Lacking a reception desk, menus, formal wine lists or even piped music, Vatulele is more like a private house than a hotel - and with a maximum guest list of 17 couples, this impression tends to linger. The aim was to offer luxury accommodation with the space and comfort of yesterday, combined with the modern conveniences of today - all whilst causing the minimum of disturbance to the natural environment. This has certainly been achieved in the 17 secluded bures, nestled among tropical foliage, all with their own stretch of white, sandy beach. Each thatched villa consists of a light airy sitting room, a raised bedroom with kingsize bed and an oversized en suite bathroom. Furnishings are deliberately simple - cane and canvas predominate - and all rooms open out onto a large terracotta-tiled terrace.

There is a huge communal bure, containing the bar, library and open-air restaurant, and adjoining this large deck area featuring wood-fired pizza and tandoori ovens for food cooked outdoors, indeed, meal times are major daily events and Vatulele. Meticulously and imaginatively planned, everything is made fresh on the premises, from the bread to the ice-cream to the sweets!

In keeping with the hotel's philosophy of caring for the environment, activities here are of a non-noisy nature - swimming, snorkelling, sport fishing, world-class scuba-diving including PADI instruction, tennis and jungle hikes to the island's caves are all available (scuba-diving and sport fishing are not included in the tariff). Visitors to Vatulele may well take a few days to unwind (no newspapers, television or radio is sometimes difficult to come to terms with) - but once you are in step with Vatulele's pace of life, you will wonder what took you so long. Vatulele is a member of the hotel chain 'Small Luxury Hotels of the World'.