Hotels near Lavena Coastal Walk, Taveuni Island

My dive and travel experience: 2336 dives since certification in 1999 95 weeks of dive travel out of the US Dive instructor I would love to give the Garden Island Resort a better star rating as it did so much very well, but fell short in many categories. I am going to start with the positives and list them with explanations. 1. The price was super cheap for what we got. It was approximately $1900.00 per person for a 10 night stay with food, transportation to/from airport, room, taxes and seven days of two tank boat dives as well as one night dive. 2. The staff is super friendly and helpful. They really made our stay better than it should have been. 3. The food was above average to very good. It was mostly a Western menu. However, the portions were a bit small if you are a heavy eater. 4. The view from the hotel was super nice. 5. The bed was firm, which is to my liking and the pillows were good. 6. The diving was good with some pretty reefs and lots of fish. For reef and fish life on the Tropical Pacific scale I give it a B rating. However, The other than fish category such as sea snakes, sharks, turtles, rays, eels, nudibranchs, lobster, crabs and other oddities it would rate a D. Unfortunately, here are the cons. 1. Bats! Yes, fruit bats by the thousands in the trees between the rooms and the ocean. First of all they are super noisy and second they leave a mess under the trees. They were at their noisiest from before the sun rose each morning and early evening. Although I started to get use to the noise as time went on it was still uncomfortable hearing them at times. More about the bat poop later. So, my recommendations is get rid of the bats. Hire a professional if you need to. 2. Our room was not very clean and needed painting. The bottom of the toilet looked like it had never been scrubbed in it's lifetime and the bathroom counter was not cleaned when we checked in. There is a large amount of mildew in the shower and there were a few ledges in the bathroom and bedroom that looked like they had never been dusted. Lastly, the first set of towels we were given felt like sand paper. It did get better later in our stay, but the hotel should consider better towels. I suggest you do a periodic major cleaning on each room and have some sort of inspection system. 3. Several times we ordered items at the restaurant only to find out they were out of that item. In other words it was being offered by the restaurant but they were out of stock of the item. 4. The dive boat was a bit difficult to get onto and off at times based upon their docking system and I would never recommend it for those with a disability or the very old. 5. The dive boat had no camera rinse bucket. 6. The dive staff did not always do the best job of explaining stuff. For example it wasn't until the third day of diving that I realized the crew would switch my tanks for me. That was never explained as many other things were not mentioned. 7. The dive staff did not help us to our

We had such a wonderful time at Taveuni Dive Resort! The resort was even more beautiful in person and the owners and staff were just so friendly and welcoming we felt instantly at home. The boys fell in love with the resort dogs Yoda and Gia who were always ready for cuddles. Our Bure was really lovely and comfortable in such a gorgeous garden setting. The food was incredible, fresh and delicious and they also happily catered to fussy teens with lots of choices. We did a guided snorkel trip on the boat almost every day and did a discovery scuba dive which was just incredible. A big step up from snorkelling but we felt in such safe hands with dive-master Hal and the reef was just so beautiful and fascinating it felt like you could dive every day and never see everything. We also had a great excursion to the civa pearl farm and really recommend that - Claude was so lovely. Wish we could have stayed longer and hope to come back again. A huge thanks to Carl, Muriel, Hal, Kat, Eroni, Jerry, Tia, Louis, Tui and everyone who looked after us!

Shhh, don’t tell anybody. Or OK, tell everybody. This a piece of paradise!. Ric and Dorothy built this property from the ground / jungle up. Sitting on a bluff above 2 small beaches with a reef that invites an easy snorkel, kayak or SUP. The resort features 10 Bures and 1 large Villa with its own plunge pool. All have ocean views and the majority have ocean front views. The main building houses a large living room to gather in and enjoy evening entertainment. Often local musicians are featured as well as the traditional Kava ceremony. The adjacent Bar crafts cocktails to order and offers a drink of the day. There is a large Day room that has games, a small library, and plenty of seating. The open air restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy the all inclusive breakfast, lunch and dinner with views that are gorgeous. The owners, Ric and Dorothy, are often there mixing and mingling with the guests. As the “first couple” of diving in Fiji they are a wealth of information for divers. They have a stunning resume of awards and lots of adventures to share. Let’s talk about the food. Many all inclusive resorts have food that’s just ok. The TIR was a delightful surprise. The husband and wife chefs created menus that were inventive and showcased the local meats, fish and produce. The fish was so fresh and the various preparations were delicious. Dessert never disappointed. 3 courses of yum. And the plating and presentation was beautiful. The real highlight of the resort is its staff. Greeted by Storm in the front office on arrival. She gave us a tour of the facilities including an infinity edge pool and showed us to our Villa. The dining room staff were superb. So friendly. They gave activity advice, cultural information, excellent service, all with smiles. Ima, Mila, William to name a few of the staff made breakfast lunch and dinner a joy. From the gardeners to the housekeeping staff, everyone offered a hearty “Bula” often calling us by name too. When was the last time that happened at a big hotel. Thats the beauty of a small resort. But back to Storm. .. Welcoming committee, tour guide, concierge, cultural attache’, she juggles all the guests inquires with a smile. She is a treasure. There are no tv’s (except in the bar), the internet can be finicky, but it really makes you relax and be in the moment. Feeling the gentle breeze, listening to the ocean, watching the birds, and talking to people from around the world. Again, the bonus of a small retreat. I highly recommend the Taveuni Island Resort.

Maravu Taveuni is a paradise! The position it is sat in is that worthy of a 5* resort so save your money and stay here instead! Our room was spacious, had two large comfortable double beds in and a large wrap round outdoor terrace - it was kept clean and tidy throughout. We had breakfast at Maravu every morning which was cooked fresh to order and delicious, they also offer fresh fruit smoothies. All of the reception staff were so warm and helpful in organsing some incredible trips for us. We went out on multiple trips with Raffa, Kali and Matteo, they treated us like family, always making sure we had the best time but keeping us safe and caring for us. The trips and memories we made will stay with us forever, snorkeling on the rainbow reef, swimming in incredible waterfalls and the dolphin trip organised by Maravu was the highlight of our trip. We were sad to leave, you are made to feel like family and taken to the most beautiful locations where there are virtually no other tourists, would recommend anyone to go! We hope to see you again - Ellen and Livia x