Tokatoka Resort Fiji
Readers Reviews
Chris Jones
January 2003
We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids 8 and 10, who travelled
to Fiji from 24 December 2002 to 11 January 2003. We stayed at Tokatoka Resort,
Oarsman Lodge, Crusoes Retreat and Castaway Island.
Tokatoka has a fantastic pool/outdoor dining complex and is
definitely recommended. The kids just loved the pool and waterslide, and they
enjoyed having a TV in the room. We rather enjoyed a trip into Nadi and also a
local taxi driver for F$60 took us on a half day tour of the fairly interesting
local sights (First Landing, Viseisei, Lautoka Markets - where we just managed
to escape the clutches of the infamous sword sellers - and Garden of the
Sleeping Giant).
We flew on a Turtle Air seaplane to Oarsman Lodge in the
Yasawas. The adults enjoyed the trip over the coral reefs, the kids were hot and
uninterested. We're sorry to say we didn't enjoy our time at the Oarsman Lodge
at all. The beach is great and the snorkelling also, and the food was good (but
sometimes too spicy for the kids). The bure was small but okay. Not okay was
having very intermittent water supply. When it is hot with a family you need the
basics and we were really unhappy with the lack of water. (There was a sign up
indicating that it might have been a temporary problem but we have considerable
doubts). There was also a general air of disorganisation eg having to wait a
couple of hours with all our luggage when we arrived. The hosts also didn't seem
interested in what the guests might want to do as opposed to what the hosts
might want to do. There were limited activities. All in all we were very pleased
to leave Oarsman's Lodge and it is not recommended for a family.
We then went via Kula Eco Park (recommended) to Crusoes
Retreat on the Coral Coast. This Resort was just great and is very highly
recommended. Management and staff went out of their way to be helpful. The
Resort is set in pleasant gardens, with a nice pool. Food was excellent with
wide variety. Each day the Resort had an itinerary of mainly free activities
such as a nature walk, basket weaving, trip on a boat to the Mangroves, snorkel
and glass bottom boat trips, fishing trips, meke etc. There are also canoes etc.
The kids also enjoyed playing with the numerous hermit crabs near the beach, and
if you looked closely you could also find little mudskipper fish which sometimes
hopped around out of the water. In the evening it was nice to sit on the patio
and be serenaded by a chorus of frogs. All in all the kids really enjoyed this
Resort and it was the favourite of the adults. On top of that it was really
outstanding value. You do need to note though that the bedrooms contain two
double beds rather than singles, which in our opinion was a very minor matter in
all the circumstances. We would incidentally tend to recommend a "beachfront"
bure.
We then returned up the Coral Coast and took the boat to
Castaway Island, which is also highly recommended. This is an expensive and on
the whole well managed resort, with nice bures. We had a beachfront bure and
this is definitely recommended as then generally you are only a few metres from
the sea. The beach is very nice and the snorkelling off the beach good. A
snorkelling trip by boat is recommended but only for kids who are confident
swimmers (and watch for sunburn!). Our older child enjoyed going round the
Island on the Banana boat, but again this is for somewhat more confident
swimmers. We went on tandem parasails with both kids and this was worth the
F$160 or whatever it cost. Kids Club was a mixed experience. Certainly it wasn't
as good as we had hoped - no good for older kids during the day, but a lot
better attended in the evenings. Castaway's food was excellent, with the Meal
Plan probably recommended. Castaway has a very nice pool and a well stocked
shop. There were some small niggles eg the staff (despite complying to tedious
extreme with instructions to say Bula to everyone) had obviously not been
instructed to clear up glass pieces. There was quite a bit of glass around
including in the kids dining area and it was just luck that no-one was cut.
Still, our stay at Castaway was overall very pleasant and we also highly
recommend this Resort.
In conclusion despite it being the hot season (low to mid
30's) we had a very good holiday.
Grace and Chris
September 2002
We spent two weeks in Fiji in
September 2002 for our belated honeymoon, with 7 nights at The Fijian, 5 nights
at Mana Island and the first and last night of our trip at the Tokatoka.
We stayed in a studio villa at the Tokatoka as our flights were late night/early morning ones to and from Auckland.
