FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Five Nights of Doing Nothing at the Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa

Jun 10, 2014 | 2:13 pm

#20

matthandy

Join Date: Jul 2008

Location: Kent, UK

Programs: BA Gold, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond

Posts: 3,809

The Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa – Part 1

The ground transfer process is pretty straightforward. All of the reps are standing there with boards so you just approach them and they tick your name off of their list. My driver first checked whether anyone else was coming with us (which they weren't) and then we jumped into the air conditioned 4x4 and headed off to the resort.

Natadola beach is approximately one hour's drive from the airport and given that it was dark I didn't really get to see a great deal. I spent most of the time chatting away to the driver who was very friendly.

I arrived at the resort at approximately 8pm and then was lead into the reception area by one of the porters. I didn't know whether to tip the driver or not so I just gave him what cash I had which was only about $20FJD.

The reception area is very open and sets a nice tone for the resort. The receptionist was very friendly and informed me that I had been upgraded to a pool side room. I suspect that this was done to make the task easier for the cleaners as the resort was not very busy. Grouping everyone together made sense although having said that I didn't get the feeling that I had any neighbours at all.

Once check in was complete a buggy was brought around and I was taken to my room which, as expected, overlooked the family pool area. Once my bags were bought inside I thanked the porter and was then able to explore the room.

Initial impressions were that the room was a little bit dated but it was very large and had all of the amenities that you would expect. There was a large double bed towards the side of the room, overlooking the good sized balcony which effectively made up a second room although the heat made it difficult to spend a huge amount of time out there. The bathroom was large although there was no bath, only a shower. The bath was actually outside on the balcony. It was screened for privacy reasons. Having said that, I didn't feel that comfortable taking a bath outside!

There was a small lounge area next to the bed and behind it a work desk. There were two large wardrobes, one with a double door feature that meant that you could access the wardrobe whilst in the bathroom which was a nice feature. The amenities provided were 'Pure Fiji' and there was a good selection of shower gels, shampoos, creams etc. I should also mention that the bathroom was loaded up with small bottles of 'Fiji Water' which were gratefully received. I put some in the mini-bar fridge to keep them cool and these were then replenished each morning.

The view of my room from the entrance

From the bed looking towards the balcony

The bed, with the bathroom in the background

After putting a few things away I decided to go and get something to eat. The hotel has three restaurants and two bars. They are listed on the hotel's website but in a nutshell, there is a fine dining restaurant (which had restricted opening times during my stay), a bar/restaurant situated between the adults only and family pools, the main bar, and the main restaurant (where breakfast is served). Most of the time I ate at the pool bar which was called 'Tobo' simply because it was outside, the staff were friendly, it was short walk from my room and it tended to generally busy each evening.

I wandered past the family pool which was very impressive indeed before making my way around to check out the adults only pool and then back to Tobo. I waited for a table and almost had my pick as there were only a few other people dining at that time. I was presented with the evening menu and noticed that there was a cocktail special on the board so I decided to start with that. What better than to enjoy a tropical drink on my first night on this tropical island?

Cocktail, no idea what was in it but it tasted good

The menu was as expected really. Generally quite pricey (around $15AUD for a pizza) and mostly western and Asian foods. This is what you have to expect at these types of resorts although I was pleased to see at least one Fijian dish. I don't remember what I had to eat (I lost my notes on my iPhone) but I enjoyed it although it wasn't particularly mind-blowing. Nor did I find it to be good value, but again, this is what is to be expected.

After dinner I took a wander down to the beach and enjoyed the sound of the waves against the sand before heading back to my room and then bed.

On the beach

I woke to a sunny but slightly cloudy morning and decided to get up and go for a wander around the resort before breakfast. I soon learnt that the resort was quite big and that the buggies for getting around were essential during check in and check out at least.

The resort is divided into a few sections. There is the Club section which is up on a hill overlooking the rest of the resort with it’s own pool and lounge. The main section was situated around the family pool with rooms either side and to the back. A small selection overlooked the beach.

