Hotel: Turtle Island Resort, Fiji

Web site: www.turtlefiji.com

TraveLife ranking:

Rooms: 14 villas

Room rates: $2,000 – a night!

Awards: Turtle Island Resort has won numerous awards, including the 2002 Award for Excellence from Conde Nast Traveler magazine for Most Outstanding Resort - North America and the Pacific.

Highlights: This is paradise found! A seaplane picks guests up at Fiji's international airport, and then lands in the resort’s private lagoon where the 1980 movie Blue Lagoon was shot. (The original Blue Lagoon movie from the 1940s was also filmed in this Turtle Island lagoon.) If it makes you feel better, your money goes to help improve the lives of the native people living here and to protect the area's delicate ecosystem. The Australian company running the resort has built a school, a hospital, and some “budget hotels” on neighboring islands where locals learn the hotel trade.

History: Australian entrepreneur Richard Evanson first arrived in the Yasawas Islands - Fiji's most pristine region made up of a chain of islands - in 1972 and struck up a respectful friendship with the locals, who number around 3,500 these days and live mostly in seven villages on Turtle's three larger sister islands. Evanson helped construct the first four villas used to house the cast of Blue Lagoon during filming and later transformed the property into the star it is today.

Interior highlights: The villas are works of art  highlighted by amazing vaulted ceilings. They’re built in traditional Fijian style right down to the teak wood floors.

In the next room: Brooke Shields fell madly in love with the resort and island when she was here and told many of her Hollywood friends, who come to enjoy the island’s seclusion, far away from autograph hungry fans.

The rooms: They come with four-poster king-size bed, large indoor jetted spa, verandah with queen-size day bed, walk-in double shower, double vanity, handcrafted hardwood furniture, wet bar including ice maker and Bose CD player. All look out on the blue lagoon and if you don’t get romantic in one of these beauties, check your pulse!

Amenities:  Guests can go horseback riding along pristine beaches ... go deep-sea fishing or dive and snorkel in the lagoon ... enjoy a relaxing Fijian massage ... or do absolutely nothing but lounge in the lagoon on a float.

Restaurants: Turtle Island Resort guests are served the best of wines, which the owners scout during their global excursions touting the exclusive resort; and the best of food, prepared by six chefs who were trained by one of Australia's gourmet wizards. Servers will get their feet wet to make sure you’re happy – literally. Guests lounging on floats in the lagoon are served drinks by servers who roll up their pants and wade into the warm water. If guests want lobster from morning to night, they get it. The resort will prepare you a romantic dinner for two on a pontoon floating in the middle of the lagoon as the sun sets or you can dine with fellow guests and become friends, which many have done over the years and still stay in contact. The resort will even pack guests a lobster lunch so they can go off exploring the island's beauty.

Shopping: Sit back and relax! Except for local crafts, there’s not a designer store in sight. With these room rates, who has money left for shopping anyway?

Close by: The sugary beaches of Fiji and some neighboring islands where native villages offer a glimpse into these islands’ past.

Tips: There’s a minimum six-day stay at this exclusive resort which boasts an amazing 35 per cent return rate. If you don’t have that kind of money but still want to soak up all these beautiful Fijian islands have to offer, TraveLife recommends you stay at one of the budget properties that go for as little as $80 a night, including some meals. Go to www.fijibudget.com to find out more about those.