After reading multiple reviews for a good 10 months, I was very open to what was positive and negative. Most of the reviews nailed in on the head either for or against.
We took our two kids aged 9 and 6 for their first overseas trip. A run down of the 10 days.
Firstly, prepare for the hour and 40 minutes from the airport, we arrived to a friendly welcome in the mid afternoon, a very hot day, to then be told, our room is not ready (there was about 40% occupancy) So an hour and a half in reception, we got to our room - Oceanview Bure and advised, we are still working on the Air Con. 2 singles and a King, but nowhere to even open or store our 4 bags. The bathroom, railing was broken, and like most photos, in need of a good overhaul. Still, we looked at the positive, we are on holiday for a good price.
Read the menu and activities for the Friday night - Cultural Show - never happened, no explanation, or mention of why it didn't. - now fast forward ten nights - and each day there would be a new 8pm event. Not one of them occurred, not one show, not one choir or anything. So that was disappointing for the kids as they were looking forward to the advertised show as they mention in all their advertisements.
Room - We lasted 6 nights in the room of our booked 10 before my 3rd complaint that that infamous Air Con is still not working. With a small room and young kids, very hard to handle 35 degrees each day. Eventually we were moved and upgraded to a Villa on the beach and it was remarkable, same bedding, larger room, indoor double shower and an outdoor shower. Hammock and private little beach in front. I would recommend the beach Villas over any room.
Food / Drink - Breakfast is the following - Toast - Cereal station, Muffins and other baked goods, coffee tea, egg station - 2 eggs per person. then hot food on rotation, very stringy bacon or lamb suages, one day Baked Beans, next Spaghetti, French toast, heaps of porridge, yogurt and some fruit. Overall, basic choices, but enough for a good start for the day. Lunch is mainly around $20-30 Fijian which consists of sandwiches (All toasted), snack (Spring Rolls etc) Dinner changes daily, but mainly consists of a Curry of the Day, always awesome, 3 lots of burgers (Chicken Beef and Fish) another great choice. Egg Dipped Toasties. Dinner ranges from $22-$45 Fijian. Kids menu does not change - Spag Bolg, Nuggets and chips, Burger and chips, Fish and chips, Hot Dog (Sausage) and chips. Dinks are very pricey for anywhere in the world. I am not a drinker, but $9FJ for a small glass of juice from a Goden Circle like Tetra Carton is a bit much. I do recommend the Lemon Squash though.
Kids Club - We went hoping for that dream parent holiday - Kids off for the day, Parents relaxing..... Our kids went for one day and were conned to attend the afternoon session. Most days it is two 2 hour sessions, what is written on the board does not really occur. The day the kids went was coral collecting in the morning and painting in the afternoon. When we did convince (bribe) them to go in the afternoon, we picked them up to find them watching Shrek in a 26 degree room. They were the happiest to see us and as expected, did not want to go back...
Resort Pool, Activities, Staff and What to Do - The pool is a good communal get together and highly used Sunny, Rainy or windy. Good for all ages, if you have a young one that is not a good or confident swimmer, grab a life vest from the towel area, my son loved having it as he could then go anywhere in the pool. They have daily pool activities topped of by the midday Sun Dance to try and make the ran stay away, note - in the wet season, this will never occur, but my kids loved it, even performing it in the rain. There is not a lot of the scheduled board activities that do occur, like breakfast, it is on rotation daily. Staff are all truly wonderful humans and so kind and friendly. James the main porter, will do so much for you. Kini in Activities is so wonderful, but the highlight of most peoples trip is DAN. Dan is mainly the Pool Activities, in the pool with the kids, Sund Dance master, activities for all. Dan made my kids trip amazing. He is one of the most loveliest people you could meet. He changes kids each day to assist in the 6pm Fire Lighting, but he will go way above and beyond for all guests. From taking them fishing, to reef walks, canoeing. My son woke up everyday with, When is Dan coming. Dan was the highlight of the trip for our family, explaining so many Fijian customs and a huge be smile.
There is a small shop on site, with basic needs but is very costly - Water 1 litre is $7 FJ, Cans of Soft Drink $6FJ, I would suggest going to Sikatoga, 20 min cab ride for $25FJ, go to ShopNSave, 6 pack of water (6 litres) is $6FJ and plenty of snacks and other needs at a fraction of the cost. If you need a chemist (we did) - HyperChem is the best. For all souvenier - Jacks and Tappoo in Sigatoka, will have all your needs.
As the resort is isolated. and if that is what you like, it is perfect, but to go to most tours, which are highly expensive, it is an hour or 2 anywhere. We took the kids to Kula Wild Adventure Park to be Rangers for the day and we walked around. The walk around is a max of an hour going slow. the kids program is 4-5 hours. Our kids enjoyed it, but it was $300 AU for the 5 hours. The markets and shops in Sigatoka can fill in half a day. I would suggest finding a local taxi driver, we had a guy from Sigatoka who would come and pick us up, go into town, call when we needed to go back for $25FJ each way. I generally gave them a little more.
Overall - Now if you are expecting 5 star Hilton Radisson etc, you are going to be shocked. If you have high end tastes and expectations but do not want to pay for that, you are going to be disappointed and not enjoy Fiji. If you are on a low budget, you get what you pay for. We chose Hideaway purely for the lower cost and see if the kids enjoyed the time in Fiji. Without the staff, the place would not appeal to many, but it needs a huge renovation.
If you do not like cats, AVOID, there would be around 50-60 feral cats in all areas. I am not a cat person and these look semi diseased. They, like mosquitoes, get into every part of the resort and are more annoying than a fly.
As mentioned, you get what you pay for, this is a budget friendly resort, very relaxing with wonderful staff. The 3 star rating is purely got to 3 for the staff. If they were not there, it would be close to 1 and ushing 2.
