is not ALL housekeeping is about!!
Spotted a dead small cockroach in the room the second day which kept lying there till 3 days. I was just waiting to see when they clean it up. But ha!
One day a guy knocked at the door right when we were sleeping in the afternoon to check some "BLOCKAGE" in the bathroom and insisted that it was urgent. I mean hello... isn't it brand new???
Moreover, the resort gets 'dark' and scary in the night. There definitely are a couple of dim lights here and there but not sufficient if you want to find your way back to your room. Just not. I couldn't see my feet in the dark.
Half of the property is still under construction (or maintenance as they like to call it!) and looks like they hired their staff in a hurry and forgot to brief them about basic grooming and being presentable. Although they are quite pleasant to talk to and always greet you, 'the thing' is depressingly missing. And that's not what you expect out of a 5-star hotel that charges a bomb!
Beautiful place...but the food..
by TripAdvisor Member MRSMITH_8
1. Travelled from Auckland with Air NZ on a Airbus A320( business class) with my wife and 2 children- 6 years and 16 years. Wonderful service and nice breakfast. 7.15am Flight. If you can afford it, its the only way to get there!
2. Arranged a transfer via the hotel to pick us up. ( Brand new Landcruiser) leather seats, very nice and comfy 45 minute journey with a young man named Riaz, who told us everything there is to know about Fiji on the way. No problems finding him at the airport. At $35 per person, I'd recommend this form of transfer as the least possible stress option.
3. Arrived at the resort and my family and I were welcomed with many 'Bulas' (hello in fijian) Coral necklaces, fruit drinks and refrigerated white scented hand towels (lemon).- All were a very nice detail..the stuff I like, so far so good!
4. The check in was smooth and professional, and civilised. Seated around big modern square edged sofas, in a very airy atrium, as a man took our details. this took about 10 minutes. Fine, as we we're all gobsmacked by the intial impression of the place. My first impressions were, architecturally anyway, it's a modern interpretation of the old style fiji resorts, done in new materials..see photos, as I can't really describe it.
Location wise, Natadola bay, looks as you'd imagine, - postcard perfect.
5. Our Room(s). We had 2 interconnecting garden rooms facing the family pool 1415 and 1416. The rooms are very tastefully done. Big modern bathroom, his and hers wardrobes, 42 " LCD TV, Bose stereo CD/ DVD .ethernet connection for broadband, @ $10 per hour etc - should be complimentary i thought. The bed was a comfy King sized bed. Tiled slate floors. Sliding doors opened up on to you own outdoor bath tub, which could be made private via canvas curtains, - more so to protect the other guests!! All in all very nice.
6. The facilities. The resort has 2 pools, the family one is very large..surrounded by deck chairs all perfectly lined up by some poor pool guy, shallow enough for young children to paddle, but deep enough for bigger kids, however not the coolest place to hang out.
The other pool is a vanishing pool, which states its a "quiet pool" for people over 16 years. Which was ignored by basically everyone (us included). Very nicely done again. The pool faces out to the ocean, and has a bar and casual restaurant attached. The food here should be avoided, until they can get it together. We ordered a few pizzas, etc they were awful. Tasted funny, and weren't as described on the menu..ie instead of Salami they used spam or luncheon sausage..ghastly at best.
There is also, as the hotel describes, an 'uber -chic' bar down the other end of the resort called Kama. It's probably the best place to watch the sunset and suck up a few cocktails while you do so, before having you wallet absolutely raped by the $65 per head buffet, at the main eating area..Sanasana. Omg, prepare yourself here for a taste experience...not.
As the resort has you at its mercy, and you have to eat... this part of our trip was the most worrying. To put it bluntly, the food is poor value, over priced, and not well prepared or tasty. We ate in all 3 restaurants and all of them were disappointing. For a five star resort they really need a visit from Gordon Ramsay To tell them to stick to basics..ie make the food more simple, use the location as the starting point for the food, more rustic, basically prepared by a chef, not some inexperienced local following a DIY recipe book etc..
