Written By : PETER LOMAS. HOT SPRINGS HOTEL

The Hot Springs sits on the hillside just above the town’s waterfront-hugging single main street. It is a prime position. Near the geothermal springs that give it its name, and with a spectacular view of the town and waters below.
Local identities Tim (an airline pilot) and Lorna (an airline marketing specialist) Eden operate this establishment with a famous old name and a modern history.
The original Hot Springs Hotel was run by members of one of the district’s old copra plantation families, the Leppers. The Leppers sold the site to the then South Pacific Hotels group.
South Pacific Hotels was developing a chain of Travelodges in Fiji in the 1960s and 1970s. It built the modern Savusavu Travelodge.
The chain is gone. Now the Edens proudly operate the hotel under the old name of the Hot Springs. They make no claims to running a five-star resort. They put an emphasis on a place that is clean, comfortable, friendly and affordable.

DAKU RESORT

John “JJ” and Delia Rothnie–Jones are typical of many former world travellers you find in Savusavu. This British couple came to Savusavu and fell in love with it. They made it their home.
They bought and upgraded the Daku Resort. Then they developed a nice business bringing in groups of like-minded people for their week-long “retreats” led by a range of top instructors.
Their “Paradise Courses” include on writing, painting, singing, yoga, textile art, quilting, and birdwatching
But Daku offers more. A recent family group posting on the well read TripAdvisor website is typical of many about the resort. It reads:
“We had been to Fiji twice before but this trip was by far the best, thanks to the incredible staff and the relaxed atmosphere. It is perfection without being precious and just good fun. We will definitely be back, the children have already started saving for the Fiji Fund to ensure that it won’t be too long.”

JEAN–MICHEL COUSTEAU

General Manager Greg Taylor is passionate about the special touches this multi-award-winning resort offers. He presides over a genuine luxury resort of just 25 spacious bures set amidst a coconut plantation beside Savusavu Bay.
“When I first started marketing the resort in Australia one of the misconceptions we had to deal with was that some people thought that with a name like Cousteau it must be all about diving,” he says.
That’s because Jean-Michel Cousteau is the son of famed ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and an international marine conservationist himself.
But, Mr Taylor stresses, there is far more on offer: “Less than half our guests dive. We really pride ourselves on being a range of activities and not just diving.”
They include the dining. “Our food has won best food service a couple of times in all of the Pacific.”