Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa 5 stars

We had stayed here long before Covid and before recent renovations. We came back as we had fond memories and loved all the staff! We were warmly greeted with a hug by Millie at the ALL desk. We had spoken the day before on the phone to confirm arrival times etc. Our room was small, but lovely and we loved the new showers! Waitui Beach Club was great. All the staff so polite and friendly. Special mention to Robert our Porter, Romeo, Vau, Valerie ( the best Espresso Martini ever) Jeli, Katya, Willma, Annie...everyone at Waitui Club. We were made to feel welcome and relaxed. Great service with a smile and such fun! A little into our stay our room aircon failed and we had to move rooms...this new room was awful, loud.. as it was on the stairwell and walkway! We went to the ALL desk to complain and were promptly issued a new room the next day! No argument, no fuss at all..and we were refunded the difference in room rates for that one terrible night. Amazing service! We sat by the pool, the staff moved everything for us and came and gave us new keys! The food in Waitui grill and Solice were amazing, again polite, smiling professional service. The chef at Waitui even cooked us an off menu curry, with sides and condiments it was truely a 10 out of 10 experience. Happy hour was great value , however in a French resort it was dissapointing a Rosè wasn't on offer! In the warm and humid climate a chilled AIX would have gone down a treat. The lounge staff were great! Toni was funny, the nightcap drinks were interesting to say the least. But the air-conditioning was sometimes too cold. Our best breakfasts were in the lounge! Chef Priya was a gem. Half serves of everything weren't a problem at all and it was less busy than Waitui Grill. We will definitely book again for 2024. What I will add after reading other reviews is, this place IS EXPENSIVE. Compared to others they do charge a premium. And if you are after a very quiet couples getaway there are better options in Fiji. As a couple in our late 50s we enjoyed the music, hussle and bussle of the staff, happy hour, where we met other couples our age and had many fun conversations indeed! Before leaving I contracted a tummy bug. Again the staff were warm and caring and gave me coconut water to ease my stomach cramps. Again above and beyond when it came to looking after me. A heads up. Pack a travel first aid kit. Include Hydralyte, Gastrostop, Panadol etc. There is a new Medical center in the resort which is so great, but the pharmacy items they sell for minor ailments are outrageously priced.$35 FJD for 20 x Hydration tablets was definitely a price gouge on a captive market! Bula Vinaka Sofitel and staff. See you next year! A. Cole

Having visited this hotel for several years I can only say it never fails to deliver in every way. Thankyou Pauline in waitui club along with the other staff who welcome us every year. I cannot fault a thing especially staff. See you next year.

We have been well looked after. The service has been superb, the staff are happy & friendly. The setting is magical, peaceful & relaxing. We have felt very refreshed through staying here. The food is delicious with three different restaurants to choose from. There are multiple places to relax in, with the attractive infinity pool looking straight out to the ocean. We are served canapés & drinks around the pool during cocktail hour and it is a lovely time to meet new people and mingle. With Seta being so helpful in the bar & grill restaurant, Ilami in the Bazaar Restaurant and the staff so gracious in the Journal Room, we felt very special and welcome.

Stayed at the Waitui Beach Club, had the best time the staff were fantastic. When staying here all the staff get to know you one on one and they are all lovely. Especially Mary she would great us every day and knew what we liked and would have it ready for us. The pool and the whole layout of their area is perfectly layed out.