The family pool is huge! I can imagine that kids would be able to spend all day in it and never get bored. I’m not sure however that the villas overlooking the pool are the best bet for non-family minded people. Mine did overlook but the resort wasn’t very busy so there was hardly any noise at all.

The adult pool is an infinity pool located on the beach front. When the sun is going down you can rest on the ledge of the pool and watch as it sinks into the water. It’s quite remarkable.

The beach area wraps around the resort and it should be noted that it is not private. I was approached by several locals whilst walking along the beach outside the front of the resort. Whilst I do understand their situation and why they do it, I didn’t like being approached. Perhaps if I was with a group of people I would have been more open to it.

Enough talking, on with the photos!

The family pool area

The family pool area – palm trees

The family pool area – looking towards Tobo

The view of the family pool from my balcony

Sun loungers around the adults only pool

Palm trees on the beach

Tobo bar and restaurant

After my wander I headed to the main restaurant (located near reception) for breakfast. This wasn’t included in my rate and was expectedly expensive. There was an extremely good selection however in the usual buffet style. Omlettes and eggs were made to order as required. The food was of a pretty good standard but I wouldn’t call it amazing. The service was friendly although with a buffet style there’s not a huge amount of interaction with the staff. The setting was quite nice, overlooking the courtyard area and lawn with palm trees either side of the outdoor tables.

Breakfast setting

Breakfast tables

Breakfast buffet

Pastries

Meats and cheeses

Sweet breakfast

After breakfast I returned to my room and basically chilled out for a bit. I started work on a trip report (Virgin Australia Business Class), did some FT browsing, communicated with people and generally didn’t do much more than that. It was rather hot outside so I figured that lounging around on my balcony would be a good way to spend morning and into the early afternoon.

The cleaners came to clean my room whilst I was still in it which I found a little embarrassing (I invited them in, I could have easily declined) so I just stayed out of their way on the balcony. I thanked them before they left and then decided that now would be a good time to get some better (daylight) photos of my room.

Here is the result:

Looking towards the bed and the bathroom

Looking from the bed towards the door

The balcony

Flyertalking

As the afternoon drew on I decided to grab some lunch. I didn’t fancy going to Tobo again so I went back to the breakfast place. To be honest, this is a downside of the resort, it is somewhat isolated from everywhere else so you are very limited in terms of dining options and also price. I did find however that in some cases, the same dishes were offered at Tobo a couple of dollars cheaper than at the breakfast restaurant (which is called Sanasana).

I wandered over and although it had started to cloud over a bit it was still very hot and humid. It actually started to drizzle a little bit but in some ways that was actually a relief from the heat!

I was shown to my table and decided to order the Thai green curry. I have to say that it was very disappointing. I should have sent it back. There was a thick layer of oil on top and although the curry itself was ok the dish clearly wasn’t as it should have been. Oh well.

I returned to the villa and did some more chilling out and as the sun started to set I raced down to the beach with my camera to take it in both photographically and visually. The sunsets in Fiji can be absolutely stunning. I must admit that I got a little carried away filming the waves and almost had to test out Nikon’s claims of ‘weather proofing’ on my D800! Luckily, I pulled it away just in time.

Very oily curry

Sunset over the beach

Sunset into the distance

Beached

For dinner I went to Tobo as it was a stone’s throw from the beach. The adult’s only pool was well lit and looked great at dusk. It was another cocktail special for me (recipe in one of the photos) and a steak followed by lemon cheesecake. The steak was pretty good although nothing like the steak that I had at the Westin on my previous trip to Fiji. In fairness though, the price was a little different.

After a satisfying meal, I retired to bed to watch a film on my iPad, looking forward to doing more of nothing the following day.

Adults only pool at night

Sun loungers and tobo

Another cocktail

The recipe

Steak

Cheesecake

Up Next

Lots more beach time, stunning sunsets in the pool (almost dropped my phone into the water

) and my last evening in Fiji (with a cocktail of course).