Fijian Resort Rendering 1965
Shangri-La's Fijian Resort and Spa
Yanuca Island (pronounced Ya-NU-tha), Sigatoka, Fiji
Post WWII, Pan American Airways hired Pete Slimmer to set up commissary services in various Pacific locations including Fiji. In 1960, Pete moved his family to the Fiji Islands, where he helped pioneer Fiji's tourism industry. Pete Slimmer attended San Francisco City College, and graduated from the Hospitality Management program. Pete Slimmer was a gourmet cook, who helped found the Skylodge Retreat in Fiji in 1960. Irishman Paddy Doyle was a civil engineer who in 1958 arrived in Fiji to help build the jet runway and international airport at Nadi.
Slimmer and Doyle acquired some barracks which had been used by a construction crew during the 18 months it took to build the new jet strip at Nadi. That was in March 1960. They spent six months renovating and air-conditioning the barracks, building a swimming pool, hotel bar then started addiing rooms. They began with 40 beds, and by 1964 had 100. Slimmer and Doyle were key figures in several Fiji companies. in addition to the Skylodge was the duty-free liquor concession at the airport and the new Mocambo Hotel, not far from the Skylodge. The airport's construction crew barracks evolved into the simple but swinging Skylodge Hotel. The airline crews flying between Australia and United States were housed there for periods of rest. The Skylodge hotel attracted the flight crews from Pan Am, Canadian Pacific & Quantas. The hotel's bar never closed - as the crews came in during all hours of the day. Paddy Doyle worked the desk and was the frequent bartender.
From the Skylodge financial success Pete Slimmer, Paddy Doyle and a Pan Am pilot developed the Hotel Fijian, one of the first full service resorts in the South Pacific. They had two sites in mind — Yanuca Island (a 100 acre mangrove swamp) and Natadola Beach. Mr Doyle and Mr Slimmer managed to persuade sceptical Pan Am pilot George Wilson and formed Fiji Resorts Limited with Mr. Wilson as chairman. On January 1, 1964 Fiji Resorts Limited secured a 99 year lease on half of the Yanuca Island from the 23 members of the tokatoka Nakuruvakarua with Adi Lady Lala named chief negotiator and appointed to a directorship of Fiji Resorts Ltd.. Later Mr. Ratu Aisea Waka Vosailagi gained a directorship position of Fiji Resorts Ltd. In 1969 the landowners formally agreed to lease out the whole island to Fiji Resorts Ltd. The annual land lease was F$ 20,000. Also a 1% fee is imposed on the resort's revenue exceeding F$ 1,800,000.
For financing The Fijian Village Mr. Slimmer and Mr. Wilson persuaded funding from British Overseas Airways, Pan American Airlines and Qantas. A grant was also received from the Fiji Government. More than $1million was raised in 23 days. About 250 workers, mostly villagers, helped construct a causeway across the 150 yard channel which separated the island from the mainland. On June 25, 1966, a foundation stone for the first 36 of the 108 lagoon wing rooms was overseen by Sir Derek Jakeway, the last Governor of Fiji before Independence. The buildings were completed in 18 months at a cost of $1.7million.
A competition was held on the name of the new resort. The short list compiled were Yanuca Island Resort, The Driftwood, Fiji Driftwood Hotel, Blue Lagoon Island Resort, Black Marlin Bay Hotel, Hibiscus Island Hotel, Turtle Reef Hotel, Golden Cowrie Hotel, Lokalevu (Big Surf) Hotel and Lewena (Content) Hotel. Out of all these, one name stood out and was finally chosen — The Fijian. It sounded simple but was brilliant from a promotional, marketing and branding standpoint.
The Fijian was designed by Pete Wemberly, same architect who did the Sheraton Maui and the Samoan Intercontinental. The Fijian Hotel & Resort opened in September of 1968 and was the "It" destination in the South Pacific. The Hotel Fijian had such luxuries as Muzak, room refridgerators, air conditioning & automatic coffee makers. The 108 room resort boasted a golf course, tennis courts, horse stables, sail boats and featured diving & snorkeling. The traditional opening ceremony was on October 22, 1967. The resort was opened by the Bau chief’s father, the late Vunivalu and Governor General of Fiji Ratu Sir George Cakobau and Adi Litia Cakobau. The resort began business with Paddy Doyle as general manager. The restaurants were named Lagoon Restaurant, Golden Cowrie Restaurant and Black Marlin Bar.