We stayed in the Imperial Suite, the most expensive room in the entire hotel for one week. Reading the reviews we expected to find happy, warm staff and a beautiful relaxing vibe so all in all, it was a bit of a disappointment. I'm glad we didn't have any more days there to be honest. I think if you went as a big group or had a family it would be a great spot. For a romantic couples getaway it wasn't the right choice. FOOD Pros: * Great coffee everywhere at the hotel * There is a wide buffet selection for breakfast. Some of the food seems kind of stale but we quicky figured out the best options and loved the adults only area * We also enjoyed breakfast at the bar and grill on the beach which has a gorgeous view and is quiet and relaxing *Solis was really nice for dinner but you have to book it yourself and try to get a table * The seafood buffet night was generous and worth the price! Cons: its pretty much the same food everywhere at the hotel. We went out for dinner a few times and it was a much nicer vibe, WAY less expensive and more relaxed. ROOM Pros: *Or room was really big and generous in size. Even tho it has a connecting room so we could hear our neighbors very clearly in the bathroom every day :O * The bathroom has a proper toilet door and shower screen so you have privacy and you wont have water every where. The bathroom had a massive bath and a rain shower * Our room was very freshly renovated and also impeccably clean * The bed is is a proper king bed, not two single's trussed together. It was very firm which I like. *there are screens in the room so you can have the doors open with no bugs * The daily minibar refresh is generous with beer, wine, chips, caramello chocolate, coke and sprite. Cons: * they have down pillows that are flat and give you allergies as the standard. The website says there is a pillow menu but would couldn't find one. Still, you can call up and ask for different pillows. * It is So So So Noisy - from the pool blasting music for Zumba (fun to watch but so loud), power tools, whipper snippers from 6am every single day, then in the evening there's the nightclub and weddings thumping music outside our window. It is not the place for a lazy time. The grounds are beautiful and perfectly kept but there's no peace. * Imperial suite wasn’t that fancy. It was massive, freshly renovated, very clean and well equipped but not fancy at all. It felt like a meriton with a nicer view. * Only space for one suitcase and it’s in the bathroom hallway * No where to hang dresses or skirts. Only shirts can fit in the wardrobe * No where to hang gowns, hats, bathers, bags or extra towels even tho the room was gigantic there's two hooks in the shower and that's it. * At the foot of the bed is the air con control panel, cheerfully blinding you all night with no way to turn it off. The aircon is also pretty noisy. Thankfully we had it turned off and just had to doors open. INCLUSIONS Pro's: * We had a 60 minute spa treatments each/per day included. They are crazy hard to book and you need to go book them yourself where in other suites we've stayed in, the lounge concierge would do it for you. Nevertheless, the spa was lovely and the body scrub was great. It was too hard to book every day so we just went a few times and it was consistently great. * The adults only pool was really beautiful and the cabanas were probably the only quiet place in the whole resort. We spent lots of time there. * Lots of lounges and cabanas by the pool so you could always find a spot * In the adults only section, there are lots of towels and no need for tokens or anything *The journal lounge is empty and away from all of the other adults only stuff but the 9pm rum hour was nice * The ladies who did the laundry were so fast and efficient, thankyou so much for doing such a great job in that tiny hot room! Cons: * If you don't drink a lot, most of the inclusions are not great value because they're hard to book or not as generous as they seem * Happy Hour and High tea are the same 4-5 small canapes that feel a bit stale and a few juice style cocktails. Its not worth the time to go in my opinion. It sounded wonderful but was a bit of a let down. The only thing that saved the high tea was Sweyta and Etoni who were so lovely and fun. Happy hour by the pool was nice for the sunset. * Our room had airport transfers included. When we enquired a day or so before to make sure they were booked we were told they aren't offered and to take a cab. After some back and forth they were organized. But why did I have to chase that up and argue about it? *Watersports is a small area just in front of the hotel. You can kayak or paddle board for 15-20 mins before it’s boring. Girls who served us must cop it all day because it seems there’s a stream of disappointed customers getting angry at them. No towels, no where to put your stuff, the jet skis are banged up and the waiver is next level. I wouldn’t pay for any of the options if they were add ons. I was sold on the Sofitel because I was so keen to go Kayaking every day so it was a massive shame when I got there. SERVICE Pros: We genuinely enjoyed spending time with Esala , vara at bazar and Sweyta and Etoni in the journal lounge who gave that cold, dark, empty space life :) Knox and the other porters were so happy and helpful and really brightened our day. Cons We had a similar experience on check-in as some of the other reviews that lasted for the entre stay. Anything that wasn't standard was a flat no. Help booking dinner - do it yourself, help booking a tour - go do it yourself... We've stayed at other hotels with a lounge/suits and the concierge is so wonderful, its usually the highlight of our stay. It seemed like everyone is under such massive pressure to get good online reviews. Some of the staff seem genuinely happy to help out but it felt for the most part, we were an annoyance at every turn and a source of reviews that mention peoples names. We felt like we were imposing on everyone if we asked for anything and that they just wished we'd go away but they had to be fake nice for the reviews. When you leave the hotel you almost feel relieved to meet real people who are happy to chat and help out.