The reason why I wrote this blog is purely selfish. It is because i want to remember that i have at least once a-lifetime experience staying in a luxury resort in Fiji. I have been travelling in budget and always engage in activities, and the idea of sitting idly on a five-star resort while travelling had not been my style.
However, when I hear Fiji, the association come to mind was always a person sitting idly by the beach sipping coconut water, wearing hat enjoying endless horizon, basked in a sun, and surrounded by sand and a blue water. So, when My friend and i decided to visit Fiji, I thought It would be great to book a middle-to-high range accommodation and enjoy nothing but sitting idly. I’m talking about five star resort.
It worked though, for only five minutes! Ha! But anyway, here’s what I did on Fiji Marriot Resort Momi Bay.
The Selection
Out of 6 days in Fiji, my plan was to stay in a fancy resort somewhere in the main island Viti Levu for just one day, just enjoying everything and doing nothing in that resort. On day 2, spending another day exploring Nadi and around, and then spending the next three days island hopping in Yasawa islands, and spending the last day in Mamanuca and enjoy the last moments of Fiji in Nadi.
I found several luxury resort in mainland, but I finally chose Fiji Marriot Resort Momi Bay because of its unique architecture of its bure (Fijian word for a wood-and-straw hut, sometimes similar to a cabin) and some of the spots seems instagram-material. It claims that it is the only resort with over-water bungalows in Fiji Mainland and it has adults-only bures. The cost per night is not cheap either, for its almost USD 300 per night. So I made the best of my time out of it.
The Arrival
Fiji Marriot Momi Bay is about 45 to 60 minutes drive from Nadi International Airport and it’s located in remote Area. We got there by car we book in the airport. There’s no restaurant or attraction nearby, so the only attraction it provides is within the resort itself, and that was why I picked it. The remoteness!
Despite the warm welcome, we waited for about half an hour to be checked-in. The queue for Check-in and Check-out was quite long so we took our time to stroll around the reception area. I love how they use mainly woods for the structure and right beside the reception area is restaurant which is built right above the water. I can enjoy the lagoon right away from the main area.
The Room
On the website, Fiji Marriot Resort Momi Bay said that they has 250 guest rooms including 114 suites with 5 star amenities. At that time, the only room available is the lagoon View and I booked it. The resort was vast and our room located quite far from the reception, so we were taken by a cart to reach our room.
The room is spacious with area over 38 m2, and it has balcony with Lake and Pool View. I have never seen such a beautiful view from the Hotel bedroom. Our room is located on the second Floor.
I was enjoying the room too much and unpacked few things before taking a long bath after such a long flight (7 hours flight from Singapore). We did a quick afternoon stroll around our complex just to get the sense of how vast the resort, and to locate other facilities. Before we realised, it was dinner time already and we did not have a chance to swim.
The Dinner
The dining area was superb, and the arrangement make the nuance very romantic. We ordered a vegetarian fried rice. It was definitely Fijian Fried Rice and in a large portion as well. We took a la carte instead of Buffet style.
Before we went to bed, we took a stroll once again around the complex and made a plan for which we would hit during the sunrise the next day.
Sunrise Experience
We woke up around 5 am and straight away went to the adults-only Bures. It was separated from the other room and the bures look beautiful. A Perfect spot to watch the sunrise. That morning we reached further than the day before and found some really cool spot around the resorts.
We also walk along the lagoon line where the array of the bures reflected by the water, a sight to behold. After that, I went for a little swimming on the pools. Morning swimming is the best, since everyone still asleep and I can have the pool all by myself.
The rest of the day
I spent the rest of the day packing (because we had to check out by 1 pm), went to the tourist information center at the resort to book a car, and wander around the resort. The resort has daily program, from yoga, morning walk, cooking class, and many more. The only one we interested was morning walk, but I guess we did it by ourself and we like it really early in the morning when it was still super quiet.
Verdict
My early plan to sit idly by the beach did not went well, I guess I am not just the type of that traveller. However, the resort was superb! Certainly one day and one night is not enough. To thoroughly enjoy the facilities, it requires two days and two nights at minimum, including participate in resort’s activity programmes.
In this resort you can get social and have your alone-moment time but still close to nature. Wherever your room is, you will always be a step away from the beach, the lagoon, or the pool. You can swim both in the lagoon or the pool. The garden is also beautiful. However, If you want the real taste of Fiji, you should go out to the city and do the island Hopping. That’s where the heart of Fiji is.
