Guest Feedback

We just returned from the most amazing vacation in Fiji and Coral Palms was one of the highlights. I’m so glad I found this vacation rental… it was perfect for us. We went with our 3 kids (5, 3 and 3mth old), grandma and grandpa, and another family with a 5yo and we all had such a great time. The house was great! It had 6 bedrooms of which we really only used 4. All four rooms opened out right onto the back deck which had a pool, lounge chairs, a BBQ, a covered eating area big enough for 10, 2 massage tables and was just steps down onto the beach leading into very calm, clean, clear Fiji water filled with lots of coral and beautiful fish. You literally swam in knee to waist-high water just a few meters in to see the fish which was great with the little ones. The five year olds could just put on some floaties and goggles and just look underwater and see tons of fish. This is great for a paranoid mother like me. There was no need to swim out far. I could just stand right next to my daughter and guide her around to various areas. She loved seeing the fish. There were tons! We saw some of the biggest and bluest starfish I’ve ever seen. Out in the water, the owners have anchored down a floating, covered raft that had 2 padded lounge chairs. It was only maybe a 100m out so an easy swim or walk out to it. It was great to lay on to relax and the kids liked to sit on it too while waiting for their turns to kayak. Yup, the house also comes with 2 kayaks you can use at any time. It was perfect because the water was so calm, we let our kids kayak on their own (with mom or dad holding onto the rope leash attached). They loved learning how to kayak! The water was warm to cool and always clean and comfortable. However, you must wear water shoes/reef walkers/booties or whatever you like to call them because there is coral everywhere so not safe to walk without foot protection. We brought our own but the house also had a good variety of used shoes we could use. There were even a few kid sized ones that our 3 and 5yr olds could fit.

The house was great. Very large and open. The dining table could fit all of us easily and there were plenty of plates and cutlery. All the rooms were spacious and the beds were comfortable. The best part about the house was Jabina – the house girl. She is a lovely twenty-something year old Indian girl who is hired by the owners to take care of the house and cook for you or babysit. She did all that and more and was wonderful! Jabina works M-F from 8:30-3:30 but will stay on later if you need her for $4FJD per hour. Jabina was wonderful. She cooked us amazing meals and would often make more than we asked knowing we would need more food for our large group. She kept the house tidy and even babysat for us. Just treat her with respect and don’t ask her to do too much – she’s only human. We appreciated having her there as it’s not so much of a vacation when you have to do all the cooking and cleaning. She was quick and efficient and never intrusive and she made such yummy food for us. I wish I could have brought her home with me!

The house also has air conditioning in all the bedrooms but it only activates at night on some sort of timer. I was worried about this as I knew Fiji could be really hot and humid and worried about my infant being too hot during the day but it wasn’t an issue at all. All the rooms had ceiling fans and there were other portable fans. With that and some nice sea breezes, my baby was never uncomfortable. She slept in the cot provided by the owners which was very safe and secure. It was great being able to let her sleep in a good cot in the room and still be able to go swimming at the pool or beach since it was right there and there was always someone within earshot/eyesight of her. I never felt cooped up staying with the baby as I did when we were in a resort. The air conditioners at night were great because you definitely need to close all the doors to the house at night to keep the mosquitoes out so it would get stuffy inside if not for the air conditioners. I wish there was an airconditioner in the mainly living area as we spent most of our evenings there talking or playing games. It would get a bit stuffy and hot. there are ceiling fans but it didn’t do much in such a large room but I understand why it wouldn’t be there as it would be very easy to abuse the use of the air conditioners.

What else, oh, the caretakers… they were wonderful and helped us out of a lot of jams. They are there to help answer questions and get things fixed that are broken. David and Liisa were wonderful and very friendly. They help fill any pre-requests you put in with the owners such as go to the market and shop for your groceries so you have food available when you first arrive which was great! They have their own accommodations attached to the house so they never are in your way.

The house is also located in a great location. Near a couple big resorts just a few minutes away and the local bus drives right by the gate. We took the bus into Sigatoka for less than $2FJD each and only 20mins.

The owners also provide you with the contact info for a local private driver which was great for us because his van could fit our whole group (6 adults and 4kids in carseats) which meant we didn’t have to try to get 2 or 3 taxis. What was also wonderful is that the owners have carseats were were able to use so we didn’t have to bring our own though we did bring our Sit n’ Stroll for the baby. The other 3 were able to use the ones provided even though they are a bit older and don’t legally need to, I felt more comfortable having them use the carseats for the 1.5-2hr drive to and from the airport.

We pretty much never left the house as there was plenty to do there. We only went on one excursion to visit the waterfall at Biausevu Village. Also, two of us took the bus into Sigatoka. Otherwise, we just stayed at the house and relaxed. The house had everything we needed. The owners even provide you with the use of a cell phone so you can call the driver or Jabina or whatever local numbers needed (with $10FJD credit). You can easily buy more credit which we did need to do. They really have thought of everything you need. All the rooms have dvd players (though all the tv’s are mounted high up) and there are dvd’s you can rent. A great stereo system with lots of cds provided (no ipod dock). There are 2 refrigerators for all the food and small fridges in a few of the rooms and sinks too.

My only worry during our stay was the pool as it is always an area of worry when you have small children around. It’s not a negative but I was constantly on guard all the time making sure to watch for the children. You could see the pool from all the rooms which was good but there’s no gate so we made sure all the doors were properly locked each night just in case. The pool is about 4-8ft deep or so throughout so not really good for small kids except a small jacuzzi like area that was perfect toddler size but it connected directly to the rest of the pool that was deep. Definitely bring floaties and blow up rings and stuff for the children because without those, the kids would not have had fun. I wouldn’t have been able to hold my kids and stand most of the time so having them in floaties made it fun.
But we still loved our time there. It went so fast! I would rent this house again in a heartbeat and recommend to all my friends with or without kids. Much better than staying at a resort!

- Annie