Idyllic Fijian resort has the potential for expansion

Amunuca Island resort and spa in the Mamanucas. Photo / Supplied

Still trading with "business as usual", an idyllic Fijian holiday resort that went into receivership just as the global recession hit has been put up for sale as a going concern.

Amunuca Island Resort and Spa, which is on Tokoriki Island in the Mamanuca Islands off the Nadi coast, consists of a 3-star resort with 86 existing accommodation rooms and a wide range of leisure activities.

"There is also plenty of potential for future expansion plus the opportunity to progress a 25-lot residential subdivision on adjoining land," says Mike Bayley, managing director for Bayleys and lead sales consultant for the project.

The property is being marketed in New Zealand and internationally by Bayleys, under instructions from the receivers KordaMentha, with tenders closing on December 3.

Amunuca Island Resort and Spa opened in March 2007 and has accommodation for up to 278 guests, with 12 additional honeymoon suites under construction.

On offer is the head lease of the resort and the adjoining residential lots with the going concern business including all fittings, equipment, furnishings, plant and machinery.

Room configurations are varied to suit guest needs, and include beachside executive honeymoon bures that feature four-poster beds and bubble baths for two.

"To date, eight bures have been completed with a further 12 bures commissioned," Mike Bayley says.

Other accommodation units consist of beachfront studios, one-bedroom suites, rainforest and garden deluxe bures, and rainforest family bures catering for families and group travellers.

"Amunuca Island Resort and Spa has been designed to resemble a traditional Fijian village and constructed to blend in with the surrounding sea and forest environment," Bayley says.

Exterior walls of the accommodation buildings are covered in traditional Fijian woven bamboo while the main buildings, incorporating the administration/reception, restaurant/bar and lounge areas, resemble open traditional Fijian pavilions.

The roofs of all buildings are clad in steel and covered in traditional Fijian thatching, while internal finishing treatments comprise a mixture of contemporary and Polynesian decor.

"Guest facilities at the Amunuca resort include beachside restaurants, bars, lounges, swimming pools including one with a waterslide and swim-up bar," Bayley says.

"It also has a kids' club, tennis court, day spa beauty treatment centre, Padi-rated dive facilities, water sport activities, a 40-seat movie theatre, chapel and helicopter pad.

"On adjoining land, 25 lots have been subdivided and are all still held under the head lease as a whole.

"These residential blocks range from about 1500sq m to 5800sq m with the opportunity for private, luxury holiday homes to be built on each of these blocks."

The resort has exclusive access to a wide beach frontage facing southeast and west, and is protected from the north by a ridge line and headland making up part of the land.

An indigenous rainforest belt runs from the eastern end of the property to its western end.

Bayley says the homes could either be managed by the resort as part of its accommodation inventory when the owner is not in residence, or used exclusively by the owner as a private retreat.

"The residential sites are close enough to the main Amunuca resort facilities to be serviced by the complex and its infrastructure, and could be built in a style which would preserve the beauty and exclusivity of the existing resort," he says.

Bayley said Amunuca Island Resort and Spa was presently trading under its own name without any branding and there was no management agreement in place. However, the resort's hotel licence is current.

"The receivers have assumed control of the business and systematically instituted good processes, disciplines and day-to-day management.

"A new owner could secure and operate the existing resort as is, and to work towards improving the performance and appeal of the property through a professional resort management approach while enhancing the existing improvements.

"The adjoining residential lots create an opportunity for an integrated resort structure," Bayley says.

Amunuca Island Resort and Spa and subdivision titles occupy 16.6ha of leasehold land with a native lease from Fiji's Native Land Trust Board, an organisation independent of the Government which was established to primarily administer native land for indigenous owners.

Tokoriki Island in the Mamanuca Island group is 243ha and about 15 minutes by helicopter or seaplane from Nadi International Airport.

Bayley says several capital expenditure projects have recently been completed at Amunuca, including upgrades of the main guest pool and main resort.

"Other infrastructure upgrades have been made to the power, fresh water and sewage processes along with the commissioning of a rubbish and recycling programme."