Not to mention white sandy beaches, tropical rainforests, blue lagoons…
Yeah, alright COMO Laucala Island, we get the point. You’re beautiful…
As yet another storm lashes the UK, Fiji seems even further away. But hey, we have faith, travel will return. And when it does, COMO Laucala Island is going to be close to the top of our wishlist.
You have to admire a hotel company that has a private island collection, frankly, and Laucala Island joins the likes of COMO Parrot Cay and COMO Maalifushi in that enviable portfolio. It’s a 5.4 square mile island resort in the South Pacific, offering unspoiled wilderness, those aforementioned sandy beaches etc., plus volcanic mountains, mangroves and coconut groves, in a unique and carefully protected ecosystem.
There are 25 residences, each with their own COMO butler, spread out across private beaches, above lagoons, atop hills and mountains. There’s also a private airstrip accessed by a 45-minute private air charter from the country’s Nadi International Airport. When they say “exclusive sanctuary” they mean it.
The residences range in size from 3000 to 4000sqm, all feature private pools, views out across the Pacific and have been built with natural Fijian wood in a South Pacific style. Should you feel like leaving the residences, the island also features a tropical 18-hole David McLay Kidd-designed golf course (a first for COMO), a wide range of land and water activities, a fleet of jet-skis, sailing and game fishing boats as well as jet boats and diving boats. The resort also offers horse-riding, mountain biking, nature hikes and tennis.
Dining-wise, COMO are seeking to minimise impact on the environment so, in line with COMO’s farm-to-table philosophy, the island’s five dining options receive fresh produce from the resort’s 240-acre farm, cultivating a wide range of organic crops and livestock including chickens, quail and wagyu cattle, plus fresh seafood supplied by local fishermen. Can we end Covid soon please?
Neil Davey
Neil Davey is a freelance writer specialising in things you can do sitting down, but mostly eating, drinking, travelling and interviewing the odd famous person. The author of The Bluffer's Guide To Chocolate, Neil also writes for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Metro, Delicious Magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine, Escapism, Foodism and Hello!. Thanks to a karaoke machine in Montana, he once told a billionaire that he loved his sweet little pussycat nose and sang I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with a Hollywood star, in the space of 15 minutes. He now generally stays away from karaoke machines in Montana.