Our extended family of 7 stayed 5 nights in the family bure pretty much based on reviews on this site and we all had an ideal holiday. I'll try to make the review as helpful as possible.

We arrived late pm in Fiji and got a speedboat straight to the island - took only 35 mins from port, highly recommend that! FJ$550 for 7 people. Nice welcome on arrival At Malolo, straight in to bure, did check -in next day.

The family bure is very spacious for 5 adults, 1 teen and 1 child. It takes up the top floor of 2 storey bure and has a huge deck looking out over ocean view framed with palms.We spent alot of time on it. Rooms are nice, style like a done up beach cottage. Not wow, but clean and stylish. there are 2 spacious bedrooms(queen beds in both) and 3 single beds in the living area. 1 room has a small ensuite. Of note, the whole bure has an open ceiling, the rooms are only separated by walls, so not at all soundproof!! (Thanks for all the snoring mum!)

The grounds are magnificant, beautiful walkways, well tended and are a real draw card for us to return. The beach is just what you dream it should be, the snorkelling was good straight off the beach. We did a snorkel trip too but it wasn't that much better than at the resort.We had no issues with coarse sand. Plastic loungers all along the beach too, no probs with mossies. Made use of hammocks hanging in the palm trees every day!!

After some discussion in our group we decided not to take the food plan and we saved over $200 per person for the 6 nights! Breakfasts (7 - 10am) were $26 full buffet or $20 continental( kids under 12 half price) Nice variety, not amazing quality, but pretty good for an island. We took our own snacks for lunch/nibbles which was a REALLY good idea if you are not on food plan. Stuff like noodles in a cup, crackers, dried fruit, cheeses etc.There is a small fridge in the bure Also took picnic cutlery ,plate and wine glasses and left it all behind on departure. Dinners were nice, ate mostly at Terrace restaurant. Buffets okay, overall a small bit disappointed with the food tho. Good hint : if you drink wine, take it to the resort from home as corkage is only $15 per bottle. 1 $13 bottle we had taken was $75 on the wine list !! The cocktails were nice but kinda weak on the alcohol percentage!

Staff were lovely as you all have no doubt heard, Kids club staff especially.

We have stayed in at least 5 different resorts in Fiji but we all felt more than happy with Malolo. For relaxing on a beautiful pacific beach, this place gets top marks.

Arrived at Malolo after spending 8 nights at Castaway. Malolo was by far the superior resort. Why ?

1. Food. Some of the best food I have ever tasted - and I've been to lots of hotels around the world.

2. Staff. Generally very enthusiastic and happy. You can tell that many live with their families in the nearby villages - they were happy and not at all burnt out (unlike most of the Castaway staff).

3. Bures. Perfectly Ok - they are not 5* - but they were probably 3.5* - very clean and had eveything needed. They felt a bit like an Aussie beach-house !!

It was windy for the three days we were there - but people were still having a great time. On the last day - many people were snorkling - coral is great.

In summary - great resort. Highly recommended. We will return !

Came from the 5 star luxury of Denarau, so initial impression was of a more basic resort. However loved the few days we had there, great place to relax, no tv or phone, nice pool, on the beach. Can be a bit windy on the beach but the resort is protected. Food was good. Rooms more basic but clean and well kept so all up a very comfortable stay.

Bula

Spent 8 nights at Malolo Island Resport, family incl 3 y.o and 1y.o. A very pleasant stay....

Getting There: Via South Sea Cruises catamaran from Denerau port, takes about 1H30M..we booked "Captains Lounge" which is no big deal but much less crowded and cooler than the rest of the boat. Some passangers had to be off-loaded as too many people boarded...book early and arrive early to avoid the big queues that form once the buses arrive. (Leave your big bags with the desk they will be safe and enjoy breakfast in one of the restaurants whilst eveyone else is queued up in the hot sun!).

Arrival / check in: As with all the Islands a nice welcome party, you sit down and have a refreshing fruit drink and fill out a form and have a very quick "Induction" and its all over! Wish all check-ins were that pleasant. Room not ready so parked ourselves at the pool...staff took care of all the luggage...and even took care of our "Drinks & goodies box"...no need to worry about your stuff at all..staff all very honest at Malolo

Buree's: Clean and comfortable...not as "New" looking as in the brochures or website but perfectly acceptable. Beds / pillows / linen spotlessly clean and very comfortable. Daily housekeeping of a very high standard too. Aircon / fan great. Bring your own bottle opener though....

Staff: Mostly very freindly as per the other reports but I did find the odd staff member a bit surly (Watersports hut & beach bar) (Main issue for the bar staff seemed to be when wanting to borrow a bottle opener or get a bucket of ice...get over it guys!) One or two of the watersports hut guys just a bit lethergic and a bit disinterested...Fiji style I guess. The wait staff in the restaurant were fantastic...

