Once we stepped off the ferry onto Plantation, check-in was effortless as our host Bill ran us through what to expect during our stay. Bookings were made for us, activities organised, and care and assistance with my 6-year-old was warmly offered and even more warmly accepted. <\/p>\n
While genuine hospitality is always in supply in Fiji, Plantation Island seems to have an abundance. <\/p>\n
The room layout means my son had his own area to enjoy in the lounge. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Our accommodation, a beachfront hotel room (starting at NZ$470 a night), was modern, clean and spacious. While it was just one bedroom, the layout meant my son had his own dedicated sleep area and came with everything we needed. The room\u2019s deck overlooking the ocean also became my favourite hangout spot after my son\u2019s bedtime. <\/p>\n
Plantation is spread across a large section of Malolo Lailai Island, which means it\u2019s very easy to find your own slice of paradise with nobody else around. We visited at full occupancy, but it never felt crowded, and there was always space at the pools, beach, and quiet corners to follow a hermit crab around and feed fish. <\/p>\n
There are four pool areas across the property, and a food and drink offering right next to each, acting like hubs you can easily base yourself at for hours on end \u2013 or if you are like my son, you can go from pool to pool, so mum can never quite crack the spine of that book while poolside. <\/p>\n
We spent countless hours enjoying the many pools located across the island. Photo \/ Jenni Mortimer<\/p>\n
One of our favourite discoveries was Bowl, a poke bowl hut serving fresh salad and rice bowls that could be taken back to the pool or our room. It became our go-to for quick lunches, especially on activity-filled days (which was every day), but we were equally devoted to the smoothies from Coco Lailai and Bata Bata Milk Bar, which became part of our daily routine. <\/p>\n
And those routines came easily, because while I\u2019ve come to expect eye-watering food and beverage costs when staying in resorts, Plantation Island was refreshingly reasonable. <\/p>\n
A beer for my partner cost around FJ$9 ($6.90), a Pals RTD for me was FJ$13.5 ($10.30), and you could even nab a cocktail for just a few dollars more during happy hour. Not only did those prices feel fair, particularly given the island setting, but they were cheaper than most bars in New Zealand. <\/p>\n
The view from our room made the deck a hot spot. Photo \/ Jenni Mortimer<\/p>\n
The food offerings are a mix of value and variety, from Copra\u2019s buffet, to Tavola\u2019s \u00e0 la carte, to Black Coral Grill\u2019s finer dining. We also loved getting takeaway pizza from Copra and enjoying it on our deck on nights we didn\u2019t feel like heading out. <\/p>\n
But the smartest of all the initiatives for families is the kids eat free programme, where kids\u2019 meals are complimentary with a paying adult \u2013 at all restaurants. Gasp. <\/p>\n
As a parent who knows too well the frustration of watching your kid eat three chips and half a nugget before vanishing back to the pool, this thrilled me. <\/p>\n
Handline fishing was great for all ages and stages. Photo \/ Jenni Mortimer<\/p>\n
That value and smart planning extend to nearly every aspect of the resort experience; even the spa \u2013 a one-hour massage costs about FJ$130, ($100), a price that would be difficult to find at many spas back home, let alone in an island paradise. I quickly realised that when a resort makes experiences well-priced, indulgences suddenly become all the more enjoyable. <\/p>\n
Of course, for most kids, value isn\u2019t top of mind and the real test of a resort is whether it can keep children entertained. Thankfully, Plantation Island passed with flying colours \u2013 it was made for just this purpose. <\/p>\n
There is a great mix of paid and complimentary activities, and we spent time swimming out to the water park, joining fish-feeding sessions and making use of the resort\u2019s tennis court, basketball court and sizeable playground. <\/p>\n
We didn’t want our ride on the sea biscuit to come to an end. Photo \/ Jenni Mortimer<\/p>\n
Another Plantation Island tradition is tie-dyeing T-shirts; we constantly saw kids\u2019 colourful creations throughout the resort. At around FJ$30 ($23), it was an affordable keepsake and a rite of passage that even I indulged in, and my son proudly sported back home. <\/p>\n
For those looking for bigger adventures, there are plenty of options that won\u2019t destroy the holiday budget. We tried sea biscuiting, which cost FJ$39 ($30) per person and delivered plenty of laughter, excitement and was the highlight of our on-water adventures. <\/p>\n
We also headed out on a handline fishing trip, a dolphin-watching excursion and a snorkelling adventure which were perfect for all ages and made for some epic pics. <\/p>\n
Snorkelling in the reef off the boat was a highlight. Photo \/ Jenni Mortimer<\/p>\n
The activities were also a chance for my son to push himself to try things that may have been out of his comfort zone, which made for some heart-bursting \u201cproud mum\u201d moments. <\/p>\n
As our stay came to an end, I realised that the value of Plantation Island goes beyond money. It\u2019s the value of having endless entertainment for children, the value of feeling welcome, the value of knowing you won\u2019t have a financial hangover when you get home, and the value of creating memories together in one of the most beautiful settings in the South Pacific. <\/p>\n
For families searching for a Fiji holiday that balances tropical luxury with practical affordability, Plantation Island is difficult to beat. <\/p>\n
Golden sandy beaches and water parks made for the perfect combo. Photo \/ Jenni Mortimer<\/p>\n
Checklist<\/p>\n
Fiji<\/p>\n
GETTING THERE<\/p>\n
Fly from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch on Air New Zealand or Fiji Airways.<\/p>\n
DETAILS<\/p>\n
The writer travelled to Fiji at their own expense but was hosted on the island courtesy of Plantation Island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once we stepped off the ferry onto Plantation, check-in was effortless as our host Bill ran us through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[6433,3390,3246,156,3026,5988,2566,26092,1866,2082,78,185,2514,302,57200,194,206,14445,57201,111,139,69,9061,111568,32145,531,154260,223,19030,32561,4276],"class_list":["post-573088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-affordability","tag-best","tag-both","tag-entertainment","tag-especially","tag-families","tag-fiji","tag-fijis","tag-find","tag-for","tag-in","tag-is","tag-island","tag-its","tag-jenni","tag-kiwi","tag-luxury","tag-meets","tag-mortimer","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-often","tag-plantation","tag-practical","tag-resort","tag-stoked","tag-the","tag-tropical","tag-value","tag-why"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}