just returned from a 14 day holiday, staying at the outrigger - on the lagoon - fiji.
it boasts 5 star, but in my experience is a european 3.5. the staff are mostly very good. polite and courteous. not the cheapest in fiji, therefore i had high expectations.
things i did not like:
cannot get a cheap cup of tea and toast without paying $32FJD for the continental breakfast.
the $40FJD all you can eat full breakfast is what it is. if you can eat 2 or 3, then you are good, if not, it is not worth it. go next door along the beach and pay $15FJD for a mediocre breakfast that you actually choose and want.
the beach is a coral beach, meaning it is not good to walk on. the coral is all sizes and can hurt when walking bare feet. not good for children or adults. the tide goes out often for the day, and the water is shallow all the way up to the reef, which is about 100 yards away. so all in all, it was pretty useless.
weather in jan/feb was raining all the time, but sun does try, and you can get a tan. often we were in the pool so rain was not a problem. it is still warm to swim.
the standard rooms are ok. again, not 5* material, but adequate, and clean.
the good points. staff is generally very nice. they love children (or so it seems).
the pool is good for children, though no water features or flumes/tubes. there seemed to be very little chlorine in it, which makes swimming all day, pleasurable. also you trunks don't stink of chlorine at the end of the day. in fact, it is easy to open your eyes under water.
the sundowner restaurant was the best of the three on site.
the ivi does not allow children, so we only spent one meal there, but it was nice.
the buffet was not worth the $60FJD, as we could not eat more than a single serving for starter, main, and desert. the sundowner has a good menu, and often came to less than $50/head.
tips ?? a mystery. i never knew whether i should or shouldn't. in the end i did 10%, 20%, and none. i was all over the place with them. my rule in the end was to give them $10FJD on top, no matter what the price came to.
would i go there again? no
when it rained, around the pool and corridors are deadly. slipping all over the place, and often. kids, myself, guests, staff, i saw them all go down. so what out, especially if you are elderly.
tennis courts are good. there is a fitness centre which looked good, and good laundry facilities.
drinks cost like AUD equivalent, so don't think they are cheap. sparkling wine was $15FJD a glass, same as an australian restaurant.
plenty of nice guests around.
pillows in rooms are clean, but i found them very uncomfortable. did my neck in.
finally, it is far from any walking site. 10 mins by car into sikatoka. the cabs outside the resort will charge $35FJD for both ways, the breakfast place i mentioned earlier above, 2 mins walk from the beach, will do it for $18FJD.
cabs to airport from hotel will cost $135, where as the other place i mention will do it for $95.
the journey to and from the airport is horrid. even by car. our return journey was at 5.30am, and even then it took at least an hour and a half. roads are bad, and is a good deal away.
so all in all, was ok, but will not visit there again, whether i visit fiji again, is another discussion.
cheers
- Outrigger Lagoon Fiji
- Outrigger Hotel Sigatoka
- Outrigger Fiji
- Outrigger Resort Sigatoka
- Outrigger Sigatoka
- Fiji Outrigger
- Fiji Lagoon Outrigger
- Sigatoka Outrigger
- Outrigger Lagoon