The Slimmer/Doyle/Wilson interests were sold in 1974 to Malaysian-Chinese business magnate Robert Kuok. Kuok had introduced a luxury hotel brand in 1971, named Shangri-La, after the fictional utopia in which inhabitants enjoy unheard-of longevity. Robert Kuok is a highly respected businessman in Asia - a legendary Chinese entrepreneur, commodities trader, hotelier and property mogul. Kuok's wealth is rooted in palm oil and shipping. At age 94 Kuok's personal wealth was $18.9 billion according to the Forbes’ 2018 The World’s Billionaires list. With the change in ownership, the resort came under the management of the Kuok owned Shangri-La International Group and the davui conch shell was replaced by the Shangri-La logo. Over the years Shangri La invested heavily in the resort and with the additional expansion, the facility today boasts 442 rooms, suites and beach bures, two swimming pools, five restaurants, six bars, a Peter Thomson designed nine hole golf course, a popular wedding chapel, world-class spa, as well as duty-free shops and extensive sporting facilities. As of 2018 The Fijian is 51 years old and has been under Shangri La's ownership and management for 44 years. Kuok’s second son, Kuok Khoon Ean, 57, heads Shangri-La Asia Limited which owns 71.64% of the Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort. Paddy Doyle later developed the Crow's Nest along the Coral Coast at Karotoga. The Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa was a benchmark for setting standards for service and innovation as Fiji emerged as a world-class tourism destination.
Robert Kuok invested in Fiji because of a chance meeting with Ratu Penaia Ganilau in the 1940's and his experience trading sugar in Fiji. Mr. Kuok had travelled to Fiji and spent a lot of time at The Fijian Resort during his sugar business dealings. He snatched up the opportunity to purchase the resort in 1974. The hotel was then the second hotel in the Shangri-La chain — which today is 100 hotels strong. Robert Kuok's grandson, Kuok Meng Xiong, known as M.X to hotel staff, is the chairman of board of directors Fiji Resorts Limited.
Starting in 2017 the Shangri-La Group is investing $72 million to give the Yanuca Island property a major makeover. The first phase involved enhancing staff facilities which included a brand new kitchen, lockers, changing room and laundry. Phase two will see complete renovation of the ocean and coral wing.
In January, 2017 Francis Lee was appointed general manager at the Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort & Spa. Mr. Lee was the General Manager of the Hylandia by Shangri-La Hotel in Yunnan, China He replaces Craig Powell who has taken on a full time role as Director of Public Affairs for Fiji Resorts Ltd. In 2014 Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa announced the appointment of Craig Powell as General Manager. He replaced Michael Monks who was general manager since 2010. Powell is a Fiji islander who was born in Singapore but grew up in Fiji. He attended Ecole Les Roches Hospitality School, one of the top four hotel management schools worldwide. He graduated from Les Roches in 1994. In January 2018 Treasure Island Fiji appointed Craig Powell as its new General Manager. Monks, as of 2017, is the General Manager at Sunway Putra Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
Bios of the 3 men who created Fiji's first destination resort - The Fijian
* Patrick “Paddy” Doyle - was born in Dublin, Ireland, and graduated from the National University of Ireland as an engineer in 1944. He served with the Royal Engineers until 1948. Mr Doyle came to Fiji in 1956 as deputy chief in the construction of Nadi Airport’s new jet runway. He became the director of Fiji Resorts Limited which later acquired the Fiji Mocambo Hotel and was project manager for the construction of The Fijian Hotel. He was The Fijian’s first general manager and served from 1967 to 1973. My Doyle was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1986 for his contribution to the development of the Fiji tourism industry and the Nadi International Airport. He was buried at sea off Cuvu Harbour on March 16, 1990.
* Peter Slimmer - Mr Slimmer was born in Chico, California, educated in Oakland and San Francisco and took a two-year course in hotel and restaurant management at City College. He was in catering in the US Merchant Marines during WWII and then with associates, started a bar in Reno, Nevada. This did not work out so he joined Pan American Airline’s commissary section in 1950, becoming Superintendent for the Pacific Area, working from head office in San Francisco and also in Honolulu. In this capacity he frequently visited Fiji and saw the potential for its future.
* George Wilson - Mr Wilson was a Pan Am pilot who first flew down to the South Pacific in 1951. He saw the potential for Fiji to become Australia’s Hawaii, hopefully without the concrete high-rise. He was a remarkable man with a flair for finance and a record of successful real estate deals in the Seattle area. He was later dubbed “Fiji’s Flying Financier” by an American business magazine. He became managing director of Fiji Mocambo Holdings and later chairman of Fiji Resorts Limited.