Finally. Apart from my last paragraph, we really enjoyed our 7 days here and thought the place was very beautiful, but there needs some serious attention to the food, the staff, and their lack of experience, and fact that the resort doesn't show 'the love' to the guests in the sense, that nothing is complementry..even hiring a snorkel and flippers for my 6year old cost $10 an hour...pretty stingy. However if they can get the food together, this place will be "the Place" on the mainland, but one does come away from it all feeling as if the value for money aspect was lacking some.
Promises 'High End'... Fails to deliver.
by TripAdvisor Member mm2sydney
I came with high expectations and left vowing never to return.
My partner and I were travelling with our five month old baby. We had rung and emailed prior to our arrival (repeatedly) requesting a cot in the room. It wasn't there. Baby tired, half an hour wasted while they struggled to do what they'd promised.
Bad start.
Ordered room service.
The order came nearly an hour later. It was wrong. Wrong dish. And the right dishes were second rate.
Ordered room service a second time.
The order came 45 minutes later. They had substituted the dish we wanted for another dish. The wrong dish. It looked and tasted awful.
Ate out at their restaurant by the pool. The food looked pre-prepared and was over cooked. Stale. Horrible.
The night before we left we rang and (just to make doubly sure) then went to the front counter to request for the next morning bag collection at 6am, and a car ready to take us the 50 minutes to Nadi airport at 6.15. With a baby seat.
Next morning. 6am - no one came. I rang, they said they would send someone. 6.10 no-one came. I rang, they said they would send someone. 6.20 we go to the front desk. They said they would send someone. 6.30 bags collected. But - no car. Baby now screaming. We are running late for flight. 6.40 car arrives. No baby seat. Baby and mum outside in howling wind. Frantic search for baby seat. Ineffectual duty manager offers to hold baby.
Eventually we leave.
This hotel comes complete with the Inter Continental seal of approval but our experience, and I have only detailed some of the problems, was straight out of Fawlty Towers. A beaming grin and spluttered apologies do not in any way provide a substitute for the service you expect from such a resort. It was awful. Food and beverage is, with the exception perhaps of their fine dining restaurant, pretty dire.
I would not stay here until they get it right - and judging from our experience that is a long way off.
a gastronomic nightmare...in paradise.
by TripAdvisor Member peggy8
We have just returned from a lovely holiday at the Intercontinental. The resort is beautiful, a little fresh and sparse in places. This was my first time in Fiji, and I was little shocked at how third world it was...people washing clothes in rivers, shack houses, obvious poverty, frightening drivers on dubious roads....so when i got to the resort i felt more than a little at odds with the indulgent surroundings. That said...
The Positives:
the rooms are lovely, the decor is modern and luxurious, with comfy beds, all mod cons, spacious, etc.
The kids pool is perfect for little ones but easily accomodates all.
The infinity pool is equally great, right on the beach and we all spent hours there with countless pina coladas.
The sunsets ( and torch lighting ceremony) at the Kama lounge were stunning.
The people are so friendly ( the staff that is...)
The Negatives:
THE FOOD!!! good god almighty where do i begin, horrible horrible. what the hell is up with the food. and you cant eat anywhere else. 1. breakfast: my daughter loves pancakes, but refused to eat them here...they were so rubbery it was impossible to cut or chew them without huge effort. the milk is long life and not great, flies on the cold buffet, are these five star flies? they are about the only complimentary, free thing you get.
2. Lunch at Toba by the pool....REVOLTING. UNHEALTHY. what more need I say?
3. Dinner...Sanasana buffet ( see below about prices)...I stuggled to find anything to eat. the rice was lumpy and gluggy, the constant stream of stews where foul, chewy. The themes? every night, xmas in july, seafood ( the worst and the most expensive), asian, all were just beyond terrible and it was being discussed all around the room.