We were really impressed with the Tokatoka considering most guests only stay a
night or two before moving on elsewhere. The room was basic but very clean and
quiet and more than enough space for my husband, myself and our 7 year old who
can't stop jumping around. The staff were mostly very friendly, in fact probably
the friendliest out of all the resorts we stayed at and the atmosphere at night
around the restaurant/bar area was lively and fun. The food (excluding the
buffet) and drinks were reasonably priced, and there is an excellent souvenir
shop by reception. The swimming pool is nice although very deep, especially at
the bottom of the waterslide, however we think the resort has plans to renovate
the pool which will hopefully make it more suitable for younger children. The
gardens around the villas are very pretty and tidy and all the walkways are
covered, meaning that even though it rained our son could indulge in his love of
running around the entire resort, without getting wet. The resort is only a
couple of minutes away from Nadi airport and runs a free shuttle 24 hours a day
although if you don't have much luggage you could walk to the airport if you
felt the urge for some exercise. We really enjoyed our short time at the
Tokatoka and would have happily spent another day or two there. We managed to
get a good look at many of the other hotels near the airport and apart from the
Tokatoka, the Fiji Mocambo was the only other one we thought looked nice enough
to spend a night in.
We then went to The Fijian where we
spent 7 nights in an Ocean View Room. We were originally given a room in the
Golden Cowrie wing but were moved after we complained that these were not like
the Ocean View Rooms pictured in their brochure. The room we had in the Ocean
Wing was bigger, much nicer and more modern, although it was a bit of a walk to
the main pool. We really loved this place and were impressed by how well
maintained and looked after it is. The food again was quite expensive, although
this seems to be the norm in most resorts in Fiji, and we were glad we had
purchased meal plans before we left NZ. The buffet breakfasts and dinners in the
Lagoon Terrace restaurant were outstanding and most kids meals were pretty good,
although at lunchtime the kids restaurant is chaotic and service is slow. The
staff running the kids club were great although our son preferred to join in at
night after dinner as he was content to just sit on the beach and play in the
sand. The facilities at the resort were very well maintained, with plenty to do
and the golf course is really nice although expensive for 9 holes. The resort
also had some nice shops although we enjoyed the shopping trip into Sigatoka
which was a good chance to pick up reasonably priced snacks and souvenirs. We
would definitely recommend this resort to anyone.
We wanted to see the islands so we
then spent 5 nights at Mana Island resort. Big mistake!. This place was a dump
from start to finish and my husband commented it was no better than a
backpacker's but at 5 star prices. Mana Island itself is very beautiful and the
beaches are outstanding, however the Japanese owners of the resort don't appear
to want to spend any money on upgrading it and the second part of our holiday
was really spoilt by staying there. The resort is geared towards Japanese
honeymooners, who are shown around and have everything explained as soon as they
arrive. The rest of us were told a few basic things and then left to figure out
everything ourselves. We spoke to several other families from Aust. and NZ and
everyone felt the same as us. We really resented being treated as second-class
citizens because we weren't Japanese. The garden bures were small and some
looked like they were on the verge of falling over, and the deluxe hotel room we
had was small and very noisy. Totally unsuitable for children. We were
eventually moved to a deluxe bure which was bigger and much quieter and I would
recommend these as the minimum for anyone staying at Mana. The food was very
expensive, most staff were not particularly friendly and we ended up eating
dinner at the backpackers next door some nights. The motorised activities were
very expensive, the games room was basic and the swimming pool is in serious
need of renovation. The only positive comments we have about Mana were that the
staff in the kids club were really nice, happy hour was good value, the
snorkelling was outstanding and the free Meke show was good. We wish we had
chosen another island to spend our honeymoon on and won't be going back to Mana
again.
Apart from Mana Island we had a
fantastic time in Fiji and hope to return one day to visit some of the other
islands.
The Edwards Family
My husband and I recently took our 3 children to Fiji
for a 2 week vacation. Our experiences went from excellent to disappointing and
unsatisfactory. So much so that I felt the need to share the pluses and the
pitfalls.
Accommodation.
1/ Tokatoka Resort, Nadi. This is the second time we
have stayed here. It is a value for money resort very close to the airport and
has a free shuttle. It is clean with cooking facilities, has a great pool
complex, relatively inexpensive food and bar facilities, a great souvenir shop.