Compiled by Dick Johnson / January, 2019
richardlloydjohnson@hotmail.com
Fijian Resort Rendering 1965
Shangri-La's Fijian Resort and Spa
Yanuca Island (pronounced Ya-NU-tha), Sigatoka, Fiji
Post WWII, Pan American Airways hired Pete Slimmer to set up commissary services in various Pacific locations including Fiji. In 1960, Pete moved his family to the Fiji Islands, where he helped pioneer Fiji's tourism industry. Pete Slimmer attended San Francisco City College, and graduated from the Hospitality Management program. Pete Slimmer was a gourmet cook, who helped found the Skylodge Retreat in Fiji in 1960. Irishman Paddy Doyle was a civil engineer who in 1958 arrived in Fiji to help build the jet runway and international airport at Nadi.
Slimmer and Doyle acquired some barracks which had been used by a construction crew during the 18 months it took to build the new jet strip at Nadi. That was in March 1960. They spent six months renovating and air-conditioning the barracks, building a swimming pool, hotel bar then started addiing rooms. They began with 40 beds, and by 1964 had 100. Slimmer and Doyle were key figures in several Fiji companies. in addition to the Skylodge was the duty-free liquor concession at the airport and the new Mocambo Hotel, not far from the Skylodge. The airport's construction crew barracks evolved into the simple but swinging Skylodge Hotel. The airline crews flying between Australia and United States were housed there for periods of rest. The Skylodge hotel attracted the flight crews from Pan Am, Canadian Pacific & Quantas. The hotel's bar never closed - as the crews came in during all hours of the day. Paddy Doyle worked the desk and was the frequent bartender.
From the Skylodge financial success Pete Slimmer, Paddy Doyle and a Pan Am pilot developed the Hotel Fijian, one of the first full service resorts in the South Pacific. They had two sites in mind — Yanuca Island (a 100 acre mangrove swamp) and Natadola Beach. Mr Doyle and Mr Slimmer managed to persuade sceptical Pan Am pilot George Wilson and formed Fiji Resorts Limited with Mr. Wilson as chairman. On January 1, 1964 Fiji Resorts Limited secured a 99 year lease on half of the Yanuca Island from the 23 members of the tokatoka Nakuruvakarua with Adi Lady Lala named chief negotiator and appointed to a directorship of Fiji Resorts Ltd.. Later Mr. Ratu Aisea Waka Vosailagi gained a directorship position of Fiji Resorts Ltd. In 1969 the landowners formally agreed to lease out the whole island to Fiji Resorts Ltd. The annual land lease was F$ 20,000. Also a 1% fee is imposed on the resort's revenue exceeding F$ 1,800,000.
For financing The Fijian Village Mr. Slimmer and Mr. Wilson persuaded funding from British Overseas Airways, Pan American Airlines and Qantas. A grant was also received from the Fiji Government. More than $1million was raised in 23 days. About 250 workers, mostly villagers, helped construct a causeway across the 150 yard channel which separated the island from the mainland. On June 25, 1966, a foundation stone for the first 36 of the 108 lagoon wing rooms was overseen by Sir Derek Jakeway, the last Governor of Fiji before Independence. The buildings were completed in 18 months at a cost of $1.7million.
A competition was held on the name of the new resort. The short list compiled were Yanuca Island Resort, The Driftwood, Fiji Driftwood Hotel, Blue Lagoon Island Resort, Black Marlin Bay Hotel, Hibiscus Island Hotel, Turtle Reef Hotel, Golden Cowrie Hotel, Lokalevu (Big Surf) Hotel and Lewena (Content) Hotel. Out of all these, one name stood out and was finally chosen — The Fijian. It sounded simple but was brilliant from a promotional, marketing and branding standpoint.
The Fijian was designed by Pete Wemberly, same architect who did the Sheraton Maui and the Samoan Intercontinental. The Fijian Hotel & Resort opened in September of 1968 and was the "It" destination in the South Pacific. The Hotel Fijian had such luxuries as Muzak, room refridgerators, air conditioning & automatic coffee makers. The 108 room resort boasted a golf course, tennis courts, horse stables, sail boats and featured diving & snorkeling. The traditional opening ceremony was on October 22, 1967. The resort was opened by the Bau chief’s father, the late Vunivalu and Governor General of Fiji Ratu Sir George Cakobau and Adi Litia Cakobau. The resort began business with Paddy Doyle as general manager. The restaurants were named Lagoon Restaurant, Golden Cowrie Restaurant and Black Marlin Bar.