4.Navo ( meant to be the gourmet one)...my $46 Line caught local fish, well it was SO poached that my fork would not go into it. I would have complained, but the staff were just so young, naive, with limited english, it just felt pointless.
THE PRICES!! $13 for a bottle of perrier!! $8 for a bottle of FIJI!!! water ( what am I supposed to drink in the room....the shower??)...give me some goddam water!!!! $65-$85 per person for the worst buffet at Sanasana, $20 for sparkling wine at Navo,
THE SERVICE. So slow ( 1/2 hour for coffee, 1/2 hour for cocktails, food seemed to take forever at Toba)...if you ring the concierge, like we did to get one of our keys working, well they just don't turn up.
THE ODD THINGS... on our last day, 2 guys waterblasting from 10am to 4.30, outside our room, by the pool......??? eventually we rang and told them that we weren't paying $700 a night for that crap, and it stopped. But really, seriously, I mean COME ON!! the resort is only 2 months old, what the hell is there to waterblast?
oh, and Navo, we arrived at about 8pm, were asked by the young lady if we had a reservation, to which we replied no, and she said..'i am sorry but we are fully booked tonight'. My husband and I looked at each other, around the room...IT WAS EMPTY! There were about 2 tables full, and about 30 empty!! so i said, "well do you think you could squeeze us in somewhere?"..... literally 1 minute later we were sitting at a table, and without a word of a lie, the place remained dead, i mean like a few people straggled in over the 11/2 that we were there???
I could go on, but i must say that overall the location, the weather and the relaxing vibe outweighed the negatives, but i do not think that i would return unless the food situation improved ......100%.
What a wonderful trip!
by TripAdvisor Member zqsn5678
We just got back from our 4 nights stay at IC in mid-July 2009. This was our first trip to Fiji. We loved every minute while we were there, what a wonderful trip!!
Arrival/check-in
The security at the very far front gate knew our flight had an hour delay when we entering to the resort property, he asked for our booking name and checked the list before letting us in. IC pre-arranged us a private transfer. Took us 45-50 minutes between the airport and the resort.
When we got off the car, a warm welcome and seashell necklace was present to each of us. Followed by a cold towel and a welcome drink (orange juice) each. A male staff walked us to the lobby and pointed out the surrounding facilities. We were handed to a female staff who checked us in while we sat on the sofa. We walked back to the entrance and a buggy took us to our room. (He pointed out the surrounding facilities on the ride). He then took our luggage into our room and showed us around.
Overall service
All the staff were very nice and friendly, they obviously had been well trained, and a lot of them have worked at other (luxury) hotels previously. We were able to get what we wanted / requested as far as I can remember.
Room
We stayed at a beachfront suite in block/bure 12, downstairs means only a few steps to the beach! Our room is the closest to the infinity pool. block 12 ( and i believe block 13 as well) are the closest to the infinity pool, at night time there is a light will light up, so you can see the beach and a little bit of the sea, other beach areas are dark (facing the sea view). The light does not affect anything at all. The view is beautiful from our room for both day and night time. The room is fully air conditional with two control panels.
Our bathroom was very nice and big, double sink (marble look), a shower (rain style), a separate toilet. Double wardrobe (heaps storage) with a room safe.
Living room / lounge was spacious, a designers chair, comfortable couch/sofa, dining table with two chair and a mini bar. One LCD TV and telephone. Bose sound system. (DVD and CD are available to borrow from concierge, no CD were available to us at the time).
Bedroom was also spacious, the bed was very comfortable and large. 4 pillows and 5 cushions (1 more pillows in the wardrobe). One more telephone and LCD TV.
Outdoor bath – it’s located in your own private baloney/terrace. Yes there are thick curtain you can close up to insure your privacy. Love the bath!! All the rooms in this property have a bath. There is also a designer egg shape chair located next to the bath. (this might be part of the day bed)
Day bed – all rooms have a day bed located in their terrace. Nice and big day bed, it does get wet sometimes in the early morning.
