Hideaway Resort, Coral Coast

The Hideaway is one of the many mid price range resorts on the Coral Coast. And in many ways, it's also one of my favorites. I prefer this over the higher priced "Outrigger on the Lagoon" (which is still a fantastic resort)... the overall feel of the place, the nicely laid out bures, friendly staff, and good food.

Rooms

We only stayed in one bure, so I don't have any experience of the others. However, we did get a chance to look in some others that were empty, and they looked great.

The one we stayed in was a standard Garden Bure (#38, I recommend that end of the resort, if you have any choice), and we found it very comfortable, quiet (well away from the pool, bar etc) and there was good swimming in the lagoon right outside. We could literally throw a stone into the ocean from our front veranda.

No TV, but did we care? Not at all! The bathroom was clean and tidy, with great showers. Yes, two of them, inside and outside showers. Tea/coffee making facilities, fridge, safe, etc. What was missing was closet space. Nowhere to hang shirts, dresses or what have you. So we kept everything in suitcases. But apart from that minor niggle, everything was great.

A great pool, which has a water slide for the kids

Meals/Restaurant/Bar

If you book throught a travel agent, they will probably offer you the Rydges meal plan (many resorts have something similar). You pay the price for the plan, and all meals are included during your stay. We did look at this ourselves. However, we decided not to get the plan, and it was probably the best option for us.

My advice is that, unless you are a big eater, and intend being present at the resort for all meals during your vacation, you may not get full value from the plan. I know we certainly wouldn't have.

If the extra money isn't a factor, then sure. Buy the plan. But if you want more flexibility, and save some cash while doing it, then just skip it. For a start, the accommodation packages come with breakfast. Not just toast and juice, but you can get a full breakfast. If you want something at midday, then you can grab a pizza at the bar quite cheaply...and that is plenty big enough to split for two people. They do great salads too. And then you only have to splash out for dinner.

But you can even make a saving here, by grabbing some supplies on your way to the resort. We probably saved 50% on the cost of a meal plan, over a week. Simply because we weren't present for all the meals (we would go off exploring for the day, take trips and tours, etc.) We certainly didn't go hungry, and we had plenty of nice meals at the restaurant too. A full meal for two, with dessert, and a beer and wine will probably cost around fj$100, so you are paying "resort prices".

Drinks aren't cheap either, but what did you expect? A small bottle of "Fiji Gold" light beer will set you back somewhere close to fj$10. Of course, if you felt so inclined, you could stop and grab a few of them on the way to the resort, for around fj$3-4 each.

Facilities

Rydges has all the usual facilities that you expect at a resort like this. I definitely recommend the restuarant and the spa. Snorkelling gear is good quality, and free to use, though the lagoon is only deep enough at 3/4 to full tide. They do have a "kids club" too, and some very helpful people at the tour desk.

Internet is via a computer in the reception lobby (no wifi or hotspots when I was there in Nov 2009, though that may have changed by now). It wasn't particularly cheap...though price seemed to vary depending on who was on the desk. It sometimes seemed like they picked a number at random, and that's what you got charged. Generally, late in the evening was the best time to get on the computer. Everyone else wanted to do their emails etc first thing in the morning.

Overall...

We loved it here, and would go back in preference to most of the other Coral Coast resorts. Not overly expensive, plenty of facilities, with comfortable accommodation. If you enjoy surfing, then there is a good right hand break almost directly in front of the resort. While the restaurant is perhaps a little pricey, it's no more so than any other resort in this area...and the food is delicious. We enjoyed the breakfasts too, as well as the pizzas. It's only a 20min taxi ride into Sigatoka, so close enough to have an afternoon out exploring.