Tropic of Capricorn Hotel in Fiji

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Updated: December 10, 2020
By Santorini Dave

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Review of Tropic of Capricorn hotel in Fiji

Tropic of Capricorn – Modest and central with beach and street frontage.

(Note: The resort is shut for renovations as of Nov 1, 2020.)

This combined resort seems to have a split personality: the Tropic of Capricorn faces the main street and caters to boisterous groups of young people, while the Bamboo Tropic fronting the beach is more upmarket, and probably appeals more to couples. Together, options range from large mixed dormitories to the Oceanfront Superior Rooms, with a separate lounge, and balcony offering extended views of the sea, village and undeveloped beach – but the security wiring around the windows is off-putting. Less appealing are the compact Budget Rooms that overlook the sidewalk. The overall setting is lovely and the vibe congenial. Other attractions include the helpful staff; beachfront café/bar; two pools, each attracting different sorts of guests; modest games room; and, especially, the location, surrounded by places to eat and drink.

Tropic of Capricorn – The Basics

  • Location: 11 Wasawasa Road, on the bend along the main street through Wailoaloa Beach, on the main island of Viti Levu. About 6 km from downtown Nadi and 8km from the airport.
  • Guests: Primarily caters to those aged under 30. Not good for families.
  • Beach: The beach throughout Wailoaloa is fairly ordinary. The sand is grey and gritty, and there’s far too much flotsam washed up ashore. But the sea is calm, the breezes welcome and the views delightful.
  • Views: A couple of rooms on the top floor of the main building face the sea, while others overlook the street or other rooms quite close by.
  • WiFi: Free throughout the hotel and grounds for all guests.
  • Parking: The management can arrange for guests to park a car securely and for free nearby.
  • Nice Perks: Free pick-up from the airport and transfer to the port at Denarau for inter-island travel.
  • How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
  • Phone: (679) 891 4141
  • Email: bula@travellersfiji.com
  • Website: tropicfiji.com

Tropic of Capricorn – Amenities

  • Pool: There are 2 small pools. Both would be very crowded during high occupancy, while the one facing the street is always busy and noisy.
  • Spa & Fitness Center: Not expected or provided at a resort of this standard.
  • Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Not expected or provided.

Tropic of Capricorn – Food and Drink

  • Restaurant & Bar: Facing the sea under the main building, The Tropic Café on the Beach serves good-value meals, with more on offer than the usual pizzas, burgers, and anything-with-fries. The bar is more affordable than most.
  • Breakfast: Not included.
  • Room Service: Not expected or provided.

Tropic of Capricorn & Bamboo Tropic – Rooms

  • Room Types: Dormitories with 6, 8, or 12 beds • Budget Room with fan or air-con • Oceanfront Standard and Superior Rooms with air-con
  • Smoking Rooms: Not permitted in the rooms, but allowed in the grounds.
  • Best Room: The Oceanfront Superior Rooms have direct views across the sea and right down both ends of Wailoaloa beach and village from the balcony. But ocean views are blocked a little by the café underneath.

Tropic of Capricorn & Bamboo Tropic – What’s Nearby?

Restaurants & Bars

    These are only a short stroll away within the Wailoaloa area:

  • Ghostship Bar & Grill – In the Smugglers Cove Beach Resort. Elegant décor and modern cuisine with a Polynesian flavor. Ideal for brunch. Also, seafood platters, curries, and Chinese food. Children’s menu available.
  • Travellers Beach Café – In a backpacker lodge, 100m up the end of the street. Huge menu, convivial setting, scrumptious food, and great value.
  • Bitu Café – Attached to the above café. Sandwiches and shakes.
  • Awesome Grill – Friendly, alfresco and indoors for burgers, pastas and salads. Bring your own booze. At the crossroads to the beach, about 500m away.
  • Grace Kitchen – Shares the premises with Awesome Grill. It’s all Korean, so there’s plenty of noodles, rice, and dumplings.

Nearby Market or Grocery

  • A ‘superette’ in a tiny shopping center opposite the Awesome Grill offers a reasonable supply of life’s necessities.

