2016 Grand Awards – Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report

Fiji is at its most magical in the outer islands, which, until now, have been home to all of my recommended resorts: Laucala Island, Yasawa Island and The Wakaya Club. However, Auberge Resorts recently opened a property on the south coast of Viti Levu. Curious to see whether Fiji’s main island had finally acquired a luxury hideaway, I flew for 30 minutes across the emerald interior to the resort’s airstrip. The entire Nanuku development, which comprises an 18-room resort and private villas, stretches along almost two miles of sandy beach. Families tend to stay in one of the six beachfront villas (which offer two or more bedrooms), whereas couples opt for the Vunikau Suites atop a hill. Thatched roofs give all of the buildings traditional profiles and allow them to blend into the palm-studded landscape behind the resort. All accommodations have sea views. It required some effort, but we did leave our exceptionally comfortable suite from time to time, descending the hill in our golf cart (every accommodation includes one). Nanuku organizes daily scheduled activities such as kayaking, yoga and bike rides. We also went on a “food safari,” during which we toured a crab farm and watched a woman fetch prawns from a creek. We enjoyed the crustaceans at dinner that evening, along with kokoda, a ceviche-like appetizer; feta-stuffed pork fillet with wild ota fern and a pumpkin croquette; and a papaya bavarois with passion fruit coulis and coconut sorbet. Viti Levu finally has a resort that I can enthusiastically endorse