TRAVEL: FIJI
FANTASY ISLAND
A trip to Fiji’s Laucala Island reveals a private island-turned-resort that still treats every guest like an owner. By Neal McLennan
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week ago, I had never even heard of Laucala Island, a 3,500-acre dot nuzzling up to Fiji’s far northeast maritime border. A day ago, I was still mispronouncing the name – the “c” is a kind of relaxed, Fijian soft c, producing the Lau-THAla sound. And now, as I approach the island by air, a modern airport and 4,000-foot landing strip materializing out of the remote, hewn rock, I have a momentary disconnect from reality. During my stay, I’ll come to think of this pleasantly disconcerting feeling as a “Laucala moment,” the house specialty in this secluded paradise. Such moments are exactly why the island’s original owner, Malcolm Forbes, chose this place as his spiritual getaway. For Forbes, a man who loved nothing as much as a grand gesture, Laucala served as an ultraexclusive hideaway for his friends – like Elizabeth Taylor and various Rockefellers – to get away from it all and enjoy a Laucala Bomb cocktail or two. But thanks to the island’s new owner and a full-scale reimagining of its facilities, this tropical idyll is now open for business – albeit to a very select group of potential guests. I step off the jet and right into Laucala moment number two: A fivepiece band performs on cue as my feet hit the tarmac. They play me a welcome song before draping a strand of kukui nuts around my neck and placing a freshly cut coconut in my hand. The welcoming committee disperses into a convoy of shiny new Land Rovers, and we make our way to the main lodge. Laucala has 25 villas inspired by bures, traditional Fijian structures dotted along its northern flank. Some are on stilts over the water, Bora Bora-style, while some are full-blown multi-bedroom villas, but all are surrounded by gardens that ensure complete privacy, which turns out to be hugely important as there’s exactly one other four-member family visiting the island. “Geez, I hope there won’t be any lineups,” I joke to the helpful staff member ushering me to my bure. “I don’t think so,” he deadpans. “We have five restaurants and 300 staff.”
Sporting Life
My room does have a grass roof, but it’s not exactly Gilligan’s Island. Within its 3,200 square feet there are two flat screen TVs, three showers, indoor and outdoor bathtubs, indoor and outdoor dining rooms, its own massage pavilion and a private swimming pool.
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Experience