Room check: Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa

The Waitui Beach Club pool at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa on Denarau Island. Photo / Supplied

Shandelle Battersby checks into Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa on Denarau Island.

Location: This luxurious beachfront hotel on the Fijian resort island of Denarau, is a 20-minute drive from Nadi Airport.

Check-in experience: We were booked into the hotel's new exclusive adults-only area, Waitui Beach Club, which has its own private check-in lounge in the lobby. After that we headed for the Beach Club's own infinity pool, nabbed a cocoon daybed each and had some wood-fired pizza. You'll also find private cabanas and a Veuve Clicquot Champagne bar, and an after-lunch dip included a mandatory stop at the swim-up bar for a frozen margarita. As well as the pool butler - who sorts you out with a towel, body mist, bottled water, cold towels, and Pure Fiji sunscreen - Waitui offers complimentary cocktails and canapes at sunset accompanied by tunes from the resident DJ or a live band. The rest of the hotel is great for families, with a separate huge pool area, complete with waterslide and toys. Regular outdoor movies can be watched on beanbags under the stars, and once a week there's a beachfront lovo where you can try kava and traditional Fijian food while watching meke dancers from a local village. The family rooms come with Sony PlayStations, and there's a kids' club on site.

What's in the neighbourhood? The Port Denarau Marina, where the ferries for the outer islands leave from, is a five-minute drive and has loads of great shops and restaurants. The 18-hole Denarau Golf Club is also nearby.

Exercise: The Beach Club has a small gym by the pool and offers exercise classes such as yoga and CrossFit. In the main part of the hotel, there's a much larger gym, or if you want to get your Tom Cruise on, there's a beach volleyball set-up.

My room: A Luxury room on the ground floor, looking on to the back of the Beach Club. There was also a sofa, TV and small Bose SoundDock music system, and walk-in closet.

The bed: A king Sofitel MyBed, and fit for one.

Bathroom: Pretty standard, with a shower over the bath.

Toiletries: A Pure Fiji orange blossom range, made especially for the Sofitel.

Free wi-fi? Yes.

Noise: Not a problem, but then I did get up at 3am to watch New Zealand scrape through to the Rugby World Cup final. It was the first time I've ever watched a rugby game in a bar where no one was drinking.

Price: Luxury Waitui Beach Club rooms start from FJD$450 ($317) a night. If you're in a Superior Oceanside room you can pay a nightly supplement to use the Club's facilities.

Food: Stacks of options here - the main hotel has several restaurants, a cafe and a couple of bars, and the Beach Club serves a variety of food including healthy dining options.

Don't miss: The So Spa, which offers a range of beauty and wellness treatments, including massages with warm seashells.

What's so good about this place? The fact that in less than four hours after leaving wet, cold New Zealand, you can be poolside in paradise under a cloudless blue sky and palm trees in 30C heat. Did I mention the swim-up bar?

Contact: sofitel.com

Would I return? If I was rich, I think I'd move in.

The writer was a guest of Tourism Fiji.