Likuliku Lagoon Resort is the first and only resort in Fiji with authentic over-water bures. Photo / Supplied.
Likuliku Lagoon Resort is the first and only resort in Fiji with authentic over-water bures. Photo / Supplied.
Likuliku Lagoon Resort has somehow struck the balance between luxury and authenticity, which is an impressive feat for a Fijian family owned resort on a tiny island in the Mamanucas, writes Jaime Lyth
Located on Malolo Island, Likuliku is just a 10-minute helicopter ride from Fiji’s main island or alternatively, a 45-minute speedboat transfer. Depending on the weather, the boat trip can double as a bit of an adrenaline adventure, or an extended sea mist facial session.
The adults-only resort is proof you can design luxurious accommodations for tourists without forgoing the hundreds of years of indigenous knowledge and culture that came before it. The reception entrance to the resort is an architectural marvel in itself.
The entrance and reception to Likuliku Lagoon Resort is an architectural marvel in itself. Photo / Supplied.
Likuliku is the first and only resort in Fiji with authentic over-water bures.
Not only can you wake up looking across the ocean, but the rooms are smartly designed with glass panels on the floor and even behind the sink, so you can get a peak of the ocean life below while you wash your hands.
Well-considered design features are a highlight of the bures. Private outdoor showers attached to the rooms are a godsend in the Fiji humidity, and having your own deck with a daybed is perfect for a nap to the sound of the lapping shore, without worrying about waking up looking like a lobster you may eat that night.
Some bures have the luxurious option of a private plunge pool, regardless everyone has access to the beautiful horizon edge pool where you can spend all day in a sun-lounger drinking cocktails and having food served straight to your seat.
The bures demonstrate traditional Fijian architecture and the country’s abundance of natural materials with hand-woven palm-thatched ceilings and local hardwood (vesi) covers the floors and is tied together with rope. The detached structure of the bures across the resort is perfect for couples who want privacy, or anyone who enjoys a bit of peace and quiet on a holiday.
It’s obvious the luxury escape is tailored for couples, but more than anything it feels tailored for a calming and comfortable experience.
Small touches, like icy “cooler” herbal drinks in shot glasses are not only delicious and unique but a genuinely enjoyable way to take the edge off the island humidity for travellers used to cooler climates. Offers like this really make you feel like the Likuliku team has thought of everything.
The signature “Fijiana” restaurant has a daily changing, á la carte menu that is filled with local produce and flavours. Fresh fish, coconut, and fruit are obviously present, alongside the classic Indo-Fijian influence, but the menu often pulls and mixes with different cuisines, notably Japanese and Italian.
The culinary excellence is supported by the environment the resort has built, including an extensive garden where chefs can pick fresh herbs and garnishes that end up straight on your plate. The fresh picking of food for each meal also means the menu and staff are incredibly welcoming to different dietary requirements and concerns.
The Masima Island bar is another dining option and it also happens to be the entry point if you’re arriving by boat, surrounded by lagoon waters and vibrant reefs. By dusk, it’s a buzzing social area for guests to enjoy cocktails together and watch traditional performances and ceremonies held by the staff.
With an absence of city lights, once the sun goes down Malolo is pitch black, apart from the fire torches lit alongside paths and low warm lighting inside the restaurant and rooms.
Alone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, inside the bures built out of deep coloured wood, you fall asleep quickly and then naturally wake up early as the sun reflects off the miles of water surrounding the island.
After all, you’re not far from the filming location for the Tom Hanks film, Castaway.
A Twilight Tadra spa treatment is one way you can relax in the stillness of the night at Likuliku. Photo / Supplied.
For those who like exploration, island-hopping trips with guided walking trails and visits to nearby villages are available, including a hike 200m up Uluisolo Peak for its 360-degree views.
Snorkelling equipment is free for all guests, which makes sense considering the immediate area surrounding the island is a marine sanctuary, so you don’t need to swim far from the dock to see the bright coral reefs and schools of tropical fish. The first visitors named it “Likuliku”, meaning “calm waters”, which should give those who aren’t great swimmers relief.
Likuliku is well-known for being home to a small population of the critically endangered Fijian crested iguana, which guests are welcome to have a close encounter with. The resort’s programme to save the reptiles from extinction came about unexpectedly when one of the iguanas literally fell from the sky.
The iguanas were thought to be extinct until 2010 when one day an iguana fell out of a tree in front of a groundskeeper working in the resort’s bush, and began climbing up his rake towards him (much to his terror apparently).
The accidental discovery began the centrepiece of the resort’s environmental programme, which has empowered the employees to help restore the natural dry forest where the reptiles thrive, through planting projects. There are now more than 80 iguanas on Malolo Island.
Even those who find most businesses’ sustainability efforts are just greenwashing will be impressed by the commitment the resort community makes to not only protect its natural environment but also restore it. The approach is evident in day-to-day operations on both the land and sea, and the aim is to engage guests to join in on the conservation mission.
A close encounter with a critically endangered Fijian crested iguana. Photo / Supplied.
Checklist
FIJI
GETTING THERE
Fly non-stop from Auckland to Nadi International Airport, Fiji, with Fiji Airways
