From the plunge pool outside your beachfront bure, which overlooks the sea and your own private beach, this is a once in a lifetime holiday.
If you ever dreamed of relaxing in a luxury pool where you can climb out and step straight onto the sand to swim while tiny kayaks bob in the distance, you have come to the right place.
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This boutique hotel offering luxury beyond normal parameters, making it a perfect experience for a honeymoon, a wedding proposal, or just celebrating with girlfriends.
The resort sits on Malolo Island, about an hour by boat from Port Denarau. But it’s a world away from the busy comings and goings of the main islands of Fiji.
Staff meet arrivals on the jetty, singing in harmony. Then it’s off down a sandy path towards your bure, with homemade cookies and champagne on ice.
This is pure, unadulterated, secluded luxury that will live rent-free in your head, in a very good way, for a long time.
The resort is reserved exclusively for guests; there are no day-trippers popping in.
It is wholly owned by the local Whitton family, who have maintained the resorts respect and relationship to Fijian cultural values and traditional designs.
They also own Rosie Holidays and Rosie Travel Group operating through their 100% Fijian family-owned company, Ahura Resorts.
The resort was originally best known for its overwater bures, the first of their kind in Fiji, and they are usually booked out months ahead by honeymooners and return visitors.
They stand tall over glittering water,
Across the bay, however, private plunge pools attached to the beachfront bures make a strong case for staying on land.
Beside each pool is a shaded daybed, and inside, the rooms are open and airy, with glass doors facing the water. There’s a luxurious bathroom and a lounge area for relaxing.
There’s also a second outdoor shower, handy for rinsing off after a swim.
Inside the bure, story cards tell tales of Fijian legends and ancestral spirits are left on pillows.
Island Hopping
Doing nothing at all is pretty amazing at Likuliku. But the island hopping tour is a great opportunity to check out surrounding islands.
One stop is Monuriki, the uninhabited island where Cast Away was filmed.
Getting there before the day-trip boats from the mainland means having the beach almost to yourself.
Coconuts spelling out a call for help are usually laid out on the sand, left by earlier visitors recreating the film.
Breakfast is served on the boat.
Then there’s the always excellent option of jumping straight off the side into the sea.
A Private Island Picnic
For a quieter day, the resort runs couples across the lagoon to Mociu, a small uninhabited island nicknamed Honeymoon Island.
Guests are dropped off with a large picnic hamper, which might include lobster, prawns, roast chicken, cheese and plenty of tropical fruit contained in metal tiffin containers.
The snorkelling starts right off the beach and the rest of the afternoon tends to involve eating, swimming and napping in the shade.
It feels properly remote, with the reassurance that the return trip to Likuliki HQ isn’t far.
Dining on a tropical island
Executive chef Gregory Llewellyn oversees the resort’s kitchens, and his approach suits the climate.
Breakfast combines a buffet with cooked-to-order dishes, and the barista coffee is as good as anything at home in Australia.
The house honey is worth trying.
Lunch and dinner are available at Fijiana, the main restaurant, are set menus that change daily, served across open terraces with views of the ocean.
Poolside, there’s a more casual menu of salads, pizzas and burgers, delivered to the loungers.
On Friday nights, the resort holds its meke and lovo evening, with staff performing traditional song and dance before a feast cooked in an earth oven, served alongside fresh sashimi.
Masima Bar, above the jetty, is the place for sunset drinks.
Dinner at Saluwaki
The centrepiece of the renovation is Saluwaki, a new restaurant with just 28 seats.
It’s open to guests staying three nights or more, and each guest can book it only once per stay.
The menu offers a list of small Asian-inspired tapas plates.
Options include chilled oysters with ginger & shallot mignonette, kaffir lime leaf and elderflower, a vegetable tempura with tentsuyu sauce, dry aged tuna sashimi and cloudy bay diamond shell clams with xo sauce.
If you’re into cocktails try the Kapow featuring Yuzu and Grapefruit.
Black sesame ice cream makes a good finish.
The Garden and the Iguanas
The resort grounds are worth a walk.
Past the main pool, a path leads through a large kitchen garden of herbs, greens and fruit trees.
The gardeners are happy to stop and talk about what’s growing.
Further along are the enclosures for the Fiji crested iguana, a bright green lizard with pale bands that was once thought to have disappeared from Malolo altogether.
In 2011, a few were found on resort land.
Since then, owner Ahura Resorts has run a breeding program with support from zoo specialists in Australia and the United States, raising young iguanas in protected enclosures.
Guests can also join coral planting sessions or sponsor a baby iguana.
A Morning in Yaro
Likuliku leases its land from the island’s traditional owners, and a visit to the nearby village of Yaro is one of the resort’s most worthwhile outings.
Before setting off, staff check that shoulders and knees are covered and brief guests on local customs.
We arrive and clamber out of the boat and walk through the shallows to the shore.
The village is quiet with washing on the lines and chickens wandering between houses.
The first stop is the delightful school, funded by Ahura so local children can get an early education.
The children stand one at a time to say their names and what they want to be when they grow up.
Doctor is the most popular answer by a wide margin.
Nearby, women from the village set out a small market of handmade goods, including shell jewellery, woven fans and carvings.
Before Leaving
Tatadra Spa is another good use of a final day.
Guests choose the scent of their massage oil.
After that, there’s time for one last snorkel around the reef, a late breakfast and a final hour by the plunge pool.
And while it is a once in a lifetime experience, devotees have a habit of coming back.
The Details
Stay: Beachfront bures start from around A$1750 a night and overwater bures from around A$2560, including three meals daily, one dinner at Saluwaki. Adults only.
Getting there: Fiji Airways flies direct to Nadi from several Australian cities.
Private transfers run to Port Denarau, followed by a boat transfer to the resort.
This writer visited Likuliku Lagoon Resort as a guest of the resort
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