Karter

I really liked the Hilton Fiji, although I haven't yet been to French Polynesia to compare. The Hilton Fiji has lovely big rooms (you'll be upgraded to at least a 1-bed, or else don't book a studio). The on-site restaurants are nice and not too pricey, both with great beachfront settings. The hot buffet breakfast was excellent, and as a Diamond I got it comped, even though it was a reward stay. The several pools are awesome, and in my experience, the large adult-only pool was free of stray kids. The beach there is not great, but it's fine to walk along, and in 5 minutes you can be at the Sofitel (and sneak into their pool), then the Westin, etc. Fiji is about day trips to outer islands, not staying at Denarau. I imagine that Bora Bora is about being stranded on your little motu for weeks with nothing to do, even if the beach may be nicer and the views may be more dramatic.

ronan32

Agree entirely with the previous poster. I stayed at the Hilton Fiji in 2009 and have been looking for an opportunity to return to this beautiful resort. It now looks like it will happen in 2012.

The Hilton is in a quiet and relaxing setting and has an incredibly warm and welcoming staff. Out island trips are easy to do, but Denerau is also a place to just hang out in comfort if that is your inclination. I would also suggest a rental car for at least a day or two to explore the area.

kpc

Great to have you here. We stayed at your hotel earlier this year, and loved it. Hoping to revisit in 2012!

alect

Hi there Mr Lebegue.

I have emailed you with some questions about a trip I am planning to Fiji with the family and would ideally love to stay at your resort. If anyone on FT can also answer these, that would be great:

- rooms - we are 2 adults and 3 kids (4, 4, 7) - Other than the 2 bedroom, is it possible for us to stay in a Studio Plus or one bedroom with cots/cribs for the 4yo? If not, are there studios with connecting doors - I am happy to get two studios but don't want the kids to be in a completely separate room with no easy access.
- kids club - I read the information about the kids club - it is not clear whether this is for a fee or free for guests with kids?
- kids meal plan - does the resort have a kids meal plan (eg pay one price per night/stay and they can eat off all kids menus - or similar)? or are there any sort of kids play and eat free deals? Sep/Oct 2012 is when we're planning.

texmanufan

I was hoping Mr Lebegue or someone who has visited this resort could give me an idea of what the snorkeling is like here?

Frederic Lebegue

Dear alect,
many thanks for your message. i belive you have already received the reply by email, but here is the answers to your questions for FT users:
- rooms - we are 2 adults and 3 kids (4, 4, 7) - Other than the 2 bedroom, is it possible for us to stay in a Stuido Plus or one bedroom with cots/cribs for the 4yo? If not, are there studios with connecting doors - I am happy to get two studios but don't want the kids to be in a completely separate room with no easy access.
>> For 4 or 5 guests, the room type that would be able to accommodate you would be a 2 bedroom beachfront and upwards. We do not have studios that connect with each other and therefore would not recommend those for families with young children. Our baby cots or cribs are only suitable for infants 2 years and under.

- kids club - I read the information about the kids club - it is not clear whether this is for a fee or free for guests with kids?
>> Our kids club policy is going to change from the 1st of April 2012 where we will be charging F$10 per child per day. Prior to this date it is complimentary.

- kids meal plan - does the resort have a kids meal plan (eg pay one price per night/stay and they can eat off all kids menus - or similar)?
>> We have a kids meal policy as follows
Breakfast: Children aged 0-10 years old eat for free when accompanied by an adult where an adult meal is purchased.

Lunch and dinner: Children aged 0-4 years eat for free from buffet and kids’ menu only when accompanied by an adult where a paying meal is purchased.

Children aged 5-10 years full rate applies for kids’ menu or kids’ buffet or 50% discount off a la carte menu.

There are timings for the kids buffets that will be applicable in different seasons, usually open till 19.30 in our high season.

I trust the above answers your queries, however, should you need any further assistance, please do contact us.

I would also like to wish all FT users a wonderful year 2012.

Best regards,
Frederic

Frederic Lebegue

Dear texmanufan,
a number of excursions are available in order to snorkel around small islands, as the snorkeling aroudn the hotel is not the key feature of the resort.
Excursions and tours can easily be booked at the desk located in the lobby, or at the watersports center on the beach (for jet ski safaris for example).
Any additional info needed, please do let me know.
Best wishes for 2012.
Frederic

texmanufan

Thanks Frederic for the quick response. Wasn't able to find much information so this was very helpful.

holtju2

You can find photos of the property and a video of the suite I had here.

This was going to be my first accommodation in Fiji. The day before arrival I was looking at various rates for this hotel and found a points + money rate that was good deal. I had originally planned to use a free night certificate from a promotion.

This is some sort of timeshare or partially owner owned property. They have owners lounge, although not a Hilton club lounge. The unit that I had was quite residential as it had a washer & dryer, refrigerator, dish washer, hot plates, and a grill on the outside patio.

Location

The hotel is on the Denarau Island where most of the other international hotels are located. I also stayed at the Radisson Blu and Sheraton hotels during my stay. Hilton was most definitely best of these three options. There is also a Sofitel that many consider to be the best of all, however.

