Bedarra Beach Inn

Set on the lagoon at the heart of Fiji's Coral Coast, Bedarra Beach Inn gives you a straightforward base for a beach-led stay, with the practical comforts needed when your idea of a busy morning involves getting wet. Gardens run down towards the beachfront, and the pool, restaurant and bar are all close enough to keep the evening uncomplicated.

This is a place that works particularly well when you want the sea close by without turning every non-diving hour into an organised expedition. You can settle into a lounger, order a cocktail at Talanoa Bar, or take the short route from room to pool before dinner. Nothing here requires a speech from a resort manager to explain its purpose.

The atmosphere shifts naturally with the day. Sunlight, gardens and lagoon views suit a slow morning; by evening, the Ocean Terrace Restaurant becomes a candle-lit veranda. Live music, evening entertainment and occasional themed dinner nights add some life without making the whole stay revolve around a timetable.

You are in Korotogo, Fiji, on Sunset Strip, rather than in Beqa Lagoon as a catalogue label might suggest. The inn sits directly on the lagoon and has its own beachfront, with more than a kilometre of beach and sun loungers available for the long, horizontal part of the day.

The immediate surroundings give you a few alternatives when you fancy eating or drinking elsewhere. Crab Shack Fiji and Beach Bar N are each about 0.2 miles away, while Cafe Planet Fiji is about 0.7 miles away. Deep Sea Nightclub is about 4 miles away, for evenings when a quiet cocktail no longer seems quite enough.

The wider Coral Coast is easy to explore by road. Lawaqa Park is about 5 miles away, and Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park is about 6 miles away. Nadi International Airport is about 44 miles away by road, with the airport journey taking you across the coast rather than dropping you straight beside the lagoon.

The rooms are spacious, serviced daily and arranged around the things that matter once you have stopped pretending you are not tired. Air conditioning and ceiling fans give you two ways to cool down, while a private bathroom with a shower deals with the less glamorous evidence of the day's activities. There is also a refrigerator, an electric kettle and a dining area, useful for keeping water cold and making tea before the first proper meal of the day.

Choose the room category according to how much space you want around the occupants and the luggage. The larger options accommodate up to four people, making them the sensible choice for a small family or anyone who dislikes having bags, clothes and holiday debris competing for floor space. For two people, the standard and superior options keep the arrangement simpler, with a super-king bed rather than a collection of narrow mattresses pretending to be generous.

The view changes with the category and position: balconies look towards the gardens, pool area or ocean, while Standard Rooms have a private courtyard. That gives you a useful choice between opening the door onto a little outdoor corner or looking towards the water and grounds. A wardrobe, clothes rack, flat-screen television and a socket near the bed cover the unglamorous details that make a room work over several nights.

You can also order breakfast in the room and use room service when leaving the balcony feels like an unreasonable demand. Upper floors are reached by stairs only, a practical point worth keeping in mind when choosing a room or planning around heavy luggage.

Ocean Terrace Restaurant handles the day from breakfast through dinner. Breakfast is a buffet with a continental option, while the kitchen works across local and international cuisine rather than asking you to commit to one culinary flag for the entire week. Poolside dining and lagoon views suit breakfast and lunch; in the evening, the same restaurant becomes a candle-lit veranda.

That change of setting matters when you have spent the afternoon in swimwear and would like dinner to feel like a separate part of the day. The terrace keeps the water within sight, but the evening setting gives you somewhere more composed to sit, eat and discuss whether the last dive really counted as a relaxed one.

There is one bar: Talanoa Bar. Cocktails are its speciality, with a daily happy hour and a weekly traditional kava ceremony adding local character to the drinks schedule. Live music and evening entertainment may continue the evening, while themed dinner nights provide another reason to stay on site rather than start searching for a taxi with damp hair.

The outdoor pool is only a few steps from the rooms, with comfortable pool loungers for the important work of recovering from doing very little. The beachfront adds another option, with more than a kilometre of sand and sun loungers when you want the lagoon rather than chlorinated water in front of you. Pool and beach towels are available, which saves one more item from taking over the luggage.

For time on the water, the inn offers snorkelling, kayaking, water-sports facilities and boat excursions. Equipment rental is available on site, so you can keep a free afternoon flexible instead of booking every paddle stroke in advance. The lagoon is right there; use it when you fancy moving, and ignore it when the only sensible plan is a chair and a book.

BBI Spa provides massages and facial treatments, alongside body treatments, body scrubs and wraps, manicures, pedicures and beauty services. A massage chair and spa facilities add a smaller-scale option when a full treatment feels excessive. For something away from the beach, the tour desk can arrange outings including Kula WILD Adventure Park, Robinson Crusoe Island, Sigatoka River Safari, OOLALA Savala and Whale's Tale Cruises Fiji.

Couples can keep the day as light or as structured as they like: lagoon time, a spa treatment, a short excursion and dinner on the veranda, or simply a swim followed by a long spell in a lounger. Board games and puzzles are available when the weather or your energy levels make the outdoors less appealing.

Check-in runs from 14:00 to midnight, and check-out from 07:00 to 11:00. There is no age requirement for check-in, and children of any age are welcome; children aged 12 and over are treated as adults for the booking arrangements. Cots and extra beds can be requested, with availability depending on the accommodation selected.

An airport shuttle is available from Nadi International Airport and should be arranged with the hotel, either as a private transfer or in the form offered for your dates. The airport is about 44 miles away by road. Car hire, a tour desk, concierge service, currency exchange, express check-in and check-out, luggage storage and wake-up calls cover the less glamorous but useful edges of a trip.

Parking is available on site, and public parking is free. WiFi is available in the common areas, while the rooms include air conditioning, a ceiling fan and the basic facilities needed for a self-contained night. Cash is not accepted, so plan to use a card for your hotel expenses.

The property is non-smoking throughout, with a designated smoking area. Pets are not allowed. Laundry and ironing services are available, and packed lunches can be arranged when an excursion or an early start takes you away from the restaurant.