about to book royal davui fiji... any warnings, advice, or recommendations?!?

kamiawi · March 2012

After researching everything from the caribbean to greece to bali to thailand to the south pacific, i think we have finally decided on fiji. We have been offered a pretty good deal through our TA on the Royal Davui in Fiji. I made sure that the deluxe villa we would be getting has a heated pool (all were recently installed) as this seemed to be the number one complaint... but i'm also reading horror stories about snakes and mosquitos (who i tend to be a magnet to in the summer). I've also heard that alcohol is ridiculously priced and you need to bring everything from the airport to make it affordable.

have any of you ladies stayed at this resort? any first hand information would be greatly appreciated. My fiance is pretty much set on booking this tomorrow, things seem to be booking up fast so he's in a hurry. I just want to make sure we are making the right choice!

Thanks so much!

Jells2dot0 · March 2012

There are a handful of knotties who have stayed here. I have been to Fiji, but not to Royal Davui. Pretty much any tropical destination is going to have mosquitos, so just bring along plenty of bug spray. I found that I wasn't bothered too much by them in Fiji, Tahiti, the Seychelles, or other tropical destinations, but have gotten eaten alive in Mauritius! I spent about 10 days traveling all over Fiji and didn't see a snake once while I was there. But, again, it's a tropical destination and there are critters running around. Just be mindful to not agitate anything to prevent any unwanted encounters. Alcohol is more expensive in Fiji, but I didn't think it to be any more than any other resort I have ever stayed at. Everything is imported, so there is a slight premium for it. Definitely bringing some liquor from duty free would help. The exchange between the USD and the FJD has been decent, so you won't get hit there.
I personally think the Royal Davui is a fabulous choice and when I head back to Fiji, I most certainly want to stay there!

Cinderella30 · March 2012

Bula! My husband and I spend a week at Royal Davui for our HM last October. The food is great and the people and service are beyond compare. Alcohol is expensive but they have Happy Hour, which helps, and you can definitely bring your own from the airport. Mosquitoes weren't a problem and we did see one snake but thankfully we had our flashlights with us (it's dark at night and they provide a flashlight....I would take it since I probably would've stepped on the snake if I hadn't had it). At night you won't be able to leave the doors to the villa open unless you like to share with tons of critters but it's alright. You will see geckos in your room but they don't do anything and they run away from you. If you wish to do the sandbar picnic I would suggest you book it early since it books up fast. You don't mention when you're going but try to book an early picnic since the tide starts to come in even earlier in mid-October. We were unable to go since the tide never went down for our 2pm picnic ; (. Take advantage of the snorkeling...it's absolutely breathtaking. We even snorkeled with the baby sharks! Royal Davui was a true Fijian experience. You and your husband will have a blast!

SuMmErKuTiE · March 2012

We honeymooned in Fiji, but we stayed at Qamea Resort & Spa. I didn't notice that the mosquitos were any worse than they are here in the U.S. or the Caribbean. The resort also kept bug sprays in the main area for people to use if they needed it. I also never saw any snakes, thankfully considering they skeeve me out like nothing else! :-P

As for the price of alcohol, the resort we stayed at (Qamea) currently is serving local beer, champagne and wine for free at their resort through the next year. It's their new promotion. Which is a fantastic deal considering we spent like $10-$12 per drink while we were there. If the cost of alcohol is a concern to you and your FI, I would definitely look into either splitting your trip and staying at Qamea for a few nights or switching it to there completely. We booked a honeymoon bure that had a private hot tub in it's courtyard and outdoor rock shower, but they have the honeymoon villa and premium villas with private pools which I'm pretty sure are heated. as well.

kamiawi · March 2012

Thank you for the information ladies, this helps so much!

We are planning to go at the end of september. Cinderella, when did you travel? How was the weather then?

Summerkutie - Thanks!I took your advice and we just got a quote for the royal beach houses at Qamea!! It came out just a couple hundred over the Royal Davui! With their offer on drinks right now this definitely evens out. However, I've read that the weather can be overcast/windy and rainy on this Island. When did you go? Did you have any bad weather? Some reviews say these pools are heated but other say they aren't and are too cold to swim in, so I definitely need to figure that out. If they aren't we might as well go for the honeymoon bure instead!

Ahh. This is such a hard choice!

SuMmErKuTiE · March 2012

We went at the end of June into early July. The first day and a half it was overcast and rainy so I got upset thinking it was going to be like that the whole time. Once it cleared up, it was sunny and beautiful for the rest of our time there. I have plenty of pics in my married bio under the honeymoon tab of our stay at Qamea.

Cinderella30 · March 2012

Kamia
I sent you a pm.

girlinchicago · March 2012

We got married and began our hm at Royal Davui. I absolutely recommend it all the time on this board. We had an amazing experience there - very individualized service, everyone will know your name and treat you like an old friend; the rooms are very well constructed and designed for beauty, privacy and they have a very "bring the outdoors in" feeling to them. The reef surround RD is a marine sanctuary, so the snorkeling and diving are ridiculous - we saw sharks on our first day out.

One of the things I thought was so unique to RD was the fact that it was its own little private island. It's memorable for sure - you can take one of their kayaks out and kayak around the whole island in 15 minutes! Although it's a small island, there's still lots to do. Our hm package included some massages, plus we won more massages in their weekly crab races (sounds cheesy but totally fun), we snorkeled, did the secluded sandspit picnic (a once in a lifetime experience), did a village visit, participated in a kava ceremony.

Really, I can't say enough amazing things about Royal Davui. The other hotel we stayed at (Likuliku) was also very nice, but not as memorable as our time at Royal Davui. Really, I think it's worth every penny and more. I know I sound like I work for the place...it's just really special to me, especially since we got married there.

Tons of pictures in case you want to see them - bobandkate.shutterfly.com

aweb55 · March 2012

We just booked our HM at Royal Davui! We will be going the first couple weeks of August. We booked a Deluxe Villa also because we wanted a heated plunge pool. I am also terrified of snakes and I asked my travel agent about this who has stayed their before and she said she only saw 1 because the workers went out to find it because guests wanted to see a snake. I did a lot of research and found that Royal Davui was the best option for my FI and I. Good luck!

girlinchicago · March 2012

Snakes - do NOT worry about them! We saw 3 while we were there. 2 of those times, they were minding their own business and the third time, it was well hidden and a staff member showed it for us.

Royal Davui is absolutely amazing. Do NOT let that be the deciding factor!

Santorini2011 · March 2012

We spent the month of Sept traveling through Fiji (main island and outer islands). It was wonderful. While we didn't go to RD, my general tips are to buy the local bugspray (stronger than USA stuff), lots of sunscreen, buy water and alcohol before going to an outer island, and an extra memory card

. Snorkeling is phenomenal! Talk to the locals. Def try the kava, and yes, you can bring it home. Mongooses (mongeese?) are common and control the snake population. Not really a concern...we even did jungle treks and were fine.

about to book royal davui fiji... any warnings, advice, or recommendations?!?

Re: about to book royal davui fiji... any warnings, advice, or recommendations?!?

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