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Adults-only five-star property Likuliku Lagoon Resort has recently completed a USD $4.2M major renovation to combine sustainability with luxury.

Their interactive conservation hub focuses on marine and ecological preservation, as the surroundings are a protected marine sanctuary.

Accommodations are stunning and meld seamlessly with the lush wilderness island.

[Isa Lei Lounge library is filled with used books ready for a new home]

With most Fiji island resorts, arrival is by boat, where music and song welcome you “home” as your boat pulls close to the dock.

A beautiful handmade coconut shell, bead, and stone necklace is draped around each of our necks, a refreshing towel and welcome drink are served at Masima Bar, and our beautiful four-day Likuliku Lagoon Resort escape begins.

The resort’s heart is the check-in space and lounge, modeled after a Fijian canoe house, with high ceilings, hand-woven thatch, an ode to Malolo Island’s seafaring heritage.

Lodging

The resort’s 11 deluxe beachfront bures include private plunge pools and daybeds (with sun protection blinds) to relax, rejuvenate, and take in the sunset.

They also feature smart TVs with sound bars, boosted WiFi capacity with additional access points, lots of outlets to charge your tech, espresso coffee makers, bath robes, coffee making supplies, plus indoor and outdoor showers.

Attention is paid to traditional Fijian design and architecture, so you can really feel as though you’re at one with the island and its people. Polished dark wood floors and atmospheric lighting add a magical touch to an already well-appointed split-level room.

Likuliku Lagoon’s staff do their best to make us feel at home. All requests are met with smiles as we settle into our bure. Sublime tropical breezes and stellar views all around allow us to dive into the art of relaxation in no time.

Our final two nights are spent in an dreamy overwater bure. This is the real deal: Likuliku was the first Fijian resort to offer overwater bures.

[Our living room has two glass floor panels that look into the ocean!]

Each morning as we make our way along the wooden walkway that separates the overwater sanctuaries from the main part of the resort, we are greeted by our resident stingray, happily kicking up the sand at low tide in search of food.

Dining

Next to the main pool is Fijiana, offering a daily set menu with amuse and three main courses to select from at lunch and dinner with a stunning view out to sea. It is here that we also greet each morning with a continental buffet breakfast and a creative entrée menu.

At the fresh fruit station, staff carve your morning fruit plate to your liking, while over at the buffet area there’s homemade breads, yogurt, marmalades, pastries, cereals, and the best mini banana bread loaves this side of the International Dateline!

[Pistachio croissants]

If you’re lucky enough to be here when pistachio croissants make it onto the pastry section, save room to enjoy these as well. Kudos to their pastry chef, Ben, for these delicious creations.

New York City native Executive Chef Gregory Llewellyn and his culinary team create and present gorgeous dishes to savour in an equally stunning environment.

[Saluwaki]

Guests are invited once during their stay to dine at Saluwaki, a beautiful indoor/outdoor dining venue serving creative Fijian-inspired Asian tapas using locally-sourced ingredients.

[Coal-roasted scallops, salted yuzu, smoked Macadamia nuts]

Presentation is given attention here as well: Each item on the menu gets served on handcrafted Kigoromo Japanese dishware. The intimate upper patio setting can accommodate 28 guests for an elevated dining experience.

On Friday evenings, a traditional Lovo buffet BBQ feast is served.

To set the tone for this special evening, a cocktail and appetizer hour is held at the resort entry point, Masima Bar, followed by Fijian traditional dances and songs.

Our evening’s host offers a word of gratitude for guests old and new — during our stay, it’s announced that one couple in our group have vacationed here over 23 times!

[Our Lovo selections from the buffet spread]

All lodging packages include three gourmet meals per day in Fijiana Restaurant, optional poolside lunch menu, plus one special dinner at Saluwaki.

Tatadra Spa

Tatadra translates to “House of Dreams”, which perfectly describes this luxurious, peaceful place to unwind shoreside.

Nestled against the island’s green slopes offering stunning lagoon views and soothing breezes, Tatadra invites guests to drift into relaxation with a Fijian-style massage or a variety of natural beauty and body treatments to soothe the soul using Pure Fiji spa and body products.

