The beauty you find in 'Standard' - A Naviti Resort Review

I'm not one to celebrate my birthdays but this year I felt like I had to - for the sake of my mums 60th that's coming up in a few weeks. My mum never celebrated her 50th birthday because it was the same year that my grandmother was going to celebrate her 80th, so this year I vowed to take my mum places to celebrate before my grandmother's 90th birthday in September.

Now background story aside, let's start with the review.

I was hungover and hungry but the plan was already set for Naviti departure at 10am last Saturday. What was meant to be the Sheraton on Denarau changed at the eleventh hour because my mum thought it would be too long a bus ride for her and my three nephews. So she called Naviti on Thursday, made the booking and decided to surprise my nephews on Friday evening when they came for a sleepover.

The resort hadn't changed much since the last time I was there in 2018. I was working on the movie "Pearl in Paradise" and some of the crew members stayed at the Naviti while the others stayed at the sister hotel Warwick Fiji Resort. The checkin experience wasn't what I was expecting. I remember previous times the porters would beat the 'lali' as guests made their way to check in - but not this time. Maybe it was because we were 2 hours early for check in. All that aside, Maika at reception was very kind and patient with us and allowed us early check-in so we didn't have to wait for 2pm. Cold Fiji Water were being served as 'welcome drinks' which came right on time because we all were dying of thirst from the dry and humid coral coast weather.

We made our way to room 324 on the west wing and my nephews were so excited to see what the room looked like. It was a Standard Garden Room (because my budget said so LOL) and was suitable for a family with three kids and although the structure and some furniture were as old as the first time I visited Naviti in 2002, the upkeep was brilliant so nobody could tell. There was a double bunk in one room and a double bed and a single bed in the other.

After settling in we changed into our swimmers and went out for a dip. The pool wasn't that bad at all. It was a decent sized pool which I assume was still under some sort of construction judging by the cones and cement debris along the sides, but that didn't stop us. The combination of the heat and my hangover was excruciating so a dip in the pool wasn't a bad idea after all. Of course, my mum didn't want to waste any time since we were only there for a night so she headed straight for the bar to order her glass of wine and read her novel.

Now to the food. I'm a lover for pizza and there are some places where the pizzas are nice and there are some places where the pizzas aren't all that. The Naviti Resort's pizzas has to be on my top 3 favorite pizza's so far - alongside Holiday Inn and Bad Dogs. We ordered a large Hawaiian and a large Meat Lovers on the in-room dining menu. There was a generous amount of everything on each of the pizza's and they were delivered within minutes of your order. This really is the perfect thing to do when you're at a hotel and just want to relax in bed and binge watch your favorite tv series.

My alarm came on at exactly 7am the next morning. My nephews were already awake and ready for breakfast while my mum was still asleep. We slowly got ready and walked out the door with a plan set in place - breakfast, walk across to the man-made island, take photos, pack our bags ready, swim and head back home. I wasn't quite impressed with the 'full buffet breakfast' that morning. I was expecting more options and a variety of choices when it came to hot or cold breakfast but I was content either way - bacon wins my heart all the time. My nephews felt so fancy twisting the cereal dispenser and ordering their morning eggs and it was good to see them experience the 'hotel and resort' life at a young age. I was 10 when I first visited Naviti and back then I didn't even know what poached eggs looked like and there was only one cereal I knew and that was Corn Flakes.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning walking across to the man-made island. Every hotel staff we'd walk pass would always greet us with a "BULA" and a smile and my nephews being so inquisitive would ask, "why does everyone have to say Bula ?". We headed back to the pool for our final swim and the kids went to their favorite Pool Bartender, Liku, to order their soft drinks.

You see this is what got to me over the weekend. It's not until you're older and it's not until you're exposed to all these materialistic things that you become miss boujie fancy pants. My nephews (12,10 and 8) didn't care what the room looked like or whether it was a beach front or a suite, the pure joy and excitement in their eyes was so contagious that it made me realize that not everybody wants fancy things to be happy. My nephews were over joyed with just that standard room and couldn't stop thanking me and their nanna for taking them on that trip. Their humility and their appreciation for something so 'standard' was the best birthday gift I could ever ask for.

Thank you to the Naviti Resort team for a lovely weekend. Here's to 28! xx