Tl;dr – This will be Marriott’s first Ritz-Carlton hotel in the South Pacific.
Big news out of Marriott today as the “M” has announced plans to open the Ritz-Carlton Fiji, Namuka Bay, on the southern Coast of the main island of Viti Levu, in 2030. Located in the Coral Coast area, the Resort will be just over an hour from Nadi International Airport.
This news arrives at an interesting time for both Fiji’s tourism industry and the broader South Pacific travel industry. Fiji has recently announced plans (and secured funding from the World Bank) to expand the capacity of its secondary international airport in Suva (the Ritz is 3.5 hours from Nausori International Airport). Additionally, the island nation is developing a new international airport on its second-largest island, Vanua Levu, in hopes of increasing tourism to both that island and Tauveni, the “Garden Island” (the third-largest in Fiji).
Fiji Airways also became a full-fledged oneworld Alliance member earlier this year, which aligns with my prediction that the Alaska-Hawaiian merger would be huge for opening up travel to the South Pacific islands. This is all to say that by the time this Ritz-Carlton opens, the infrastructure in place to help travelers get to the Resort could be much stronger. Let’s dive in.
The Ritz-Carlton Fiji, Namuka Bay
After some digging, I’m pretty sure that this will be a renovation of an existing-but-shuttered property, the Namuka Bay Resort. From this development company’s website, you can see that the Namuka Bay Resort’s villas are a near replica of the rendering below from Marriott. The room counts are roughly the same, but the Ritz will have a few more. There will be 166 guest rooms and suites, in addition to 83 villas, all of which will feature a private plunge pool and outdoor deck.
For dining, current plans include seven distinct outlets, allowing guests to spend several days at the property and enjoy a variety of options.
Regarding amenities, the property will feature two large pools, a yoga studio, a gym, tennis courts, and a Ritz Kids club. The Ritz-Carlton Spa will feature a sauna, plunge pools, and a salon.
I found some older photos from the Resort’s management depicting its landscape and surroundings, and I can definitely see the potential for this property.
The Ritz-Carlton has the chance to be Fiji’s top luxury property – at least on its main island – when it comes to market. Most of Fiji’s popular resorts are located on or near Denarau Island. There are a few resorts in the Yasawa Islands group. I actually stayed at the Sheraton Tokoriki several years ago, but getting to them requires a boat trip on the Yasawa Flyer or, if you don’t mind dropping a bag of cash, a helicopter ride.
Notably, there’s also a Shangri-La located near the future Ritz, on Yanuca Island. This property dates back to the 1960s and was most recently renovated in 2005.