We arrive by golf cart, enter the spa, change into our robes, and are then led to a lounge looking out at the overwater bures, palm trees, and ocean. The lounge chairs are the most comfortable we’ve ever experienced at any spa and invite many lingering moments of pleasure before and after our morning treatment.

[Vere and Maureen]

Our masseuses Vere and Maureen begin to work on our muscles for 60 minutes during a delicious Relax and Restore massage, making sure we’re both comfortable with the pressure and ending with the gentle sounds of a rainstick to bring us back to this world.

Other massage rituals include nourishing island wrap, Fijian Herbal Detox, Coconut Body Glow, Sun Soother, Reflexology, a special Twilight Tadra massage for two at sundown with bubbly, and more.

You don’t have to sacrifice workouts due to the tropical heat. A fully-equipped workout room including treadmill, stair masters, and the like are accessible via your set of room keys given at check in.

Activities

Sunrise and sunset yoga are offered Tuesdays to Fridays. At the activity center, sign up for a wide range of surfing, fishing, snorkeling, and diving excursions, or borrow complimentary SUP’s, kayaks (try to grab one with a glass-bottom!), sailing, wind surfing and snorkel equipment. You can also book land and sea tours around the Mamanuca Islands.

There’s an abundance of marine life waiting to be explored, as the resort is surrounded by a fringing coral reef!

Surfers can book a day trip to internationally-acclaimed Cloudbreak, Wilkes Passage, Desperation and Restaurants.

[Our private sunset cruise with champagne and appetizers] 

[At Yaro village]

We visited the Fijian village of Yaro one morning by boat to get a glimpse of local life and surroundings, followed by a coconut cupful of kava.

[“Low tide”]

Our guide Poasa asked my husband whether he wanted “low tide, high tide or tsunami” – referring to how full the bowl should be filled with the local spirit.

Sustainability

Likuliku Resort’s new Na Vanua Conservation Hub embodies three key pillars: Above the Sea, Below the Sea, and Community. All three are key to sustainable practices throughout Fiji. The resort works with local communities varying from the critically-endangered Fiji Crested Iguana conservation program to a local village kindergarten.

Through wildlife trade confiscations by U.S. Fish and Wildlife in the 70’s and 90’s, both Dallas and San Diego zoos contain Fijian Crested Iguanas in their collections. The Fijian government approved their new homes due to high repatriation costs.

One of four native species, the Fiji Crested Iguana can be identified by the spiny crest on its back. Through scientific surveying, the team at Likuliku discovered roughly a half-dozen small isolated Fiji Crested Iguana populations on Malolo Levu Island.

The resort has an on-site breeding colony; guests can visit several iguana couples at the herb garden, where they’re housed in several enclosures. To date, 80 iguanas have been released from the resort into the wild.

[Mociu Island]

The entire island is in a protected marine sanctuary (as mandated by the Paramount Chief of Malolo Island), including the private island of Mociu (aka Honeymoon Island), where we snorkel to our heart’s content. The undisturbed coral reefs are stunning as are the fish, who feel more at home with humans than at often-visited reefs.

Via additional contributions to local education and food security initiatives, Likuliku Lagoon is considered a model resort when it comes to sustainable tourism.

Nearby, sister resort Malolo Island is just a few minutes away, and it too has a sense of idyllic island paradise, with beautiful beaches, coral reefs, palm trees, and the sea, all melding into a rustic, family-friendly resort.

We feel better knowing that our stay (and that of other guests) does not produce a heavy environmental footprint. There are so few pristine environments left in the world to explore; luckily these two (and many other) Fijian resorts are taking active measures to treat their sewage responsibly via sewage treatment plants as well as to use treated residue to irrigate lawns and reforestation projects.

Both Likuliku Lagoon and Malolo Island Resorts are located in the Mamanuca island chain, about 25km/16 mi from Nadi International Airport. They’re accessible by a 10-minute helicopter ride from the airport, a 45-minute private water taxi from Denarau Marina, or by South Sea Cruises ferry service (a roughly two-hour journey), offered three times daily (also from Denarau).

We were graciously hosted by Likuliku Lagoon Resort for the purpose of this feature. Opinions, as always, remain our own. Non-watermarked images courtesy of Ahura Resorts.