Hilton in Fiji?

[BBB3000]

Has anyone had experience with the Hilton in Fiji? I have award nights that I can use there.

I was thinking of going for 5 nights. Is that too little/too many? How many nights are recommended?

Are there many activities/islands that are reachable from the hotel? What are the top ones you'd recommend?

TIA!

 

[gypsyinabigtown]

Stayed there October last year. Great hotel, great service. Can't complain. Their restaurant is one of the best in the whole area.
I found one of the island snorkelling trips okay, but too much kid-friendly. Average age = 12. If you've kids, great. Mamanucas has more couples-friendly trips available as well.
The orchid garden and mud pool tour was quite interesting, too.
We stayed 3-4 days. Mostly relaxing. It's very, veeery, popular among families with kids, because of their kid clubs. School holiday times can be busy I guess.
You could always visit Nadi for half a day, but it's not a major sightseeing destination, more so a beach holiday place.

 

[mrfreeze]

I stayed there January last year and found it OK - had a 1 bedroom beach front room.
In September I took the kids with me and we stayed at Radisson Blu.
Just got back today from 12 nights over in Fiji - 7 of them at The Westin - the other nights at Blue Lagoon Beach Resort (Loved it there).
I find 5 nights more than enough at any of the Denarau properties.
Of the 3 I have stayed at Denarau, I thought the Hilton had the best room.

It is easy to do day trips from Denarau as all hotels have a tour desk in their foyer area.
South Sea Cruises operate out of the marina and have a variety of day tours.
Not all are available at the moment due to Resorts still not operating since the cyclone last year.
We have done the Seaspray day tour and also the Mana Island day tour.
The one I notice to be most popular for kids is the South Sea Island trip.

If you want to go stay on the Islands I can highly recommend Blue Lagoon Beach Resort, though it does take awhile to get there by boat (4.5 hours) or 30 minutes by sea plane but a lot more $$$

 

[Cynicor]

Plenty of experience on here with it, so I'll bump your post.

Its a very family friendly hotel and the rooms are more like serviced apartments with small kitchen and laundry facilities.

The diving is amazing, water sports are easily accesible and you can book tours into Nadi etc. We did a day tour, 2 day dives and spent the rest of our 7 days by the pool.

Was great for the 2 of us and the kids aren't everywhere or in your face the whole time.

I suggest a week if you are the sort of people who can do nothing beside a pool, or 3-4 nights if you aren't pool/nothing people.

 

[cmon0005]

Haven't stayed at Hilton in Fiji, but have at Westin and Sheraton, they rock! Couldn't recommend it enough

 

[risky]

We stayed there a few years ago as family with 2 kids for 2 or 3 nights, before going out to one of the islands. It was very nice, clean, well serviced, etc, but we found it somewhat sterile - there are definitely better places if you have kids. It had great food, with breakfast was right next to one of the multiple pools. Anything you book from there will be way overpriced - walk out to one of the cheaper hotels nearby and book there, or book directly.

There was nothing we could fault, it just didn't quite have the atmosphere we wanted. If you are travelling without kids, it is probably perfect!

 

[Ewing]

I do not like Hilton Fiji, and will not stay there again.

I'm sure there's a post ranting of mine ranting about it somewhere, but I absolutely hated it.

I'll be back to Sheraton for future visits (even though I no longer hold Starwood status).

 

[BBB3000]

Thanks for all the tips. We will be travelling without kids and want to do more than just stay on the resort but are unsure of what to do and how to get there. Is it possible to just go to the Mamanucas and Yasawa Islands as day trips or should we stay on those islands?

 

[flyingfan]

Thanks for all the tips. We will be travelling without kids and want to do more than just stay on the resort but are unsure of what to do and how to get there. Is it possible to just go to the Mamanucas and Yasawa Islands as day trips or should we stay on those islands?

Before departing I read that the Yasawa Islands were one of the nicest parts of Fiji but they were quite removed from the main island (and we were staying at the Hilton as well). After getting on the boat to take us there we were told that each beach on the Yasawa Islands and it seems each of the smaller islands is privately owned by a resort and not open islands we could just hop on and off which had been my intention. There weren't 'day visit' options available as such.

Having said that though, after the pilot of our boat spoke with the people from the resort, there was no issue with us landing on the island. We were even given welcome drinks and allowed to use the beach chairs without charge (I would have happily paid a 'day visit' fee) and effectively stayed as guests of the resort for the day. I was content with our day visit but then again my style of touring could sometimes be considered 'express,' and three days mightn't be enough on the islands for some.

It was nice

 

[mrfreeze]

Thanks for all the tips. We will be travelling without kids and want to do more than just stay on the resort but are unsure of what to do and how to get there. Is it possible to just go to the Mamanucas and Yasawa Islands as day trips or should we stay on those islands?

Yes it is possible to do a day to to the Mamanucas or the Yasawas.
Be aware though, the further away the island the less time you will get to spend there.
From memory the maximum is around 6 hours depending on Island.

The Yasawas have 2 trips that can be done.
1 to Octopus Resort and 1 to Botaira.

The Mamanucas have a few trips.
More info for both island groups can be found at South Sea Cruises - Outstanding Day Cruises and Island Resort Connections

As I have mentioned in a post above, I have done the Seaspray trip and the Mana Island day trip.

I am not sure but I think the Mana trip is the only one where the ferry will dock at a pier.
The Yasawa Islands all require you to go ashore on a small transfer boat.