Laucala Island

Malcolm Forbes bought the island of Laucala in 1972, farmed copra on it and asked to be buried there; his grave stands on a hill above the lagoon. The island lies off the north-east coast of Taveuni in Fiji's Northern Division, 3,500 acres of rainforest, coconut plantation, volcanic hills and beach, and since 2008 it has been run as a single resort of 25 villas, Laucala Island.

History

Dietrich Mateschitz, the Austrian co-founder of Red Bull, bought Laucala from the Forbes family in 2003. He spent several years and a far larger sum than the purchase price rebuilding it, and the resort opened in 2008. The island kept its Fijian village, whose residents work on the estate, and the old copra plantation was turned into a farm. Mateschitz died in 2022 and the island passed to his family. From the start the resort was run on an all-inclusive basis with most activities in the price, and it has been priced at the top of the Pacific market ever since.

Architecture and design

The villas were built in a Fijian idiom, with thatched roofs, timber posts, open sides and private pools, spread so far apart around the coast and up the hills that guests rarely see one another; the resort's rule was that each villa should feel like the only one on the island. Native timber and stone were used throughout. Public buildings, among them the Plantation House and the Rock Lounge, follow the same style. The general approach was to keep the rainforest and shoreline as they were and to hide the resort inside them.

Rooms and suites

The 25 villas are of several kinds: one-bedroom Plantation and Seagrass villas, a two-bedroom Overwater Villa on stilts in the lagoon, the Plateau Villa on the hill and the Peninsula Villa on its own headland, each with a pool and a staff of several. The largest is the Hilltop Estate, the former Mateschitz residence, with three bedrooms, a 25-metre pool and its own staff; it can be reserved only with the owner's approval. Each villa has a dedicated attendant and a buggy for the island's roads.

Dining

The island grows and raises much of what it serves: the farm has cattle, pigs, chickens and a hydroponic garden, fishermen bring in the catch, and the plantation gives coconut, cocoa, vanilla and fruit. There are five restaurants and bars: the Plantation House for formal dinners, the Seagrass Lounge over the water for Asian dishes, the Beach Bar, the Rock Lounge on a headland and the Pool Bar. The island brews its own beer and makes its own chocolate.

Wellness

The spa sits beside a waterfall in the rainforest, with treatment rooms, a hammam and pools. The main pool complex has a lagoon-style pool with a swim-up bar. Golf is on an 18-hole course laid out by David McLay Kidd across the plateau and along the coast. The island has a marina, a submersible for lagoon dives, horses, a dive centre on the reef and a tennis centre.

Weddings and events

Laucala takes weddings, either for a couple in one villa or with the whole island reserved by a single party, which is the usual way large celebrations are held; a buy-out gives use of all 25 villas and every restaurant. Meetings are not a focus, though company retreats have booked the island in full. The village church on the island is used for ceremonies by arrangement.

Location

Laucala has its own airstrip, and the resort's aircraft fly guests from Nadi International Airport in about 50 minutes, or from Taveuni in a few minutes. Seaplane and helicopter transfers are also arranged. The island lies east of Taveuni, the garden island, and next to Qamea, in the north-east of the Fijian group. Among resorts on Fijian islands, it is the largest private estate run for a single resort.