Love is in the air at Royal Davui - no question about that. This little patch of tropical bliss may be one of the Fijian archipelago's tinier islands (it measures a mere 3.3 hectares at high tide and 4.2 hectares at low) but it is exclusive, seriously luxurious and off limits to anyone under 16.

It provides a series of wedding packages (from "Traditional" to "Elope ... all wedding costs must be paid in FULL prior to arrival"), has 16 charming and utterly private villas with breathtaking views of the ocean and reef and claims to be Fiji's most romantic island resort.

This lovebirds' paradise is so enchanting that earlier this year it won the coveted, if rather Bill & Ted-sounding, title of Most Excellent Romantic Hideaway (the Americas, Atlantic, Caribbean & Pacific Islands) from an international high-end travel guide. So, of course, I went on my own. How would the staff at Royal Davui cope? How would I cope? Should I pretend that my boyfriend had let me down at the last minute? That I had come with an invisible friend? That I was some fabulously wealthy dilettante scouting island resorts with a view to giving my ageing parents a romantic break in the South Pacific? Would it even matter?

The first big question about Royal Davui is how to get there. Assuming you fly to Nadi Airport on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island, the slower method (it takes about four hours) is overland to Pacific Harbour, then by boat to the island.

The James Bond option is to book a seat on the daily helicopter flight from Nadi Airport. This is tremendous fun and involves dodging cloud formations for 40 minutes as the chopper flies south-east over a rugged, heavily forested landscape, then across the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean to Davui's manicured green lawns.

Either way, guests are met by the assembled staff, all warm smiles and open arms. Each new arrival is welcomed with a threaded shell necklace and a fruit cocktail before being whisked away to the privacy of their villa, or "vale", the Fijian word for home.

The vales radiate across the island's perimeter and are reached by crisscrossing pathways, each of which also leads to Davui's airy dining and living pavilions.

Hidden from each other by lush vegetation, the mahogany-trimmed vales range from "deluxe" (providing a small infinity-edged plunge pool, a lounge, two decks, a bathroom where the spa bath looks out over the ocean and a blissfully comfortable king-size bed), to the Honeymoon Suite - a garden-surrounded sanctuary where the lush touches include the largest of the private plunge pools, a king-sized spa bath and stunning, 280-degree water views.

Vales One to Five boast sunset views while vales 10 to 16 are for sunrise lovers. None is too far a wander from the island's white-sand, black-rock beaches; nor from Davui's lawns, large swimming pool and toys, which include sea kayaks and a 16-foot catamaran for anybody with the energy to explore the surrounding reefs and islands.

If all that's not enough, for an extra charge there's scuba diving, sport fishing, trips to nearby Beqa Island (home of Fiji's firewalkers) and Davui's exclusive spa. Here treatments range from the brief (a 20-minute scalp massage) to the decadent (the

3 1/2-hour long Island Journey, involving everything from a sugar cane exfoliation to a pedicure). I tried the Tropical Massage, a serene, sweeping, feet-focused affair that is said to be based on centuries-old healing skills. It certainly left me floating on air.

Several hours later I was ready for dinner in Davui's dining area, an elegant, vaulted timber-built pavilion constructed around a spectacular 270-year-old banyan tree.

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