For the beachfront suite you will get two designer deck chairs that you can do sun bathing privately (there are people walking pass by the beach still can see you, but atleast you don’t have to ‘fight’ one beside the pool, and you can see the exactly same see view from the pool plus no embracement to bring your own drinks to the pool), this is located between the sand and your own terrace. This is part of your room, it’s a little bit like a little garden.
Housekeeper(s) generally did a good job. Replace fresh towels and fresh flowers daily, folded up the clothes that are lying around…ect. There are just about flowers everywhere (in a good way). One thing I must say we didn’t receive any turn-down service that is stated on their website.
There will be more ‘club’ rooms open this September 09, but they are nowhere nearly the beach. They are located at the higher ground and I think you get plunge pool...ect.
Beach
Yes, this beach has been voted one of the top/best beaches in the world. We arrived after the stome came, therefore seaweed can be seem each morning, but they were people cleaning it. The sand is beautiful and soft, although there weren’t too many people ‘using’ the beach. Bare in mind this is coral coast, so when you enter the water there are a lot of corals on the sand that you will stand on, it hurts!!
Food
Food is probably the down side of this hotel, because you are located in the middle of nowhere you wouldn’t want to go out just for a meal. There were 3 restaurants and a bar opened while we were there. One fine dining, one bar and grill and one buffet. You can request menus via email from IC. Some of them were pricy some of them were acceptable same to the food quality, but food quality is definitely international standard. We brought some drinks (alcohol and non-alcohol) and snacks with us. I highly recommended you to do the same.
We ordered the room services once for a dinner, it was delivered promised, and we even ordered a dish from breakfast menu that finishes before noon.
We pre-paid $30 breakfast each. It was nice breakfasts daily, verity of food to choose from. It finishes at 10.30
Spa
Spa is another highlight of our stay. Its international standard / quality and international price. Although its actually quite pricy (some of them), treatments are quite limited and menu can requested via email from IC. We loved the complimentary wai-zone before our treatment. Staff were professional and very polite. The surrounding environment was beautiful and clean. During our treatment I heard the construction noise outside the window, I didn’t complain, as it wasn’t a big deal, my partner didn’t hear anything. You can request ‘outdoor’ spa if the weather is permitted. We regret we didn’t do it!!
Concierge
It’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Very helpful. You can book your tours there. We stayed in the resort the entire time perhaps our entire trip so no recommendation can provide. I did have a little peek of the tour book, seems like a lot of tours can be book here, there is also a Avis car rental desk in there.
Business centre
4 desktop computers were available to use, but it seems like 2 of them were ‘locked’. When you try to use the Internet it tells you to buy credits from the front desk. The other 2 computers were fine, no printer yet available but concierge is happy to help.
Denture/check-out
We checked-out in the morning, took about 15 minutes (was acceptable with our situation). We paid part cash and the rest by credit card. There was a little confusion at that time, but was quickly solved. We did ‘discover’ another bill problem on our way to Nadi airport, but that was solved later, after a couple emails. Concierge arranged us the private transfer was there on time.
We enjoyed our stay at IC Fiji very much, I wish our stay were longer (I wish I live there :) , will definitely return sometimes.
Don’t forget to sign up the free nights rewards (finish on 15 August 09). Ask the front desk staff about it. (it’s free)
beautiful resort - terrible food - terrible service
by TripAdvisor Member beclove3
our family just got back from 6 days at this resort. the resort itself was stunning! the location, views, pool, everything was beautiful!
however...every meal we had, we had to have the chefs re-cook, the buffets were terrible on one night it was left over food from the 'christmas' buffet the night before....breakfast was fine overall but the service is typical fiji style....order your coffee before you want it....then the 15 minute wait wont seem so long. the fijians were so lovely but honestly they hadnt been trained.