There is a Denarau harbor where many of the restaurants, some shops, and a Hard Rock Café is located. You can also catch a ferry or boat and do an island excursion. There is a shuttle bus for a daily flat fee that takes you from any of the resorts to the harbor.

Getting to the hotel from the airport

There are quite a few airport taxis at the arrivals area. Local taxis would be probably cheaper but getting one would be a challenge. I tried but gave up after ten minutes. The airport taxis are not that expensive. It took around 20 minutes in pouring rain to get to the Hilton. The fare was 20 FJD.

Check in

The check in area is immediately to the left when you arrive to the hotel. They had all the paperwork ready. Some of the units are quite a faraway from the check in desk. I had a buggy taking me to the 2801 with my bags.

Accommodations

I was assigned a ground floor “suite”. It was basically just a large open space that had been divided by couple of doors.

The bathroom was very well stocked. You could do your own laundry using the washing machine and the dryer. The bath tub looked nice, although I didn’t use it.

They had the new Peter Thomas Roth line of amenities, but for some reason had the old La Source pump bottles in the shower.

The resort doesn’t have wireless access and the Ethernet cable that they had was very short. I requested them to bring me a wireless router so that I could use both my PC and MacBook Air laptops. For some reason the wireless router they brought didn’t work, but the longer Ethernet cable was enough for my need.

Pool, Beach & Fitness center

There are two pools that are divided by a restaurant. These are fairly large sized and had sun chairs all around them. The weather was terrible for the day I was in the resort. It was mainly raining non-stop, but when there was a bit of sun there were immediately few people on the pool area.

The beach itself is unremarkable, but this is the case with all the hotels in the Denarau area. You cannot really spend any time in the beach itself, but that’s why there are pools.

The fitness center was in the opposite corner of the resort from my suite. It was quite small but had the equipment that I needed for a quick workout.

Breakfast

My tip would be to eat inside. I took a table outside and when I went to pick up something there was immediately number of birds picking up on my plate. I quickly decided to re-seat myself inside. The breakfast selection was quite nice and what you would expect from a resort. The service was slow but that is not unexpected in Fiji.

Conclusion

This was a fine resort, but I wasn’t entirely satisfied with my brief stay. It could have been due to being in Denarau that is an isolated tourist area where there is nothing else around. You can always take a taxi to the Queens road where there are bars and restaurants which the locals go.

My tip would be to get a room/suite that is closer located to the central area of the resort. If you are “housed” in the very west or very east in the resort, it will be quite a hike to anywhere. I did saw quite a few people using the buggies to get around. You can probably get one by calling the operator.

Not sure if this resort offers any kind of Diamond amenity. At least there was nothing in my suite that would have indicated that I had received one. I always find it helpful when hotels have a welcome letter that is customized to your status. Not sure exactly what are the Diamond benefits at this resort beyond the upgrade and the complimentary breakfast.

shanee

We are Diamond members and taking a three bedroom villa in October, can anyone tell me what the weather is like there in October?
I was going to try to get upgrade but too risky with 4 adults and 2 kids.

Cynicor

No idea about the weather, but I will be there next week, checking in this coming Sunday so will let you know what the diamond experience is like currently.

We have 7 nights and I'm really looking forward to it.

Cynicor

Posting from the Hilton in Fiji now. Great place, good diamond treatment- upgraded to 1 bedroom room beachfront from studio.

gypsyinabigtown

Me and girlfriend just finished a 3-day stay in this property.
It was great - probably the best Hilton experience I had for a long time. I was given an upgrade, and also several welcome gifts to make the occassion very memorable (my girlfriend's birthday). The staff was incredibly polite and welcoming.

The resort has a stunning location on a beachside in sun-soaked Denarau island. The beach is murky and not a favourite by anyone, but it was pretty cool to walk alongside it around sunset and spot crabs and seabirds. Most people hang out at the poolside, though.

The resort is extremely popular by families with young kids. So much so that it would be worthwhile to check school holiday schedules for Oz (varies by state) and NZ to plan around. Very cleverly, the hotel has an adults-only breakfast area and swimming pool - as a young couple, we weren't bothered by any anklebiter at all.

The tour desk at the reception was great - really friendly with good recommendations, and their prices were at or below the prices for the same tours/attractions on the internet. I'd definitely recommend booking with them to save the hassle.

The in-house restaurant Nuku is very stylish. Similar to many upscale restaurants in Fiji, it is quite western in its standards and cuisine, though it has Fijian influence as well and the prices are quite reasonable. You can try Fijian specials such as walu fish and kokoda still, but alas - they don't do a lovo.

The breakfast is immaculate. From made-to-order eggs to flawless espresso to several sorts of tropical fruits, it surpasses the breakfast of many Hilton's I've seen, even those in Singapore or Japan.

One slight disappointment was the palpable lack of my favourite tropical drink: young coconuts. Don't get me wrong - there are oodles and oodles of coconut palm trees everywhere around the resort, even more than I've seen in many tropical resorts around SE Asia. But don't try to get a young coconut to drink at the restaurant - it is not available. It was very surprising to see that.

Overall, a great experience. Very likely to score high on my list for my next trip to Fiji.

shillard

If it beats the Sydney Hilton (one of the best breakfast offerings around), that is a big rap.

gypsyinabigtown

Never had a chance to stay there, so no comments on that