After two months in Queenstown, skiing and enjoying the breathtaking scenery, the sun is calling. Searching for the perfect tropical island, we chose the Six Senses Resort on Malolo Island in Fiji.
We’ve stayed at other Six Senses properties around the world and had great experiences, the best being Zighy Bay, on the northern tip of the Musandam Peninsula in Oman. It’s a great stopover en route to Europe if you’re flying Emirates.
Our experience staying in Fijian resorts has been a bit hit-and-miss over the years. Getting good food, excellent service, and a well-maintained resort with a good beach can be a challenge.
The resort opened in 2018, with 24 pool villas, nestled on the horse-shaped sandy beach. It was closed for a couple of years during the pandemic and reopened in 2022 after a major refurbishment. In addition to the villas, the resort has several private residences.
Getting There
We flew by helicopter, a short 15-minute ride. Alternatively, the resort has a marina, and many guests arrive by boat.
Butler Service
On arrival, we met our butler, Marika, a gorgeous young Fijian man who was our first point of contact for everything we needed: extra tea bags, restaurant bookings, spa treatments, snorkelling adventures and everything else in between. This service worked really well 24/7, and we never lacked for anything.
The Villas
Our villa, like Marika, was hard to fault. The suite opened onto our private pool, then the beach. It was generous and comfortable. In addition to our bathroom, we had an outdoor bath and shower, which I always enjoy.
Restaurants
The dining options at the Six Senses were great, with three restaurants to choose from. We were pleasantly surprised at how good the food and service were.
The kitchen is led by Executive Chef Winston Fong, a native Fijian with extensive international luxury hospitality experience. Their food philosophy is to produce nutrient-dense food, focusing on gut health, minimal refined sugar, and hyper-local sourcing.
The resort produces a remarkable amount of its own food on the property, from its extensive organic herb and vegetable gardens, mushroom hut, beehives, and even the free-range hen coop called “Cluckingham Palace”.
The restaurants are as follows:
Tovolea Restaurant & Bar is the main restaurant on the oceanfront. It overlooks the main pool and beach. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served there. The menu mimics the resort’s food philosophy, with wellness platters for breakfast; wholesome sharing plates, salads, and tapas for lunch; and plenty of seafood, local meats, and wood-grilled specials on the dinner menu.
The staff went above and beyond, grilling mahi mahi (a delicious local fish) for Tim’s breakfast each morning.
RaRa Restaurant & Bar overlooks the private marina. It’s a relaxed bistro with themed nights. There are no buffets; it’s all à la carte with table service. Global specialties including Southeast Asian, Italian, and Indian. We enjoyed an evening of aromatic curries with all the accompaniments.
TeiTei Pizzeria and Charcoal Grill is an outdoor, evening venue with tables and bench seats, very casual. Some nights, they serve hand-stretched, stone-baked pizzas topped with organic herbs plucked from the surrounding herb garden. Other evenings, there’s a live-fire grill station where chefs cook skewers, shellfish, and marinated meats over open embers right in front of you.
And for a snack during the day, there’s complimentary, house-churned ice creams and sorbets, adjacent to the deli. The deli sells artisan cheeses, cured meats, and freshly baked goods to take back to your villa.
Spa
I’m a sucker for a massage, so I made a couple of trips to the spa. It’s set in tranquil vegetation where the endangered iguanas live. Apparently, there are 38 of them living in the resort, lucky iguanas! They were declared extinct, but were rediscovered a few years ago, which is excellent news.
Each treatment room is a stand-alone villa in the tropical foliage. My massage began with a singing bowl, with high pitched ring resonating from one ear to the next. A lovely way to start a deep tissue massage and a spiritual experience.
The spa also has a sauna and hot and cold plunge pools.
Beach and snorkelling
The resort’s beach is a lovely, horseshoe-shaped stretch of sand. The sand is pale, and the water is clear. Loungers under palm trees are a lovely way to relax. The snorkelling is not great directly off the beach. however there are other options. I enjoyed a morning snorkelling, travelling 30 minutes by boat to a beautiful reef. The fish and sea life were good, but the experience was an extra cost.
However, they do offer paddle boarding, kayaking and a Hobie cat as part of their complimentary water sports.