Nanuku Resort promises the best of Fiji for everyone: romance for couples, peace for parents, and everyone co-existing in harmony. But does it deliver? Helene Ravlich investigates.
When you hear the term “family-friendly” resort, you don’t always picture beautiful design, rich cultural experiences, excellent food and a relaxing grown-up vacation, but for solo, couple or multi-generational travel, certain clever spots in Fiji have nailed the brief.
Finding a luxury resort that balances romantic seclusion for couples with engaging, high-end activities for children is the ultimate travel sweet spot, and built on a private estate in Pacific Harbour around 140km from Nadi Airport, Nanuku Resort offers all of the above and more.
With a vibe that feels less like a resort hotel and more like a carefully planned collection of secluded residences, its 37 suites, villas and multi-bedroom private properties offer the ultimate in quiet luxury, island-style, and its many returning guests can attest to the fact it offers something for everyone – and is there to meet every need.
Set among 200ha on a 3km stretch of golden beach, the estate is surrounded by lush, fragrant planting, vegetable gardens and a mangrove nursery, all contributing to the sense of privacy while adding plenty of fun spots for little ones to get among with their personal nanny in tow.
Yes, you read that right: a complimentary nanny service is available for every child under 8 in the form of a dedicated person to attend to their care from 8am to 8pm daily, which can be extended for an additional fee. And for kids 9-14 who might want someone to hang out with other than a parent? They can choose to be partnered with a buddy during daily resort activities, free of charge.
All of the above means unbothered parents sitting with a cocktail reading by the pool, and happy couples and solo travellers not having to witness kids running riot when they are trying to do the same.
When it comes to things to do outside the above, the resort sits in what’s called Fiji’s adventure capital – a hub for shark diving and white-water rafting, as well as game-fishing above the waters of the deep trenches running either side of Kadavu Island. They are home to some of the best Pacific Blue Marlin hunting grounds anywhere, as well as Spanish mackerel, tuna, mahi mahi and sailfish. Once back on land, you can take your catch back to Nanuku to have it whipped into culinary delights for a private lunch or dinner.
For those with children in tow, the choices are numerous for adventuring onsite in the resort’s grounds and farther afield. Some I spoke to said their kids of all ages loved their trip to Kula Wild Adventure Park in Korotogo, near Sigatoka. Initially established as a “bird park” in the late 1980s, Kula has grown into the South Pacific’s environmental showpiece, with captive breeding programmes for critically endangered species and huge walk-through enclosures that put you inside the natural habitats of resident water birds, iguanas, snakes and more. The “adventure” portion is also in place, and refers to the Kula Krazy Canopy Flier, the only rollercoaster zip-rail in Fiji, and Splash Mountain Jungle Water slide, where you’ll spin around loops and turns propelled by the 25 litres of water flowing each second.
Nanuku is also positioning itself as a leader in promoting and preserving Fijian culture and respecting the beautiful natural environment it occupies, and interested guests can participate in activities with the resort’s sustainability manager, including coral regeneration and mangrove planting.
One of my favourite experiences on a cloudy day at the resort was at the open-air cooking station near the beach, where in a private cooking class I learnt how to husk a coconut, scrape out its flesh, and press it for milk before whipping up my own just-from-the-ocean kokoda, the traditional Fijian raw fish dish that really does taste better when eaten in the islands than anywhere else in the world. I also learnt how to create a delicious prawn and eggplant dish using a technique borrowed from the Fijian highlands: steaming the ingredients inside green bamboo stalks rather than metal pans. The secret ingredient that guarantees maximum flavour is coconut milk fresh from the source, and having prepared enough to feed an army, I was happy for the guests who’d gathered to watch to step in and help themselves when it came time to plate everything up.
Mealtime is where I noticed the attention to detail that makes Nanuku stand out from the crowd when it comes to quietly separating couples and solo travellers from the chaos of family feasting. Meals are served in the Kanavata restaurant and lounge in the Clubhouse, where the maître d’ deftly guides you to either wing of the restaurant depending on who your fellow diner or diners are.
Menus are mainly offered a la carte, meaning no sprawling buffets where you have to fight your way through hordes of kids grabbing at the rolls when all you want is a second serving of salad, and the meals are beautifully prepared with a focus on produce from local farms and the resort’s kitchen garden. There is also the option of private dining in your villa or residence, which a large family I met from San Francisco celebrating the grandparents’ 60th anniversary had embraced to keep the whole gang happy.
A special mention must also go to the resort spa, where many a parent I saw escaped to for a few hours while their nanny was on duty. I signed up for the Fijian Bobo massage with therapist Tina, a traditional healing modality passed down through village families that uses thumbs, palms, elbows, and forearms for deep tissue work. As well as getting into tight muscles and stiff joints post-flight, it reportedly helps blood flow better through the body and lowers stress, and the sleep I had that night was one of the deepest I’d had in months.
Nanuku proves that whatever your age and stage, eternally popular Fiji really can be whatever you want it to be, and more than ready to welcome you with open arms.
Checklist
FIJI
GETTING THERE
Fly direct from Auckland to Nadi, Fiji with Air NZ and Fiji Airways.
DETAILS
The writer travelled courtesy of Tourism Fiji