The Grand Pacific Hotel, Suva, Fiji: 'The Raffles of the South Pacific' elegant transition into a new century

By Belinda Jackson
April 18 2015 - 12:15am
From eyesore to elegance, the refurbished Grand Pacific Hotel.

 Photo: Belinda Jackson
From eyesore to elegance, the refurbished Grand Pacific Hotel. Photo: Belinda Jackson
From eyesore to elegance, the refurbished Grand Pacific Hotel.

 Photo: Belinda Jackson
From eyesore to elegance, the refurbished Grand Pacific Hotel. Photo: Belinda Jackson
From eyesore to elegance, the refurbished Grand Pacific Hotel.

 Photo: Belinda Jackson
From eyesore to elegance, the refurbished Grand Pacific Hotel. Photo: Belinda Jackson
From eyesore to elegance, the refurbished Grand Pacific Hotel.

 Photo: Belinda Jackson
From eyesore to elegance, the refurbished Grand Pacific Hotel. Photo: Belinda Jackson
The terrace at the hotel.

 Photo: Belinda Jackson
The terrace at the hotel. Photo: Belinda Jackson
The lobby at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Photo: Belinda Jackson
The lobby at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Photo: Belinda Jackson

She was dubbed "The Raffles of the South Pacific", and her title, the Grand Pacific Hotel, is suitably eminent. But to the locals, Suva's distinguished colonial hotel is simply the GPH and it has always been here, as far as living memory goes back. It's the dictionary definition of colonial style: deep verandas, nattily dressed doormen and a starring role in the history of a nation.

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