12 hacks to know before visiting Radisson Blu Denarau, Fiji for your next family holiday

Recently my family and I were looking to go on a holiday. As big Fiji fans, we knew we wanted to go back to where we were married, on Fiji’s Coral Coast. However, with young kids (Eva is almost  4 and Freddie is just shy of 2), a 4-hour flight teamed with a 2-hour car journey to the Coral Coast just felt a bit too much like hard work.

So this time, we decided to try a hotel in Denarau, which is only 15 minutes from Nadi airport. We settled on the Radisson Blu Resort, as we found a great all-inclusive deal on My Fiji. We got breakfast for free daily, kids 0-3 ate free (or if older, got a free kid’s meal with every purchase of an adult’s meal), we also got transfers, a $FJ500 room voucher and a day trip, as well as a few other things, like free kid’s club.

All we had to pay for was lunch and dinners, spa treatments, and drinks. It seemed pretty reasonable.

We were affected slightly by a passing cyclone near Vanuatu, so unfortunately our weather wasn’t picture perfect every day, but it only ever rained in a tropical manner; for 10-15 minutes blocks maybe once or twice a day, and then it was totally swimming weather again.

I posted a little to social media throughout our stay, and I was inundated with messages asking where we were and if I recommended it. That’s the reason for this article. Young families simply don’t know where to take their families on holiday, and they often don’t have time to look!

So, what’s the vibe of the Radisson Blu, Denarau, Fiji?

Situated among 10 acres of tropical gardens, picturesque waterfalls, and a private beach, the place seems big! Definitely positioned firmly as a family-focused resort, the resort has a celebrated kid’s club, four climate-controlled pools, and an epic waterslide the kids love. Better still, there are a full list of activities throughout the day, from tug-o-war, to pool volleyball, to egg toss and frog racing!

There’s also an impressive gym and relaxing spa for the adults, as well as six unique on-site restaurants to choose from.

So here it is, 12 honest findings in the form of hacks for anyone thinking of visiting Radisson Blu Denarau, Fiji with their family.

1. Join the Radisson Blu Members Reward

Straight away you get 10% off anything you purchase, with a few exceptions, like the Mini Mart. But 10% off every food and drink bill isn’t too shabby! It also costs nothing to join, and you’re privy to future member-only promotions. I only found out about this half way through our trip and was kicking myself!

2. Check your bill intermittently

Like with any all-inclusive, pay-at-the-end bill, it’s a good idea to head to reception and get an intermittent bill, to see how your spending is going, and to ensure that you’re not being charged for anything you shouldn’t be. As different travel companies offer different deals, it can be difficult for the hotel to keep it all straight, so a quick conversation at the time the error is made might be better than trying to argue several things right at the end of your stay.

3. Check if your kids eat free, and if not, choose a deal upfront where they do

This is more a hack for when you’re booking your holiday. Find a deal where kids eat free, that way any wastage won’t put your head into a total spin, and you won’t be checking how much their meals come to at every sitting! Can confirm the kid's meals at Radisson Blu Resort were exceptional, big shout out to the Italian and Thai restaurants in parrticular.

4. Book via Luxury Escapes, My Fiji or the like, so that you can enjoy some all exclusive benefits

Further to the above point, it’s always smart to find the best deal, especially in this climate. Do you due diligence, which includes going straight to the hotel and seeing what they can offer. That way you can look at all the options and choose the one that works best for you and your family. For e.g. if you’re not big drinkers, it probably isn’t worth getting a full drinks package. 

5. Pop over to the Sheraton for a change of scenery

If you’re looking for something different for lunch, or just a change of scenery, the Sheraton is literally a 200m walk away. Just head to the beach and turn right, a few minutes later you’re there! These guys have a full poke bowl menu served by the pool at lunchtime and a fabulous feet-in-the-sand restaurant serving up amazing lunch and dinner bites.

6. Try out the kid’s club

The kid’s club is a great rainy day option for the kids, as well as a means to take a break from the pool! Kids under 4 require a nanny to accompany them along to kids club, which isn’t expensive (Maybe $AU40 for the day from memory?) and it means you have a sole caregiver for your child in case they need to go to the toilet, need their drink bottle etc) in addition to the kid’s club staff. Better still, they take the kids around the resort, partaking in Fijian craft, finding frogs and fun games!

7. Buy a weekly ticket for the ‘Bula Bus’.

This is the best way to get around Denarau. It’s a hop-on, hop-off system that arrives every 20 minutes or so, so that you can get where you’re wanting to go in a fairly timely manner. This system allows you to spend some time in the other Denarau resorts, or Port Denarau, where there are an abundance of restaurants and shopping!

8. Find out when happy hour hits, and don’t bother with the chair flags

A great way to manage your money throughout your stay, and familiarise yourself with the local delicacies, is to find out when happy hour starts! Often hotels will choose a signature cocktail to add to the list of favourites. The signature at the Radisson Blu Resort is the ‘Blu Colada’ - you guessed it, a blue-tinted pina colada! Each of the lounge chairs at the Radisson Blu have little flags you can raise to be visited by the bar staff to order lunch or drinks. In my experience, it's easier to just go up to get what you need, as everyone runs on 'Fiji time' (and why not? It's paradise!) but it means you can get thirsty - fast!

9. The Lebanese, Thai and Italian restaurants are great value for families

At first glance, these signature restaurants feel very ‘luxe’, but we found we actually got great value for money at each of these restaurants! To start with, kids eat free, so that’s a huge saving right there. The other part of that is, that the kid’s meals are huge. So big in fact that we found ourselves ordering less because we were full from the kid’s leftovers.

10. Get two rooms interconnected if you head away with the grandparents

We travelled with my mother-in-law, who is so helpful with the kids, and an extended part of the family. Our package with My Fiji included a room upgrade, so we asked for rooms that interconnected too. Each room has a little foyer you step into before you open another door to be outside in the outdoor hall passage, so if you have a family member in the neighboring room, you can simply leave the front door of each room open and have the door of the foyer closed. Instant inter-connect!

11. Share lunch to save money

We found that the serving sizes were super generous at the Radisson Blu Resort, so we would often share two lunches between the three of us, and that was more than enough. This is also because of the daily buffet breakfast (which was included in the package), our boots were filled! It meant we simply didn’t need as much to eat when midday hit.

12. Secure the pool loungers between the baby pool and waterslide

It can take a while to find the best spot by the pool, but by day 3 or 4 we could clearly see that the prime position was between the small kid’s pool and the waterslide. That way I could have eyes on Freddie in the toddler pool, and supervise Eva as she went down the slide. The towel hut was also closeby, and the swim-up bar was just a short distance away - all of these equate to very happy kids, and even happier parents!

*This holiday was paid-for in full by Olivia and her family.