Denarau Island () is a small private resort development on the western side of

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian ...

in the Republic of Fiji. The 2.55 km² resort is reached via a short causeway over a creek and is located 5 km north west of the town

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

and 10 km west of Nadi International Airport. Denarau is known for its hotels and resorts, with the 18-hole Denarau Golf course as its centrepiece. The development includes international chains such as Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson,

Westin Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by Marriott International. , the Westin Brand has 226 properties with 82,608 rooms in multiple countries in addition to 58 hotels with 15,741 rooms in the pipeline. History Wester ...

Sofitel Sofitel Hotels & Resorts are a French hotel chain of luxury hotels based in Paris, France, and owned by Accor since 1980. Founded in 1964 in France, Sofitel quickly developed worldwide to reach more than 200 properties. In 2008, Sofitel became ...

and Wyndham (formerly Worldmark). Denarau Marina is located in Denarau Island and provides sea transfer services to the island chains of the Mamanucas and the Yasawas. Port Denarau, as well as containing Denarau Marina, is a shopping precinct with a variety of restaurants, a supermarket, bakery, hairdressers and tour operators.

History

The development of Denarau Island started in 1969, when American developer Dennis McElrath purchased the land. The first hotel, the Regent of Fiji (now the Westin Denarau) opened in 1975.https://web.archive.org/web/20190128151452/https://www.denarau.com/history/ Between 1988 and 1991, Japanese property developer EIE International purchased all of Denarau in stages and started on a $200 million development project, bulldozing 850 acres of mangrove forest and building an 18-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

, a marina and more hotels. After EIE went bankrupt in 1995, the resort was purchased by a consortium of Tabua Investments of New Zealand, ITT Sheraton and

Air Pacific Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, ...

References

External links

Denarau Island Resort website
* Populated places in Fiji Islands of Fiji Ba Province Viti Levu {{fiji-geo-stub