Tokoriki Island Resort in Fiji.
OPINION
This resort might have helicopters and French Champagne, but what about the poolside sunglasses cleaning service? Alanah Eriksen finds it’s the little details that set this resort apart.
If you Google, “where the celebrities stay in Fiji”, Tokoriki Island Resort comes up.
Billing itself as “the most awarded adults-only boutique luxury island resort”, the resort in the Mamanuca Islands is probably the fanciest I’ve ever stayed at.
Of course there is all the obvious glamorous stuff - express immigration services, helicopter transfers, a chef with experience at top restaurants around the world, French Champagne and unlimited massages.
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But for me, it was the tiny little details that set it apart.
The arrival welcome tea, cool scented towels and the custom Tokoriki lei.
The staff already knowing your name before you’ve met them and addressing you with it at every opportunity.
The poolside sunglasses cleaning service, the daily island-made cookies in the room, the complimentary 11am mini cocktails, free canapes at the bar, the courtesy bure for early arrivals and late departures and the nightly turndown service.
The sense of family is why so many guests return to Tokoriki - and staff go above and beyond for them.
New Zealanders Harry and Pat Tait celebrated their 50th visit to the resort in 2018.
Staff surprised them at the airport wearing printed T-shirts to mark the occasion. A band played and a large screen also displayed photos of their previous trips.
Once they got to the resort, staff held a special ceremony.
Over 25 years the couple have enjoyed several celebrations at Tokoriki including Harry’s 80th and many wedding anniversaries. On their 40th wedding anniversary, staff surprised them with a vow renewal ceremony.
Tokoriki is also a favourite return spot for the stars. All Black Beauden Barrett and wife Hannah got engaged there in 2018 and have returned several times since.
The owners have been fostering that sense of family since they purchased the resort 30 years ago.
Australian businessman Andrew Turnbull - known for bringing Chupa Chup lollipops from Spain to the rest of the world, including New Zealand - has his daughter Jenna to thank for facilitating the sale.
She was 12 when Turnbull and his wife Yvonne brought her to the area on a family holiday. Jenna discovered the resort was for sale by talking to locals and passed the information on to her parents.
Jenna and her husband are now in line to take over the resort.
Yvonne is responsible for the resort’s modern, understated look - a fusion of Fijian and contemporary design. As her husband has told media in the past, “There isn’t a light switch or a coat of paint my wife hasn’t chosen”.
The Turnbulls spend about a week per month in Fiji (they also have Sydney and Hunter Valley homes) and Turnbull happened to be there when I was so we got to check out his magnificent bure at the end of the resort.
Turnbull keeps the place running with the fabulous sales and marketing manager Patrice Belle, who floated through the resort wearing a different leopard print mumu every day. Her husband Rob Ring is the general manager.
The resort - which has many accolades including Condé Nast Travellers Readers’ Choice Top 15 Resorts - has eight beachfront bures, 18 beachfront pool bures, seven beachfront pool villas and three pool villas.
I had a beachfront pool villa which was unbeatable and would be a perfect honeymoon spot.
The 120sq m freestanding, air-conditioned villa features separate living and sleeping quarters, and indoor and outdoor showers.
To instil ultimate luxury, the resort prides itself on not having television and phones in its villas (but the management team is on-call 24 hours should they be needed).
Double folding doors take you outside to an expansive 70sq m deck with a 3.5m x 2.5m infinity edge personal pool, sun lounges, and a cabana with a double daybed.
You can custom-build your package depending on the level of luxury you want.
Some packages even include a bottle of Veuve Cliquot on arrival, a Champagne island beach picnic, unlimited daily massages, and a VIP service at the airport where staff greet you at the plane and escort you through an express immigration service including an express luggage screening through Customs.
For a VIP resort, food is important.
Guests can opt for a full meal package if you want multiple courses at each meal, or just pay as you go.
The resort’s new executive chef, Brit Thomas Lyons has worked at luxury resorts in the UK and New Zealand, and I was impressed with dinner on day one of my stay.
My entree was Pacific octopus with nuoc cham and green papaya salad and the main, a mouth-watering lobster coconut chowder with root crop.
If you’re feeling fancy, pair it with a bottle of $530 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé NV (France).
As well as its main dining area, Tokoriki has an intimate teppanyaki restaurant which seats up to 10 people. It’s a great way to get to know the other guests.
Our brilliant chef kept us entertained with games as she flipped pieces of egg into our mouths across the grill.
Breakfasts can be had on the water’s edge, choosing from a menu that swaps out every four days. Or have one of the resort’s floating breakfast’s delivered to your private pool.
The unlimited Champagne is a must on holiday too.
When your clientele is rich, beautiful people, you need a gym. Tokoriki had just opened a new air-conditioned one with Life Fitness equipment.
I was far too relaxed to try it but admired from afar.
And when not lounging by or in the pool with a cocktail, the resort offers several water-based activities including stand-up paddle boarding, hobie cat sailing, snorkelling and kayaking.
An outdoor library features a range of books with other activities including basket weaving, board games, garden chess, a herbal medicine walk, hiking, jogging, tennis, table tennis, petanque, a chapel service, soccer, and volleyball.
Departing the resort’s jetty on an Island Hopper helicopter with a bird’s-eye view of the Mamanuca Islands, I truly felt sad to leave. But I look forward to experiencing the perks as a returning guest one day.
GETTING THERE
Fiji Airways and Air New Zealand fly directly from Auckland to Nadi.
A catamaran leaves for the island once a day. It takes just over an hour.
Or if you’re wanting to arrive in style, you can take an Island Hopper helicopter, a seaplane, or private water taxi.
MORE DETAILS
Alanah Eriksen travelled to Fiji as a guest of Tourism Fiji and Tokoriki Resort and Spa.
This suburb is skipped in favour of flashier spots, but shouldn't be discounted.