TravelAge West Senior Editor David Peterkofsky recently visited Qamea Beach Resort in Northern Fiji. His report follows.Though wholesalers and travel agents presumably sell Fiji’s Qamea Beach Resort as the low-key, laid-back island hideaway that it is, apparently some clients don’t get the message.
“Occasionally,” said Randy Young, the affable New Zealander who serves as one of the managers of Qamea Beach Resort, “we’ll get someone in a suit and tie who has to be carried off the boat.”
The boat he’s referring to shuttles guests to Qamea from nearby Taveuni Island, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the amusing mental image of the man in the suit out of my head during my stay.
But, Young assured me, people like the man in the suit don’t show up very often. At Qamea, after all, wearing a sulu wrap and no shoes to dinner is perfectly acceptable. And that’s precisely the allure of staying here.
Getting to Qamea, a property on its own island, is a bit of an adventure, but one that’s well worth it. From Nadi International Airport on Fiji’s main island, it’s an hour-and-a-half flight (with one stop) on a 20-seat turboprop plane to Taveuni, followed by a 20-minute, vertebrae-rattling van ride past waving islanders washing their clothes in streams by the roadside to a beach. A 10-minute speedboat ride takes you the rest of the way to Qamea.
First-Name Basis
Arriving at the resort, guests quickly acclimate to the resort’s muted yet classy ambience. That elegant informality pervades the 12-bure (bungalow) property, from the lack of locks on the bure doors (wooden latches attached to rocks on strings keep them shut), to the rhythmic beating of drums beckoning guests to the main bure three times daily for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. The staff refers to guests by their names throughout their stays.
Qamea is a collection of bamboo and thatched-roof bures amid towering coconut trees with a lush mountainous backdrop. The bures feature dark mahogany floors and basic but comfortable furniture. Ceiling fans keep guests cool, and white mosquito nets hang above the beds. Televisions and telephones are nowhere to be found.
But it’s the resort’s tranquil setting that ranks as the main attraction. A lush, six-mile-long island that ranks 12th in size among Fiji’s 300-plus islands, Qamea offers only the resort and a nearby village as far as infrastructure goes. On the resort grounds, tiki torches light the pathways leading from the bures to the main bure, which houses the dining room.
Honeymoon Hot Spot
The rustic atmosphere makes the resort popular with honeymooners, and Qamea designates one of the 12 bures as its honeymoon suite. The resort, Young said, gets most of its visitors from North America, and sure enough, I met a honeymoon couple from Canada during my stay.
Admittedly, it was hard to miss them we were the only three guests at the resort while I was there. In fact, Qamea, because many of its visitors come from the United States, has suffered since Sept. 11, with occupancy levels dipping below 70% this spring. Prior to 9/11, it was approximately 90%, Young said. To lure guests to Qamea, the resort offers a seventh-night-free special (see hotel review for rack rates).
Free activities include snorkeling (there’s plenty to see right off the main beach), kayaking and hiking through a corner of the island’s interior to the secluded “honeymoon” beach. For a fee, there’s fishing and scuba diving at more than 20 sites within a 20-minute boat ride from the island. For fees starting at about $35, guests may visit nearby Taveuni Island to see waterfalls in a national park.
But there’s no dry cleaner at Qamea, so tell your clients to leave their business suits at home.
HOTEL REVIEW
Hits: Get-away-from-civilization solitude, with no phones or television; excellent snorkeling.
Misses: A bit buggy, though bures include mosquito nets and insect repellent.
Clientele: Upscale, privacy-seeking couples. Be Aware: No children under 13 allowed at the resort.
Rates: Through March 2003, for a beachfront bure, $550 per couple, per night, $450 per night, single, and $650, triple; the honeymoon suite runs $700. Rates include all meals and airport transfers.
Contacts: (011) 679 880220; fax (011) 679 880092; e-mail [email protected]. Web site: www.qamea.com.