If food is a factor do not stay here....there are no other options for food, the closet place for food outside this resort is the shangri-la which is a 30 min drive...
also, confirm your transfer, we paid for the hotel to pick us up from the airport but they failed to arrive.
Beautiful hotel with great rooms,pools and beach but let down with huge food and beverage prices and poorly run F&B.
by TripAdvisor Member MrTobleronous
This is obviously a huge investment for the hotel owners. They have done a superb job in developing this quality property. The rooms are fantastic and are of a build quality rarely found in Fiji. They even managed to get the bathroom tiling straight. The pools, gardens and beach are of five star quality as is the welcome each guest receives upon arrival.
What I can not understand is why you would invest so much money and effort to create such a beautiful resort then taint it with poorly run restaurants, bars and reception.
The beverages prices are not high. They are off the planet.
$17 for a bottle of Corona,
$68 for a bottle of Monkey Bay Sav Blanc which is the sort of wine you would buy on special at the supermarket for $9.99 the day before pay day (yuk!).
Maybe this is why you see so few people drinking wine in the restaurant. They are all drinking in their rooms. The cocktails are about as powerful as a glass of iced water and what were they thinking when they decided to add beer to the Margaritas!
The buffet food was reasonable and quite acceptable if you manage to get a food-included deal. If I were forking out the five star charge for the buffet each time my assessment would be less generous.
Breakfast is spoiled by:
1. The flies on the pastries.
When I complained to the food and beverage manager he told me that he thought the use of wire covers for the pastries looked bad. He obviously thought the flies were more acceptable.
2. The chef who happily serves burnt pancakes and almost raw poached eggs (he obviously missed the first day of cooking school)
3. The average one hour- fifteen wait for a coffee or tea.
The espresso machine is a great idea but you cannot have one machine and barrister for a restaurant the size of about eight average cafes. I felt so sorry for the waiting staff whose lives are consumed with that one inadequate coffee machine and the endless complaints from thirsty customers.
4. The saltshakers with one tiny hole.
It is the humid tropics! They will never work no matter how many grains of rice you mix with the salt. At least there is no chance of hardening your arteries here.
This is all basic stuff. If I were paying the food and beverage manager a good salary I would expect him to know these things before the restaurant opened.
The pizzas by the pool are terrible. When I asked the poolside restaurant manager why the pizza bases were so bad he said that they were experimenting with base thickness etc. He should have known how to make a good pizza before the hotel opened. Again, this is basic stuff.
Reception is annoying to say the least. If you try to speak with a receptionist they constantly interrupt the conversation to answer the phones and have long conversations with other guests while you (who have made the effort to walk down and see them in person) sit there wondering what the hotel operator is doing.
The complimentary loan movie DVDs is a great idea.
Room facilities and furnishings are excellent. The televisions and Bose sound systems are way above the normal Fijian hotel standards. Take a cord to plug in your iPhone or iPod.
Staff are very friendly.
Well equipped gym. Keep those Swiss Balls pumped up though.
The Australians running the water sport department are well organised and friendly.
Over four days of sitting around the pool we were never approached by staff and asked if we needed to order food or beverage.
It’s the old story in Fiji. If you want something it is ten times quicker to go straight to the source and get it yourself.
In summary this is a very nice hotel with a great beach and pool facilities. They need to drop the drink prices and get their act together in the restaurants, bars and reception.
I would stay again in the hope that the general manager has read my review and taken the appropriate actions. To be fair, it is a new hotel. If they get the small things right it will be one of Fiji’s better hotels.
Advice:
Take your own alcohol.
On the drive to the hotel have the driver stop at a petrol station to buy cans of drink and snacks for the children.
Take a Valium prior to visiting reception.
Get a meal plan.
Order your coffee on arriving at breakfast and pick it up on the way out. (Having said that , I don’t think the expresso coffee machine idea will last. Great coffee, but the logistics do not work)
PS
We used CORAL SUN LTD for our car transfers to and from the hotel. They ripped us off!
