Outrigger celebrates 15th anniversary milestone
Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort is now celebrating its 15th anniversary.
Employing more than 550 Fijian staff, in 2014 it was named ‘Number One Family Resort’ in Australia and the South Pacific in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards and is ranked among the top 25 best family resorts in the world.
Outrigger Asia Pacific managing director Darren Edmonstone said that the company was extremely proud of the property’s success and outstanding reputation for offering guests an authentic Fijian beachfront holiday experience.
“The success of this property stems largely from Geoff Shaw’s vision, the natural charm of our Fijian hosts and Outrigger’s values-led management culture that has over 68 years of experience operating resorts in island destinations,” said Mr. Edmonstone.
“Planning is well underway for numerous capital projects that will see the property and its facilities elevated which will set the direction for the future as well as demonstrate Outrigger Resorts’ ongoing commitment and faith in Fiji and the strength of its tourism industry,” he said.
In 1989, Mr. Shaw bought what was then a small tourism property built on the site of a former dairy farm and undertook a major refurbishment, including diverting a portion of the Queen’s Highway, the main road between Nadi and Suva, around the site creating the original 72 room ‘The Reef Resort’.
In 1999, he collaborated with Outrigger Enterprises Group in a joint venture. Together, at a cost of FJ$50million (US$23 million), they rebuilt the site to include 254 rooms and thatched bures based on the architectural style of a traditional Fijian waterfront village.
The new property was named The Outrigger Reef Fiji and received its first guests in October2000. In 2004, the hotel was renamed Outrigger On The Lagoon Fiji and in the same year it was rated five star by AAA Tourism, Australia.
In February 2014, Mr Shaw sold his complete shareholding to Outrigger Enterprises Group and earlier this year, as part of a global brand repositioning by the Hawaii-based family company, it was renamed Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort.
Work on the new capital projects is scheduled to commence in February 2016 with an upgrade to the resort’s main lagoon swimming pool.
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