The staff are really helpful and friendly. The other really great feature is the
rooms interconnect so if travelling with others like grandparents or as we did,
Uncle and Aunty, they can comfortably accommodate 7 people. This is a great
place for stopping over when travelling to the outer Islands etc....and is on
the free bus route for Denarua Marina.
2/.Lakomai Resort, Malolo Island. This was the big
disappointment. Wonderful setting, where over a week the other guests become
friends. However it is tidal with mudflats and everything was very expensive,
what I consider poor value for money. Food $28 a plate and not justified, some
of the bures have cooking facilities so be organized and take your own food and
beverages. Taking a family means that you will probably be stuck in a villa up
on the hill, we were at the top of 150 steep, poorly lit concrete stairs. It was
a major hill climb and hopeless for supervising children easily. Although, I had
specifically requested more than once, for a unit to be next to the Uncle and
Aunty, as we were sharing food, and this booking had been confirmed. Once we
arrived on the island we were told that you get the accommodation they choose to
give you, and so a reasonable request to be close to the pool area and beach to
supervise your children may well be ignored. Also, although we had booked a unit
that sleeps 6 and we had informed them 5 would be coming, one of the children
had no bedding and we were running around at midnight on the first night up and
down the 150 stairs trying to find a pillow and some sheets for one of the
children. We also ran out of drinking water, which is supplied in 20 litre
containers outside your Bure, for a 12 hour period. All the activities were on
the expensive side, snorkelling, handline fishing, and visiting other resorts,
ranged from $16 to $25 an adult and children 1/2 price. As you were isolated,
this made sight seeing very expensive otherwise you were stuck at the resort. I
know that this pricing structure was on the expensive side compared with other
local resorts. Also each person was required to pay an activity fee for the non
motorised beach equipment of $20, the kayaks leaked and 2 were not in use, the
wind surfers were out of order, the ski boat was out of order, the spy boards
leaked. There were no boats or hobie cats available for use. And that is what we
got for our $50 activity fee. If you are planning to stay here be prepared to
pay. Take your own food and lots of mosquito repellent because they have a major
problem with the bities. The Fijians are lovely, shame about the management. The
customer is not always right and we were told this in no uncertain terms.
3/ Worldmark Denarau. This place is COOL, the kids
loved it, go find out for yourselves, you won't regret it. Great apartments can
accommodate up to 8 people,lovely staff and excellent service, huge pool on the
beach front, kids club, lots of activities and everything works. And for mum,
Fijian massages and a bar in the pool. Also they have a restaurant with salad
bar lunch and dinner at $10 a plate, takeaway. Enough salad for sandwiches for 7
for lunch, or to have with steak for dinner. Good value, and if your partly self
catering like we were, one less thing to worry about.
Activities
1/.Kula Eco Park, about 10 minutes past Sigatoka,
straight across road from the Outrigger Resort, 1 hour from Nadi. Lovely park,
$45 for a family, kids got to hold a baby Boa Constrictor and have Fred the
large green gecko climb all over their heads.
2/.Fire Walking, this was impossible to organise and
much to the disappointment of the children we ended up missing out on. But I now
know that the Fijian resort and the Sheraton resort do have fire walking shows
midweek, (at the Fijian, Tues & Fri nights 1830hrs). Don't try and book thru
the tour operators as we did and ended up at fire dancing not fire walking, go
straight to the Fijian or Sheraton.
Food
For the budget conscious ,we took 60 kg of food
with us from New Zealand. The food was all pre-packaged and sealed straight off
the supermarket shelves. Easy meals such as 3 minute macaroni cheese and
chocolate microwave cake, kept the costs down and with a little preplanning and
thought meant that I was still on holiday and not slaving over a hot stove. We
did eat out, and I personally would rather pay $48 a head for a special treat
dinner at the Sheraton than $10-$12 a head for a toasted sandwich and chips. We
also took meat, (steak ,sausages , lunch meats etc. are available packaged,
ready to travel with all the documentation from a firm in Auckland called Garret
enterprises). Following the rules, we had no problems at all getting the food
into Fiji. Planning to eat all your meals from the resort restaurants anywhere
in Fiji is expensive and will take a large chunk out of your holiday money,
everyone we spoke to commented on how much food was costing them. Even a small
bowl of chips will cost $4 and when travelling with kids it soon adds up.
But all said and done ,the Edwards family
love Fiji and are already planning their next visit. Vinaka (thankyou) Fiji
until next time.
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