Food: Food was very good. I only had one or two dishes that were just "Good", the rest was very good! The theme nights were great experience (Sat & Wed) and the pasta night was good too and I don't even like the stuff...
Tree Tops Restaurant: Dined here twice ($18 surcharge over and above your meal plan), good food but some experiements went a bit wrong, e.g. Roast Lamb served on top of a slice of quiche?? That didn't work for me and seafood soup was a bit tastless and those kiwifruit pallet cleansers - sorbet should not have ice crystals all throught it..but a really pleasant dining experience with great service and generally good food, but not all the dishes hit the mark.
Breakfast: Good selection of fresh fruit, cereals, nuts, yoghurt, toast, bakery items etc, and Jobe's fresh cooked omelets are just a treat...the food was much better than the Sofitel on the mainland which is supposed to have a good repuataion. The cakes they bring in for the theme nights for dessert are dry and ordinary, one area perhaps for improvement. The desserts they make on site are better (Banana fritters!).

Kids Club - great staff, kids all had a wonderful time. Baby sitting service was excellent, our 1y.o. was looked after for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, they did a great job at a very reasonable price. Find staff members you like for baby sitting and book them in advance for your whole stay...we paid a litlte bonus here and there which went down really well and meant we could keep the sitters that the kids really responded well too.

Lillani's spa: enjoyed a nice massage one day and a body scrub the next ...very nice experience so don't miss out....save a few $$$ by taking up the daily specials

Day trips etc:
The snorkling trip (Castaway wall) was great but perhaps not ideal if you are a novice (Boat captain had a snooze while we were floating around in the ocean...not a problem for us but for the more inexperienced a bit more supervision may be good!)

Handline fishing: Waste of time, don't bother.

Island hopping: Confusion Fiji style...we wanted to go to Castaway for a few hours for a change of scene...long story but eventually we got there (1 1/2 hrs later) and to no surprise they forgot to pick us up.... (Actually Castaway looked great and will be where we go next time, but that's not to take anything away from Malolo).

Watersports: Great snorkling right off the beach (High tide early morning is the best time)...coral is recovering well and plenty of fish life (Now a reserve of some sort). Clown fish, (Mastr 3 loved these), spotted eagle ray, unicorn fish, tang's, butterfly fish, banner fish, picasso trigger fish, coral trout etc etc.
Catamarans are only able to be used at high tide so need to book day before if you want to go for a sail. Plenty of canoes to paddle about in.

Exersize: Walking tracks behind the resort are steep and rough and not really suitable for the infirm or unsteady, but I enjoyed early morning trecks to burn off some of that food!

Internet available @ FJ$8 / 10 mins

Check out: No issues the bill was 100% correct...get a print out every few days to keep track of what you are spending.

TIPS:
1) It would be quite hard to "Under eat" the value of the mealplan so just go for it...
2) We took some of our own drinks etc which we purchased cheaper on the mainland...(Coke $3.50 on the island vs $1.80 mainland)
3) Do use the baby sitting service!...those first time parents taking turns at passifying the kid every meal time! ..hand them over...they will be well looked after!
4) No need to take your own snorkling gear - the gear provided for your entire stay is fine
5) I don't think you can choose your buree's...couples get placed out towrds the end which is the pick of the spots and family's are put together closer to the arrival area....we were right outside the beach bar but were never bothered by noise...in fact we could sit on our balcony drinking duty free and listen to the band! Very pleasant (Kids in kids club of course!). We did notice people wanting to move from buree's 1-8 as these are located near the staff village and lots of coming and going...but all in all just be happy with the buree you get!
6) Water is apparently safe to drink but most people drank bottled water from the shop,...we switched over to the botled water ($4 / Litre bottle) after a few days and I suggest you start on bottled and stick to it, just for the taste if nothing else (We did not get sick but some people got upset tummy's but that's mainly from the change of climte etc in my experience and not from the water)
7) Don't take the night flight to Fiji with kids, they don't cope well with the jetlag etc..never again!
8) Stay a night or two in Denerau on the way back to break it up before going home...glad we did that
9) Mozzies are an issue (We all got bitten), they provide Aeroguard & flyspray in the buree's. Give your room a really good spray each night (Every nook and cranny - under the beds cupborard behind the curtains etc) before going to dinner to avoid the night time Zzzzzzit's
10) Cockroach's come up through the drains in the bathroom at night, after the first night we left the bathroom light on all night and that seem to keep them away....don't let them put you off too much.
12) Overheard "New arrivals" moaning about waiting a minute ot two to get shown to their tables at dinner, here's a tip...try to arrive all ready in "Fiji mode" and chill out...got somewhere else to go poeple?
13) Have a great time, we certainly did!