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Fiji

Is Not Just for Lovers

Two movies, three meals, and eight Our four-room, treehouse-style
by Lisa Spiller, Luxury Travel Advisor
hours of sleep later, we touched down in bungalow surpassed every expectation.
affiliated with Preferred Travel & Company.
Nadi before catching a short connection Complete with a private plunge pool,
Lisa@PreferredNaples.com
to Savusavu on Vanua Levu—often called floaties, beach cruisers, a pool table, and a
www.preferrednaples.com “Fiji’s hidden paradise.” fully stocked kitchen brimming with drinks
he biggest tragedy of my Upon arriving at the luxurious Namale and snacks, it felt less like a hotel and more
otherwise perfect marriage is Resort & Spa, we wasted no time slipping like a perfectly imagined home away from
T that my husband doesn’t share into our swimsuits and heading straight home.
my insatiable wanderlust and passion for the spa. We eased into the holiday with At night, we slipped into sarongs and
for travel. So when, in February 2025, I their signature aromatherapy circuit— flip-flops and followed a torchlit path that
was chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime trip moving between cold plunge pools, the flickered softly in the dark, leading us to
to Fiji in partnership with Tourism Fiji sauna, and a tropical rain shower—while the resort’s open-air restaurant. There, we
and Fiji Airways, I saw an opportunity. we waited for our room to be ready. savored fresh fish and fragrant curry under
I strategically planned the trip over It already felt like the start of the the night sky. As we ate, local villagers
Valentine’s Day and presented it as an ultimate girls’ health-and-wellness escape. gathered nearby, seated cross-legged on
irresistible romantic getaway—surely a gift A pair of barefoot, brightly dressed woven grass mats, strumming guitars,
he couldn’t turn down. iTaukei women—hibiscus blooms tucked ukuleles, and bamboo instruments. Their
As our tragedy goes, Jay said “No.” behind their ears—soon arrived to collect voices rose together in warm, harmonious
My coping mechanism for his lack of us in a golf cart. With effortless warmth renditions of classic Fijian songs.
participation in my “opportunities” is to and the familiarity of family, they poured us Drawn in by the music, we joined them
have a girlfriend on standby. I wasted no champagne from the front seat and passed on the wood floor and were invited to take
time calling my girlfriend Stacy and telling it over their shoulders while they navigated part in a traditional kava ceremony—a
her she was “IN,” to which she responded the bump and crunch of crushed seashell ritual that embodies Fijian hospitality.
with screams of ecstasy and the sound of pathways enroute to our fantasy suite The kava root was carefully prepared,
bags being packed. overlooking the South Pacific.
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