The Fiji Orchid

This is an absolute gem of a place, super close to the airport, they pick you up and drop you off so you don’t even have to think about any of it, but it feels a million miles away. Private and secluded and feels like you’re staying at the private home of a glamorous movie star friend. It’s not a resort so much, more of a secluded luxury spot to relax, and it’s absolutely divine. If you’re looking for a layover before you go out to a far flung island, or you just want to get off the plane and be drinking a wine by the pool in half an hour, it’s perfect. The best part of the experience is both the incredible burres that are so unique and make you feel like you’re in a movie - and also the owner and boss lady extraordinaire Mrs B - we met her at dinner in the restaurant one night and felt like we’d been friends for life. Her magic and hospitality is infectious and makes you want to drink life down like a frozen margarita. She really went out of her way to make our stay special - the little things like rearranging the menu to make sure we could try Fijian food, to showing us an absolutely incredible Fijian circus show, she made our trip phenomenal. You’ll love it, just go. The only thing I’d say is that it’s not a resort like Sheraton, so there isn’t always someone there to attend to your every need, but if you want something just ask. They’ll do everything to help. (And if you’re someone who at 2am is like, hm, I want juice I’ll just go to the on site seven eleven…it doesn’t work like that. But There’s a bar and they’ll work super hard to get you whatever you want snacks wise - they found me some amazing local style chips and nuts just because I said I was hungry - so if you want something just ask. Don’t waste your money on a cookie cutter Nadi resort, go here and hang out in a pocket of paradise.

The staff really made our stay at the Fiji Orchid special. Every single encounter we had with anyone from the reception, grounds staff, security, waiting staff, cleaners - everyone was so amazing. They even sang a happy anniversary song for us which made our year! Overall the hotel has a really calming vibe. The only downside was the actual bure which really need a bit of a refurb, as it is considered luxury accommodation but the lighting was poor in the bathroom, fittings were old etc.

A quiet retreat set in wonderful gardens I found the Orchid an ideal stopover before heading to the outer islands. It has a wonderful pool and with only six bures I had it to myself . The food was really outstanding and I believe their chef ,Sawali, represented Fiji in an island cooking demo in NZ. I'm going to the Lau group with Captain Cook Cruises in Sept so i'll stay at the Orchid again then as the cruise now leaves from Lautoka which is about 15 minutes by cab. I can't recommend the Orchid enough.

We stayed at The Fiji Orchid enroute to NZ for a stopover during a long flight and again on the way home, and it meet all our needs. The boutique hotel with only 6 Bures allowed for a very private and relaxing stay. The biggest win was the kind and attentive staff. Deepika the Manager was a real pleasure to work with. We very much appreciated the rides with Kesho. We also had the pleasure of joining them on Market day in Lautoka which was a great experience. Having access to Raymond's restaurant onsite for our meals was very convenient, They accommodated our food allergies including a wonderful gluten free bread and baba ganoush which was delicious. Asenaca was very sweet and worked very hard to ensure we had everything we needed during our visits.

5 star prices, 3 star quality. Our bure was lovely, but not 5 star. The overall appearance was worn. The mosquito Net was cheap and had numerous holes. The garbage can in the bathroom was dented and rusty, the canvas roof was filthy…all not a big deal but when they are charging $720 FJ per night, it should be pristine. We had booked the Fiji Orchid for two nights to celebrate my 65th birthday, which was to be the second night. This was a highlight of our trip to Fiji. We planned on having my birthday dinner at the Orchid, after eating there our first night, we changed our plan. I ordered the consume ($26) it was a small serving with a few veggies in it, tasteless and bland. I ordered the creamy curried prawns as my main ($40) the prawns (several small prawns or large shrimp) were over cooked and tough. And they were not in a curry sauce, rather a sweet seafood like sauce. The exact sauce was served as a condiment at the Boatshed where we ended up for my birthday dinner.(and had an excellent meal) The worst part of the evening was the service. I realize that our server was “in training”, she was lovely, but over anxious. She hovered, walked by, constantly checking on our progress and ready to whisk away items finished with. Mid meal I put down my fork to take a sip of my drink, she was immediately there asking if I was done. It was not a relaxing meal, I left the meal feeling stressed and unhappy with the food and service. I told my husband, I will not go back for my birthday dinner!

As we left Auckland and boarded our Fiji Airways flights (which was great by the way) to Fiji they announced over the tannoy "your journey to paradise begins..." and do you know what, they really weren't wrong. The flight was excellent, our flight arrived on time but despite a delay getting through customs, security and luggage pick-up our driver from the hotel, Kesho, was waiting for us. And that's where our experience really began with The Fiji Orchard. We had a very comfortable drive to the hotel, a transfer of about 35 to 40 minutes in the traffic, in a very comfortable and spacious almost new Toyota Land cruiser. What we didn't realise was that the Fiji Orchid was once the holiday home of Raymond Burr, star of Perry Mason and Ironside, programmes from the 1960s & 1970s. Raymond Burr loved orchids just as much as he loved Fiji, hence the name of the hotel and the restaurant, Raymond's. Upon our arrival at the hotel, 4 or 5 members of staff were waiting to greet us. This was really special, including Ledge who checked us in, a really straight forward, relaxing and easy experience. Everyone was so very happy, in fact everyone that we met was so happy. We felt really welcome from the moment that we arrived. We've read reviews from guests who have criticised the welcome and the check-in process, which is ridiculous, it was lovely. Our bags were taken to our bure whilst we finished our welcome drinks, before we were walked to our bure. There are only 6 bures, so a maximum of six guests. The bures are well spread out, each one back onto its own little bit of the rain forest. Our bure was lovely. The main area is separated into two areas, the bedroom and lounge with seating. There's a small desk and chair. Then theiugh to the back of the bure there's the shower room, with wash-hand basin, glass toilet and glass shower cubicles. It was really invigorating to shower looking out onto the rain forest. There was nothing that we didn't like about our stay at The Fiji Orchid, we felt at home and on holiday very quickly. Everyone knew our names the next time we saw them. We ate every evening in Raymond's, enjoying each and every meal. We also had some snacks and drinks by the pool, which was lovely. Everything is spread out so at no time did we feel cramped or that the hotel was busy. We'd really like to thank Ledge, Kesho, Gordon, Imma, Lo, Deepika (who we contacted before our stay, and was most helpful) Ben and the whole family. They really made our stay so special. Kesho organised our day out for us and when we needed some help on our last day they went the extra mile to help us. We'd also like to thank Ali, a local taxi driver, who also took us into Nadi on our final day. Like everyone at The Fiji Orchid, he was great. Would we go back, absolutely. Was our 5 night stay long enough, definitely not. We'd give them a higher rating if we could. Thank you 👍. Please check out all of the photos that I've added 📷.