Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa — Hotel in Viti Levu

The Sofitel brand has been our “go-to” choice when travelling for some time now and we have enjoyed their sites in New York, throughout Europe and Asia along with the Sydney and Melbourne locations.

We found their hotels offer a sophisticated atmosphere and an exceptional innovative quality when it came to the rooms.

Unfortunately spending a couple of days at the Sofitel Fiji Resort (which is more like a good 3 star property) has made us reevaluate the brand.

Getting off a cruise in Fiji we wanted to spend a couple of luxury nights at a top resort and decided on the Sofitel Fiji Resort in the Waitui Beach Club. Having emailed the hotel a dozen times beforehand to get my room selection right - we settled for the King Luxury Room in the Waitui Beach Club Wing at a bit over F$1,000 a night.

What a disappointment…..,

Clearly the site is about 30 years old and while the pool and public facilities present well - unfortunately the room layout and design are still housed within the 30 year old original room layout and it shows.

The rooms have been renovated but its such a poor job. The rooms offer nothing other than hard surfaces and artificial timber panels to try and create some sort of plantation style - but it just looks cheap. It feels like they hose them out when you leave…. Its cold and soulless.

To try and increase the bathroom size they have pulled the sinks out and placed them into the middle of the bedroom with a double sided mirror separating. They also pulled out all the storage so luggage now needs to sit in cases all over the floor.

The renovation is not at a typical Sofitel standard. There was no sense of the polished style or modern luxury from our room which we have come to expect from Sofitel.

All my research suggested my room would be a high floor with expansive views (all of the online photos showed water views which I was hoping for) - but as per the attached photos showed my room was above a busy noisy path with another block of about 80 units opposite looking back at me.

Of course they hadn’t mentioned the building site behind where a massive expansion is underway and the invasive noise which comes with that - (which was a bit unfair). Rooms on the north side of the beach club block are exposed to the music and noise from the general pool area which gets louder as the day progresses.

The room included a complicated mini bar service in which you need to visit an onsite office and trade your mini bar items to be restocked. This was just bizarre and at a thousand dollars a night why cant they just restock my bar! We ended up at the onsite convenience store which was far simpler to manage.

The room had a small table and one chair- so my wife and I took turns to eat dinner which highlights the lack of thought that has been considered in the design.

Our room was at the end of a long hallway where the voices of everyone walking past echoed until late into the evening. Outside our room the floor covering changed from tiles to carpet so the metal trolleys and wheelie bags made a thumping sound each time someone past.

The bathroom door has been changed to a barn door style which doesn’t allow it to close completely therefore you end up hearing your travel partners EVERY activity. The water pressure was poor and we had no hot water on the first day.

Finally we couldn’t get the television casting to work - tried many times but it wouldn’t connect. Was told by a staff member the wifi is a slow/weak signal which means it only works sometimes.

This is an old hotel thats had a facelift- but you cant hide a 30 year old design/style/space with new tiles and paint. Its outdated and is really more like a roadside best western.

What a waste - we wish we flew straight back after the cruise and not visited the Sofitel Fiji at all.

There are some amazing hotels in Fiji - but the Sofitel Fiji is not one of them. The rooms are disappointing and are certainly not worth the rates being...

We stayed in the Imperial Suite, Reading the reviews we expected to find happy, warm staff and a beautiful relaxing vibe so all in all, it was a bit of a disappointment. as a big group or had a family it would be a great spot.

FOOD Pros: Great coffee everywhere at the hotel There is a wide buffet selection for breakfast. Some of the food seems kind of stale but we quicky figured out the best options and loved the adults only area We also enjoyed breakfast at the bar and grill on the beach which has a gorgeous view and is quiet and relaxing The seafood buffet night was generous and worth the price!

Cons: its pretty much the same food everywhere at the hotel. We went out for dinner a few times and it was a much nicer vibe

ROOM Pros: *Or room was really big and generous in size. Even tho it has a connecting room so we could hear our neighbors very clearly in the bathroom every day :O The bathroom has a proper toilet door and shower screen so you have privacy and you wont have water every where. The bathroom had a massive bath and a rain shower Our room was very freshly renovated and also impeccably clean The bed is is a proper king bed *there are screens in the room so you can have the doors open with no bugs The daily minibar refresh is generous

Cons: It is So Noisy - from the pool blasting music, power tools, whipper snippers from 6am every single day, then in the evening there's the nightclub and weddings thumping music outside our window. It is not the place for a lazy time. The grounds are beautiful and perfectly kept but there's no peace.

Imperial suite wasn’t that fancy. It was massive, freshly renovated, very clean and well equipped but not fancy at all. Only space for one suitcase and it’s in the bathroom hallway No where to hang gowns, hats, bathers, bags or extra towels even tho the room was gigantic there's two hooks in the shower At the foot of the bed is the air con control panel, cheerfully blinding you all night with no way to turn it off. The aircon is also pretty noisy.

