THE GUIDE - Rough Guide to Fiji - page 243

ACCOMMODATION: LEVUKA
Small guesthouses make up the majority of Levuka's accommodation options. Although
there are less than fifty rooms in total, the only time you will struggle to find a place to stay
is during “Back to Levuka Week”, the town's heritage festival (mid-Oct), when booking is
essential.
Clara's Holiday Lodge Beach St 344 0013. This quaint colonial-style home with a cream-
coloured picket fence is a little deceiving from the outside - this is by far the cheapest accom-
modation in town. The tiny rooms are a little musty, la ck sc reens o n the windows and share
cold-water bathrooms. Rates include breakfast. Dorms F$20 ; rooms F$50
Levuka Homestay Church St 344 0777, levukahomestay.com . This delightful mod-
ern homestay ranks amongst the best in Fiji. Run by an Australian couple, it has just four
a/c guest rooms staggered up the hillside, with simple furnishings and cosy bathrooms. The
breakfast is an event in itself, with freshly made fruit smoothies, fruit, hom e-made muesli, a
cooked breakfast, fresh tea or brewed coffee. Rates include breakfast. F$170
New Mavinda Lodge North Beach St 337 0995, [e-mail] .
This mock-palatial modern building - with high ceilings complete with glittering chandeliers,
and shiny ceramic floors that give off an echo as you walk - seems completely out of place in
Levuka. All eleven rooms have TV and a/c, and the clinical eight-bed dorm has its own his-
and-hers hot-water en-suite bathrooms - not bad for the p rice. Th ere's even a laundry service
and Internet access. Rates include breakfast. Dorms F$30 ; rooms F$80
Oniviro Cottage Vakaviti, North Levuka 344 0166, owlfiji.com/holidaycottage.htm .
This tiny one-bedroom bungalow located just over 1km north of Levuka is the only holiday
home on Ovalau and sits in a spacious landscaped garden under the looming Gun Rock cliff.
The lounge-cum-kitchen i is well furnished but the hot-water bathroom and toilet is accessed
from outside. Weekly rate F$650
Ovalau Holiday Resort North Levuka 344 0329, owlfiji.com/resort.htm . Although this
bungalow-style resort is not the most practical base, being 5km north of Levuka town, it does
boast a small sandy beach with fair snorkelling across the road, a swimming pool and a good
restaurant serving tasty, well pre sente d food. The five basic cottages sleep up to six people,
making them handy for families. F$77
Royal Hotel Robbie's Lane 344 0024, royallevuka.com . Originally constructed in the
1860s and rebuilt in 1916 after a devastating fire, the Royal is the oldest hotel in Fiji. The
main building has plenty of colonial character, and the fifteen rooms upstairs come with
slanted wooden floorboards, creaking four-poster beds and tiny bathrooms. The five modern
cottages in front of the swimming pool overlooking Beach St are a lot more comfortable. The
staff can appear rather aloof, but with a full-siz ed bi lliard tabl e, In ternet café, bicycles and
laundry there's a lot going for this place. Rooms F$53 ; cottages F$94