Dolphin Island

When Dutch-born investor Alex van Heeran decided to open his family holiday ‘home’ aka island in Fiji to the wider world, interior designer Virginia Fisher was awarded the commission. Dolphin Island marks the third of the luxury Huka Retreat properties by van Heeran and his third design collaboration with Fisher.

Located on the northern tip of Fiji’s Viti Levu, 14-acre Dolphin Island takes the ubiquitous term ’boutique’ to a whole new level; the 4-room property (with an additional ‘sleep-out’ bungalow at the top of the hill) has been designed with luxury and serious exclusivity in mind. It caters to a minimum of one guest, up to a maximum of eight but always with sole use of the entire island.

Like its sister properties, Dolphin Island is devoid of bland and barren; interiors are rich with local textures, cultural motifs and handcrafted detailing specific to the region. Walls are paneled; ceilings are lofty and become another canvas for layering. In fact, every space under thatch reveal layer upon layer of story telling and snippets of Fiji, Despite being in the tropics where the typical floor covering are ceramic tiles or highly lacquered timber, the floors at Dolphin Island is finished in a matte timber. There is something warm and intimate, and invitingly wintery-lodge-like here that I have yet to experience at any other resort in Fiji!