Castaway Island Fiji officially reopened for business yesterday, three months after Tropical Cyclone Winston swept overhead.
A property under the Outrigger Resorts chain, it upgraded and refurbished a number of bures (traditionally thatched structures) and public areas for the private island resort, which turns 50 this November.
” Winston may have been classified as the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in Fiji in recorded history, but the reopening of our beautiful island resort just three short months after such a severe storm is proof that our Castaway Island vuvale, our family, is so much stronger and more resilient than any storm can be,” said resort general manager, Steven Andrews, in a statement.
Of the island’s 56 bures, 14 were either completely rebuilt of upgraded, along with the outdoor kitchen servicing the resort’s awarding-winning restaurant, 1808.
“Castaway Island has a 40 percent return guest rate and the highest guest satisfaction scores in the Outrigger portfolio, so we are very much looking forward to being able to open the doors and continue this trend,” Mr Andrews added.
The property was the first private island resort to be developed in the tourism hub of the Mamanuca Group of islands.
Only ten percent of the private island – traditionally known as Qalito – is occupied by the resort.