Top 5-Star Hotels in Mana Island

We are so grateful to everyone at Tadrai for giving us such a special and idyllic holiday. We were lucky to spend 5 nights here and enjoyed every minute. We feel sorry for anyone who had a less than 5 star experience. Our experience was better than 5 stars. The bures are huge and have everything you could need. If you fall asleep with the doors wide open you get to wake up to the most spectacular sunrise and stunning view. You don’t need a sandy beach right at the resort because you can be taken to your own private one every day if you like. Or walk around the corner to a stunning sandy beach if you really need it. Not only that, but the reef out the front of the resort gave me my favourite ever snorkelling experience- the wonderful Freddie took me out as my guide for about 1.5 hours of pure bliss. Speaking of, as many others have mentioned, the staff make this resort so truly special. They work so hard and yet always have energy left over to make you feel so welcome and looked after. I hope the owners know how lucky they are to have such brilliant all-rounders on their team and give them the credit they are due. As a vegetarian, Charles, Sam and Moses went out of their way to make sure I had something I wanted to eat. The food they made was not only delicious but wholesome and healthy. Unlike other all inclusive places, we didn’t leave feeling sick from overly, unnecessarily rich food. We were so well looked after by the fabulous F&B team - thank you Asa, Kasi, Vika, Vani and all the others we didn’t get to meet. The day trips are so luxurious and personalised. A special thank you to Kasi for being our literal hero, and the wonderful Rocky, Api, Masi, Freddie, Tiko and anyone else we missed for the best activities we have ever had on holidays. Thank you to darling Lavenia for the warmest and sweetest welcome and for resolving any minor issues immediately. Thank you to Nancy and Nash for all they did behind the scenes. Thank you to the gorgeous Lela who went above and beyond to look after us and make our room so special. Thank you to awesome Frisco and polymath Sam for serenading us and bringing so much joy. Thank you to dear Carlos for taking such good care of us. And thank you to the countless others including Johnny, Lassaro, Magi, Izzy, (sorry if I got any names wrong!) and all the ones behind the scenes working so so hard so that we could switch off and have the time of our lives. Vinaka vaka-levu, you are all totoka sara xxx

Mana island is not so ideal location if you wanna head to Yasawa from Mamanuca. In order to get to Yasawa on the same day, you have to return back to port denarau with south sea cruise at a later timing. If early morning,it is possible to book a small boat through the resort or ratukini hostel nearby to beachcomber island. From there, the south sea cruise with pick you up then straight to yasawa. The place probably need a bit of fixing, theres hole in our windows net which small rodent may enter. In our case, a small mouse hide underneath our closet in between the small gap. It be great also, if they provide disposable toothbrush and toothpaste, also change of towels at least 2 days. But that is just little stuffs. Overall, we really enjoy staying there.Literally every staff was very welcoming. Several things you can do like any good star resort. Recommend to travel to Monuriki island nearby.( aka Cast Away island, site location of Tom Hanks movie)

Just came back from Ratu Kini after spending there 4 days with my teenage daughter. We had the family cottage- two rooms with shower and toilet in each and a common area. The cottage was very basic but quite clean and perfect for our needs. Overall, Ratu Kini resort is integrated into a small village, the only one on the island, so plenty of dogs and kids running around. The food was ok, limited choice of menu every lunch and dinner. The prices- same as in NZ or Australia which was a shock to me (min wages in Fiji are 4$!) but it seems that all of Fiji is very expensive for tourists. The staff-very friendly and always smiling, real pleasure. The beach- we were there during the Survivor filming so most of the island was off limits. However, we still had about 3-400 meters of beach and could go around the island on a kayak or a paddle board, just couldn't land on the other beaches. The beach in front of the resort is not the cleanest- plenty of bottles, plastic and broken glass. The snorkeling and swimming was quite nice when the weather was calm. Really enjoyed the snorkeling trip to the Sandbar. Castaway Island was ok. Took Ratu Kini boat both ways. Paul the Captain is fun and a great guy. The boat broke down on the return trip, we had to catch the flight home that evening and also getting stuck in the middle of the sea was not really appealing but Paul managed to get it running finally. Bottom line- we enjoyed our stay but doubt I will be back to Fiji- everything is just way too expensive! SE Asia offers much better value for money.