Dubai group Kerzer to build One&Only lux resort and homes in Fiji

Nacula Island, Fiji, will host a luxurious One&Only hotel and housing project. Picture: supplied

Luxury resort developer and operator Kerzner International is primed to launch a major resort in Fiji, setting the property across a remote 51ha holding in the Yasawa Island chain.

The One&Only resort, will be the 15th such property developed by the Dubai-based Kerzner and will include 20 private homes, plus a 40-room boutique hotel on the shores of Nacula Island, 123km west of Nadi.

Private homes are a cornerstone of the Dubai-based Kerzner’s growth strategy to meet the rising demand for ultra-luxury and multi-generational living, said One&Only president Mark Kirby, who will later this year open the company’s 14th such property in Montana, US. Fiji will follow.

“People are really looking for branded product … and the homes come with professional management and a One&Only exclusive community,” said Mr Kirby, who is partnering with BSP Life Fiji, one of the South Pacific’s largest financial institutions, to deliver the Fiji project which is being readied for occupation by 2029.

“There’s been a really positive uptake on One&Only’s private homes. It’s because people levitate to (prestige) brands, and we are getting a really strong 30 per cent premium price on One&Only private homes (around the world).”

One&Only president Mark Kirby.

The 20 private homes on Nacula Island will be offered with 99- year leases, with the private homes, and boutique hotel also featuring six culinary experiences as part of the development.

The project will be launched in two stages from November with prices yet to be determined for the three, four and five-bedroom homes which will each sport a private pool.

The properties will be marketed by Fiji-based Bayleys. The construction of the private homes will commence simultaneously with the resort.

While One&Only is yet to set a price for the premium homes, properties in its other resort locations trade at prices ranging from $US6m to $US10m ($9-15m) depending on size.

“This will be our first flag in Fiji, that’s really exciting,” Mr Kirby said, adding that the largest market to purchase the private homes is expected to be from Australians, followed by Americans, Chinese and Japanese. And while One&Only was not due to launch the marketing campaign until November, there was already strong interest from current One&Only homeowners.

“This resort is located pretty much in a one-off destination,” said Mr Kirby, adding “we are making sure we will bring something very unique to Fiji”.

“If you are travelling all the way to Fiji, you want to have something very unique in that destination. A lot of planning has gone into this. We get really deeply into the environment, the history of the destination, and what people are looking for in a beach resort in Fiji.”

One&Only Moonlight Basin in Big Sky in Montana. Picture: Supplied

One&Only has more than 600 private owners throughout the world, with some purchasers buying once and then purchasing following properties as investments and or properties to live in and or visit, depending on the destination.

“For Dubai, for instance, they buy and live in,” said Mr Kirby. “They buy as investments, and as future assets and destinations. High net worths want to holiday abroad.”

“At a lot of our resorts, some 70 per cent of private homes are actually put in the rental pool program,” he said. “That allows for people looking for three, four, five and six bedrooms. When you have large families, they want to be together,” he said.

The alternative is booking large numbers of connecting rooms, but Mr Kirby contends that families are happier in large private homes. “They (also) get privacy, which is very important to a lot of our guests,” said Mr Kirby.

One&Only will open its 14th resort by year-end, an alpine resort in Montana called One&Only Moonlight Basin in Montana. It has One&Only private homes in Athens and on the Greek island of Kea, as well as Mexico, Mauritius and Montenegro.