Sonaisali Island Resort (pictured) and Tadrai Island Resort have been placed on the market for sale at a time when tourism to Fiji continues to grow.
The properties are being marketed for sale by CBRE Hotels, Colliers International Hotels, and The Professionals West Realty (Fiji) through an International Expressions of Interest campaign closing on August 1, 2013.
The resorts are for sale in-one-line or individually and Dean Humphries, national director of hotels at Colliers International, says the resorts present major strategic investments.
“Both properties are available with vacant possession, giving buyers the opportunity to partner with regional or international operators under an established brand,” he says.
“With the unprecedented growth in Fiji’s tourism market, we expect strong interest in these strategic property opportunities.”
Both resorts are located on large tracts of long term leasehold land (the most common form of land tenure in Fiji) and come with significant facilities, infrastructure and expansion/development opportunities.
One of Fiji’s most popular and well-known destinations, Sonaisali Island Resort is located on Naisali Island, 300 metres off Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu and 20 minutes from Nadi International Airport.
Rob Cross, regional director of CBRE Hotels, says the large-scale, four-star resort is a “truly iconic asset”.
“Sonaisali is a household name among the many Australian and New Zealand families who have stayed there over the past two decades,” he said.
The resort has been owned by the McGrath family for the past 20 years, he says.
“Having developed and operated the resort for two decades, the owners have decided the time is right to sell the property and pass it on to a new owner who can take advantage of the unprecedented trading conditions at play in Fiji,” Cross said.
The resort has an extensive inventory of 123 bures and hotel rooms as well as a large poolside restaurant, conferencing and retail facilities. It also has its own dive business, a small marina and a passenger ferry providing 24/7 access to the mainland.
Completed in 2011, the five-star Tadrai Island Resort is located on Mana Island in the Mamanuca Island Group, 15 minutes by air from Nadi International Airport or 30 minutes by water taxi from Denarau Marina.
The all-inclusive, adults-only retreat offers just five luxury beachfront villas, a restaurant, infinity pool and health spa. Each 100-metre-squared villa has its own private plunge pool and spacious en suite facilities.
The property offers significant future development potential, Cross said.
“Tadrai Island Resort is located on a large 27.6-hectare parcel of pristine coastal land with three beaches, and planning permission granted for a second resort of up to 331 rooms on the site,” he said.
“This is the last remaining parcel of land in the Mamanucas that is available for future development, making the property a strategic land holding.”
Tadrai Island Resort is the newest retreat to be opened in Fiji and is one of the country’s best kept secrets, Humphries said.
“It offers a real slice of paradise for an investor or developer,” he said. “As the closest all-inclusive, five-star resort to Nadi International Airport, its accessibility is a key demand driver over other exclusive resorts that are located in more remote locations.”
The properties come to the market at a time of unprecedented popularity of Fiji as a holiday destination, Humphries said.
“Despite a challenging global economic backdrop in recent years, visitor numbers to Fiji increased by 25% from 2009 to 2011, and are expected to reach 750,000 in 2013.”
Particularly strong growth has come from Australia, which remains Fiji’s key source of tourists, accounting for half of all visitors, he said.
“With this growth in visitor numbers, hotels and resorts are enjoying excellent trading conditions,” Humphries said. “Fiji has been the star performer in the wider Asia Pacific region over the past three years, recording exceptional growth in occupancy and room rates.”
Hotels in Fiji have recorded an exponential increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room) since 2009, Humphries said.
“With a relatively benign supply pipeline, a favourable exchange rate and the unsurpassed hospitality of the Fijian people, the performance of the resort sector is likely to flourish into the foreseeable future. The resorts therefore offer the opportunity to acquire major strategic assets in a thriving sector,” he said.