Local Transport

  • Most tourists use taxis, but find (or order) one with a meter. Public buses and minibuses head to downtown Nadi every 15-30 minutes via the shops and cafés on Queens Road.

Tropic of Capricorn & Bamboo Tropic – The Hotel

Resort is located in the popular Wailoaloa beach area.

The main entrance to this combined resort is along the main strip through the modest – but burgeoning – beach area of Wailoaloa.

The resort houses budget rooms in the front and better rooms at the back.

The twin resort fills a large L-shaped block, with budget rooms facing the street and more expensive ones overlooking the ocean.

The back of the resort by the sea house the better rooms.

The better rooms are in a block facing the sea and alongside some undeveloped land.

Cheaper rooms and dormitories face the main street.

The cheaper rooms and dormitories are in the building that faces the main street.

Better rooms at the back of the resort have excellent views.

The block with the better rooms is back from the sea, still allowing great views, but also space for guests to enjoy the shady lawns and gardens.

The front pool is by the budget rooms.

The pool at the front, facing the main street, is more popular with budget-minded travellers staying in the building immediately alongside.

The second pool in the back is quieter and nicer.

Considerably quieter and more relaxed is the pool attached to the building facing the beach.

Wailoaloa Beach is famous for awesome sunsets.

One of the attractions of Wailoaloa is the amazing sunsets. And anyone is welcome to join in an impromptu game of beach volleyball.

Wailoaloa beach is unclean but still popular for walks and sunsets.

The entire length of beach at Wailoaloa is fairly unexciting: grey, lacking shade and lined with debris washed up during high tide. But it is an enchanting area for walks, and the views across the bay are very photogenic.

Oceanfront Superior Rooms have better views than furnishings.

Best are the Oceanfront Superior Rooms, which sell themselves on the views rather than the furnishings and décor.

Oceantfront Superior Rooms are spacious but noisy.

The Oceanfront Superior Rooms are far more spacious than the others, but they could become noisy from the café one or two levels below.

Plush leather sofa complements the beautiful sea and beach views.

A plush leather sofa is perfectly placed in front of the three walls of windows for panoramas of the sea and of the Wailoaloa beach and village in both directions.

Balconies of Oceanfront Superior Rooms are decent and offer good sea views.

The security wiring across two of the three front-facing windows spoils the views, but the balcony in the Oceanfront Superior Rooms is decent enough.

The onsite cafe-cum-bar has outdoor seating by the pool.

A café-cum-bar spills out towards the pool that faces the main street.

The main bar and restaurant offers decent meals.

The main bar/restaurant in the hotel faces the beach and is under the block with the better rooms. It offers an above-average range of food; even some tasty meals not smothered with fries.

Lobby has a modest games room attached to it.

The lobby area extends towards the ocean-facing building and is combined with a modest games room.

Shopping centre close by has Grace Kitchen Korean restaurant.

About 500m away, at the crossroads into Wailoaloa, this shopping center has a mini-market and bottle shop.

Awesome Grill serves great food in indoor and outdoor settings.

Opposite the shopping center at the crossroads into Wailoaloa is Awesome Grill. It offers a large number of seats inside and out, and a tasty array of burgers, salads, and pasta dishes.

Bitu Cafe nearby serve tasty and affordable meals.

Perfect for a snack or light lunch, Bitu Café is at the end of the main street through Wailoaloa, about 100m away. Sandwiches and shakes and not much else, but all very tasty and pleasingly cheap.

Travellers Beach Café nearby offers excellent food.

The Travellers Beach Café, attached to the backpacker lodge behind the Bitu Café, provides a vast range of excellent meals from pizza to pumpkin pie and so much in between.

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Santorini Dave I'm Santorini Dave. I started this site in 2011 with a short article on tips for visiting Santorini with kids. We're now a small team of writers and researchers dedicated to providing the best travel content on the internet. We focus on Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, and Greece, offering recommendations for top hotels, neighborhoods, and family-friendly hotels worldwide. I can be contacted at dave@santorinidave.com.