We paid for two Mercedes cars each way from airport to hotel. On the way to the hotel the cars were as expected. They were reasonably clean and intact. They also had seatbelts which most of the taxis do not.
But for the return trip they turned up with one Mercedes and one clapped out Toyota Crown, which could barely make it up the hotel road which is on a moderate incline. Our connection was tight so there was no time to argue. There was nothing we could do about it.
On the fifty-minute drive back to the airport my driver coughed, sniffed and blew his nose all the way. He said that he had flu last week and was very ill but not to worry as Swine Flu was in the villages closer to Nadi than his own. So I relaxed and enjoyed the ride trying to take my mind off the fact that the driver had shaken my hand back at the hotel.
Best Resort on the island
by TripAdvisor Member Shmooks
When I went into Denarau I got to see some of the other resorts on the mainland in Fiji and decided straight away that the new InterContiental is by far and away the best!
Straight away you have a feeling of relaxation, peace and space, whereas the other hotels feel more like a meat grinder where everyone mills in and gets churned out. There is no fear of this at the Intercontinental as the pools, bars and restaurants are nicely spread out , so you never feel like everyone is on top of each other and it's consequently very peaceful.
One of the best points is that the rooms are huge with a wonderful extra living space outside with a day bed and a cleopatra bath (Must come back with the boyfriend next time). My other fave was the adult pool as it is a beautiful infinity pool overlooking the sea and I very happily sat by it practically every day without being disturbed by hoards of screaming children as the kids pool is nicely removed away behind the pool restaurant called Kama.
I have to admit that since it's a new hotel there were some teething problems . You can see that some of them are still trying to get into the groove of it all, but everyone was so friendly and helpful it definitely didn't ruin my stay.
There is also lots to do at the resort if you don't fancy sitting by the pool or beach every day. My favourite was the spa as I love a bit of pampering. Also, the village tour is great if you want to experience some of the local culture and I think next time I come back (yes, I'm planning on returning) I'll have to try out the diving. Also, next time when I bring my boyfriend I will take advantage of the nearby golf course by packing him off to play a round whilst I sit and relax by the pool.
I spent a week here, which I think is the perfect amount of time as you will get sick of the food by then. That is the one criticism which they should work on is that there wasn't enough variety for dining and I was disappointed with the limited choice on the room service menu. But I did notice some improvements from when I arrived to when I was about to leave so maybe they are currently working on this.
All in all though I came back to Sydney thoroughly relaxed after a great week.
Photos
Nadi
Swim up pool bar
Forum Posts
Buy snorkel/scuba equipment in Nadi?
by lloyd1223
Bula!
My name is Mark, and I am travelling to Fiji shortly. I will only be staying in Nadi a few days, but will travel aorund Fiji for 3 weeks. I would like to know if I should purchase snorkel or scuba equipment in Nadi, in another area (Suva or others) or if I should bring it with me. I am most concerned with costs. I live in the US now. Thank you for any help or suggestions, in advance.
RE: Buy snorkel/scuba equipment in Nadi?
by sunshinejo
Hi there!
Pretty much anywhere you go in Fiji will be able to rent you a snorkel and mask if you want one. However they may charge you up to $10 (that's Fiji dollars) per day for the privilege! I have my own snorkel and mask anyway, so I took that with me, and just managed without fins. If you don't already have any gear then I guess it depends on how much you're planning on using it. I was in the sea snorkelling every day of my 14 day stay, so I guess you could say I saved $140 by bringing my own. You'll definitly be able to pick up a cheap set in Nadi, and it'll probably be worth it. As for scuba diving, it's pretty cheap to do in Fiji and they provide ALL the gear, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. Have fun, you'll love it there!
Jo
RE: RE: Buy snorkel/scuba equipment in Nadi?
by lloyd1223
thanks so much
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