Room check: Nanuya Resort, Fiji

Nanuya is a great place to relax. Photo / Supplied

Tess Nichol enjoys a beachside stay at the Nanuya Resort, Fiji.

Check-in experience: Next level. As you arrive by boat to Nanuya, staff wait on shore to greet you with an arrival song and a tall glass of juice. Then you take a seat as the manager gives a rundown of everything the resort has to offer.

Rooms: There are several rooms to choose from, but we stayed in the superior villa, with beach-front views. The room is on the small side, with an enormous and very comfortable bed taking up most of the space.

The sliding glass door in front of the beach has its pros and cons.

Pro: if you wake up early enough you can watch the sun rise from the comfort of bed; con: if you're here on a romantic getaway it doesn't feel particularly private, even with the curtain pulled.

Bathrooms: Amazing! The showers are all outdoors in a little courtyard at the back of the room, which might make you feel a little exposed at first. Quickly though, showering under the sun feels like the most natural and freeing thing in the world. The toilet is indoors but the sinks are also outside, though under cover, meaning direct sun stays off your toiletries.

The light is great for plucking your brows, if you can be bothered with such a thing on holiday.

Food: Casual dining at a reasonable price. Try the seafood pizza, it's delicious.

Activities: Nanuya is right on the doorstep of beautiful white sandy beaches, so snorkelling, kayaking, boating and sun lounging are all just seconds away. I can particularly recommend watching the sun go down while swinging lazily in an extra-wide, extra-comfy hammock.

An outdoor spa facility also offers massages and other treatments; having your back rubbed while listening to waves lapping at the shore is absolute heaven.

The bad bit: Nanuya is still undergoing a lot of construction, which can mean some noise is heard from the villas during the day. Luckily with the beach so close, the noise is relatively easy to escape.

Price: FJ$685 (NZ$474) a night for a superior villa.

Who owns it: Val and Ivan, an Australian couple in their 70s who probably work more hours a day than most people half their age do.

Nippers: No children under 6 are allowed at Nanuya.

Would I return: Yes, but I would book into a tree-top villa for a little more privacy.