The Slimmer/Doyle/Wilson interests were sold in 1974 to Malaysian-Chinese business magnate Robert Kuok. Kuok had introduced a luxury hotel brand in 1971, named Shangri-La, after the fictional utopia in which inhabitants enjoy unheard-of longevity. Robert Kuok is a highly respected businessman in Asia - a legendary Chinese entrepreneur, commodities trader, hotelier and property mogul. Kuok's wealth is rooted in palm oil and shipping. At age 94 Kuok's personal wealth was $18.9 billion according to the Forbes’ 2018 The World’s Billionaires list. With the change in ownership, the resort came under the management of the Kuok owned Shangri-La International Group and the davui conch shell was replaced by the Shangri-La logo. Over the years Shangri La invested heavily in the resort and with the additional expansion, the facility today boasts 442 rooms, suites and beach bures, two swimming pools, five restaurants, six bars, a Peter Thomson designed nine hole golf course, a popular wedding chapel, world-class spa, as well as duty-free shops and extensive sporting facilities. As of 2018 The Fijian is 51 years old and has been under Shangri La's ownership and management for 44 years. Kuok’s second son, Kuok Khoon Ean, 57, heads Shangri-La Asia Limited which owns 71.64% of the Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort. Paddy Doyle later developed the Crow's Nest along the Coral Coast at Karotoga. The Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa was a benchmark for setting standards for service and innovation as Fiji emerged as a world-class tourism destination.
Robert Kuok invested in Fiji because of a chance meeting with Ratu Penaia Ganilau in the 1940's and his experience trading sugar in Fiji. Mr. Kuok had travelled to Fiji and spent a lot of time at The Fijian Resort during his sugar business dealings. He snatched up the opportunity to purchase the resort in 1974. The hotel was then the second hotel in the Shangri-La chain — which today is 100 hotels strong. Robert Kuok's grandson, Kuok Meng Xiong, known as M.X to hotel staff, is the chairman of board of directors Fiji Resorts Limited.
Starting in 2017 the Shangri-La Group is investing $72 million to give the Yanuca Island property a major makeover. The first phase involved enhancing staff facilities which included a brand new kitchen, lockers, changing room and laundry. Phase two will see complete renovation of the ocean and coral wing.
In January, 2017 Francis Lee was appointed general manager at the Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort & Spa. Mr. Lee was the General Manager of the Hylandia by Shangri-La Hotel in Yunnan, China He replaces Craig Powell who has taken on a full time role as Director of Public Affairs for Fiji Resorts Ltd. In 2014 Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa announced the appointment of Craig Powell as General Manager. He replaced Michael Monks who was general manager since 2010. Powell is a Fiji islander who was born in Singapore but grew up in Fiji. He attended Ecole Les Roches Hospitality School, one of the top four hotel management schools worldwide. He graduated from Les Roches in 1994. In January 2018 Treasure Island Fiji appointed Craig Powell as its new General Manager. Monks, as of 2017, is the General Manager at Sunway Putra Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
Bios of the 3 men who created Fiji's first destination resort - The Fijian
* Patrick “Paddy” Doyle - was born in Dublin, Ireland, and graduated from the National University of Ireland as an engineer in 1944. He served with the Royal Engineers until 1948. Mr Doyle came to Fiji in 1956 as deputy chief in the construction of Nadi Airport’s new jet runway. He became the director of Fiji Resorts Limited which later acquired the Fiji Mocambo Hotel and was project manager for the construction of The Fijian Hotel. He was The Fijian’s first general manager and served from 1967 to 1973. My Doyle was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1986 for his contribution to the development of the Fiji tourism industry and the Nadi International Airport. He was buried at sea off Cuvu Harbour on March 16, 1990.
* Peter Slimmer - Mr Slimmer was born in Chico, California, educated in Oakland and San Francisco and took a two-year course in hotel and restaurant management at City College. He was in catering in the US Merchant Marines during WWII and then with associates, started a bar in Reno, Nevada. This did not work out so he joined Pan American Airline’s commissary section in 1950, becoming Superintendent for the Pacific Area, working from head office in San Francisco and also in Honolulu. In this capacity he frequently visited Fiji and saw the potential for its future.
* George Wilson - Mr Wilson was a Pan Am pilot who first flew down to the South Pacific in 1951. He saw the potential for Fiji to become Australia’s Hawaii, hopefully without the concrete high-rise. He was a remarkable man with a flair for finance and a record of successful real estate deals in the Seattle area. He was later dubbed “Fiji’s Flying Financier” by an American business magazine. He became managing director of Fiji Mocambo Holdings and later chairman of Fiji Resorts Limited.
Compiled by Dick Johnson / January, 2019
richardlloydjohnson@hotmail.com