Grand Pacific Hotel

The Grand Pacific Hotel was built by the Union Steamship Company in 1914 on a stretch of foreshore land that used to be called Vu-ni-Vesi so named because of a group of Vesi trees growing there.

The design was to give passengers the impression they had never gone ashore with rooms designed similar to first-class staterooms on the second floor so guests could step outside on a 4.6metre wide verandah overlooking the harbor and walk right around the building similar to that of a ship boardwalk.

In its hey-day it boasted famous guests including Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Somerset Maugham, James A Michener and Queen Elizabeth 11.

Unfortunately ‘the grand old lady’ has been closed since 1992 and has languished ever since. Several attempts at restoration failed however she is now undergoing reconstruction to her former glory through the efforts of the current Fiji Government and Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF)?

er look back.