Bigger Doesn't Always Mean Better
Waking up every morning to this view
When booking a relaxing holiday we tend to dream of the 5 star resort with day spas, cocktails in the pool and pretty much turning into a puddle of goo while our brains switch off. The simple everyday chores become something foreign as we lay back as the days go by. Relaxing yes, but does it have to come at a price tag? Not really. Depending on the person of course!
We recently took a vacation to Fiji and stayed at two different resorts for the two weeks. We wanted to stay on the Coral coast for a week at least but the 5 star resort was completely booked, so we settled for a smaller, cheaper place with mixed reviews. We also wanted the 5 star experience and thought at least we will can add that on in the end so we can get whatever relaxing treatments we really want. So when someone asks me which place would I rather stay at I always say the first venue.
Hideaway Resort is definitely a hidden gem in Fiji. Only about 1.5 hours drive from the airport (depending on your driver), the venue is pretty much ran by the people of a close by village or two. The accommodation is made up of several private villas, not hotel rooms, offering privacy and ocean front views. The ocean in front is a coral reef full of fish (yes I found Nemo and an eel found me). We spent our days snorkelling when the tide was in and lounging on our front porch watch the ocean when the tide was out. Every morning a man would walk his horses along the beach before leading them into the ocean to have a swim.
These guys are living the life
The food at Hideaway was mediocre, you were never sure how it would taste before you got it, but at the end of the day we weren't expecting much as the view itself and the calmness of the place made it pure paradise.
Moving on to the second venue we headed over the Westin. After Hideaway, we were actually a little disappointed. I paid extra for a room with a private plunge pool for you know... romantic moments ;), but the romance quickly disappears when there is a bunch of strangers on tredmills watching you as you try and relax and leave you feeling like a little bit of sloth. Yes, the gym sadly overlooked the "private" suites with plunge pools! I will say that the food, service and atmosphere were fantastic though, however, the view could have been a little better (apart from the view of the gym). Walking down to the restaurant you find yourself looking out to the ocean which is nice, but a little sad. The problem with the location of the Westin and a lot of the 5 star resorts is that they are all located to the port of Fiji, where as some of the locals told us, "it never stops", because it is the major and only port in Fiji!
The entrance was a highlight
When we look back on that holiday, we both agree to this day that we would return to Hideaway in a heartbeat. The Westin we could give a miss, maybe try a different resort, but otherwise a week would be enough. So to sum it up, we stayed at Hideaway for a majority of the time and the overall cost was significantly cheaper than the Westin. And the experience really opened our eyes to understanding that just because something is more expensive, it doesn't always mean that it's always better.