INCLUSIONS Pro's: We had a 60 minute spa treatments each/per day included. They are crazy hard to book- Nevertheless, the spa was lovely and the body scrub was great.

The adults only pool was really beautiful and the cabanas were probably the only quiet place in the whole resort. We spent lots of time there.

Lots of lounges and cabanas by the pool so you could always find a spot

In the adults only section, there are lots of towels and no need for tokens or anything

The ladies who did the laundry were so fast and efficient

Cons:

Happy Hour and High tea are the same 4-5 small canapes that feel a bit stale and a few juice style cocktails. Happy hour by the pool was nice for the sunset.

Our room had airport transfers included. When we enquired a day or so before to make sure they were booked we were told they aren't offered and to take a cab. After some back and forth they were organized.

*Watersports is a small area just in front of the hotel. You can kayak or paddle board for 15-20 mins before it’s boring. Girls who served us must cop it all day because it seems there’s a stream of disappointed customers getting angry at them. No towels, no where to put your stuff, the jet skis are banged up and the waiver is next level.

SERVICE Pros: We genuinely enjoyed spending time with Esala , vara at bazar and Sweyta and Etoni in the journal lounge who gave that cold, dark, empty space life :) Knox and the other porters were so happy and helpful and really brightened our day.

Cons We had a similar experience on check-in as some of the other reviews that lasted for the entre stay. Anything that wasn't standard was a flat no. Help booking dinner - do it yourself, help booking a tour - go do it yourself... We've stayed at other hotels with a lounge/suits and the concierge is so wonderful, its usually the highlight...

Words cannot describe my stay at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa. It was truely just amazing.

Firstly, this hotel is just gorgeous! Surrounded by tropical forestry and overlooking the beach it really is just the perfect location. While I wouldn’t say the beach is the best place to go swimming, the calm waters make it perfect for non motorised water sport options (included in all hotel packages) including kayaking, parasailing and paddle boarding. For an additional fee you can also pay to go Jet skiing. The hotel also boasts so many other daily activities ranging from painting classes, aquarobics, Fijian language lessons and sporting games. Trust me you won’t feel bored here.

As for accommodation we stayed in a Waitui beach club room, which is offered only for 16+ to utilise the adults wing of the hotel. This room was about $150 more expensive per night than a standard room however it was worth it! The Waitui beach club was just so peaceful, boasting a private pool, swim up bar, private cabana and exclusive restaurant. Unlike the other side of the hotel, the adults wing is very calm and relaxing. Additionally throughout the day staff will bring out unlimited canapés, ranging from grilled prawns to chicken skewers to croquettes to sashimi. In the end we skipped paying for lunch all together as the snacks throughout the day was more than enough!! Even when it was raining staff would bring these canapés to guests rooms which was really nice. Furthermore various cocktails are also brought out throughout the day, with unlimited drinks running from 5-6 daily.

As for food, we ate breakfast at both the Waitui beach club and bazaar buffet. Both were lovely however they cater to different people. Waitui offers unlimited a la carte, including amazing coconut pancakes! However their actual buffet breakfast style is a lot more restrictive. At the bazaar breakfast was awesome, however very hectic especially first thing in the morning. I would recommend coming in around 9-9:30 as more families start to leave. The breakfast dishes served here are very extensive.

For dinner we dined at the beach club and bazaar through their “seafood” buffet night. As an accor plus member we got both of these meals discounted at half price. At Waitui we ordered the lobster and snapper, which were both good, however I would skip in favour of the seafood buffet at the bazaar. For non Waitui club members, the lobster is also offered at Solis however it is slightly more expensive.

Seafood night at the bazaar was just amazing, where endless lobster, oysters, uni, prawns, mussels and crab can all be enjoyed. There were multiple stations including stir fry, curry and pasta letting you incorporate your favourite seafood into your own personalised dish! Another highlight was the crepe cart, where you could watch the chef cook your own crepe with your preferred toppings.

Additionally, as someone who has specific dietary needs all kitchen staff were sooooooooo accomodating, where the head chefs at both restaurants routinely showed us the menus. At the buffet the head chef even changed the menu (removed nuts) from breakfast for the duration of our stay!!

This brings me to the best part about the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa, the staff and service!!! I didn’t have a single issue with any of the staff as everyone is just so genuinely friendly and happy. A huge shout out to Suli and Vau at the Waitui beach club. These guys were just amazing and made our stay feel so special. The staff here make you feel truely relaxed and really made my stay so enjoyable. All staff here just go above and beyond, and are the best staff i have seen throughout any hotel. I really hated having to leave this place!!! Another huge thank you to Ozzi our porter who gave as a lovely Fiji send off.

Again thank you to everyone at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa, I really cannot recommend this...