Yasawa Island Resort

Everything about our trip has been exactly as promised. Relaxing, lovely staff and excellent service. Food and dining experience is outstanding and the Bure a lovely stay right on the beachfront. If it’s a relaxing recharge you are looking for then this is the resort for you.

My husband & I have just returned from a magical 5 days at Yasawa Island Resort. The resort is a perfect choice if you want to immerse yourself in the unspoilt natural beauty of the Yasawa islands, and is so far removed from the crowded resorts and chain hotels of the mainland. From the very start we were well looked after, with a friendly local representative greeting us at the domestic airport in Nadi and updating us on our flight, of course the stunning views from the flight over to the island, and then the welcome song by all the staff and managers on arrival to Yasawa. Our Beachfront Bure was huge! The rooms and living spaces are so generously proportioned, plenty of storage to unload your luggage and really make ourselves at home for the stay. The gardens surrounding are lush and beautifully maintained, and once in your room you will rarely see or hear the other guests. We loved having our own part of the beach straight across the gardens in front of our Bure, with our own thatched beach shelter, and a hammock which my husband was in for hours. Our room was of the original construction, and whilst there were a couple of maintenance issues with the decking after an overnight shower, these were attended to by the staff so immediately, that the repairs were completed before we even got back to our room. No wifi in the rooms means a well needed digital detox, we found ourselves sleeping earlier and waking up with the sunrise, and having the open louvres at night lets in the sea breeze and the sound of the ocean. The meals are all provided and include a great variety of locally sourced fresh ingredients. If you are pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan you will be spoilt for choice. I chose seafood options for most lunches and dinners and they are all so delicious and fresh! Good wine selection and well-made cocktails also available for an extra charge. To the wonderful staff - we were made to feel like family. I can’t remember another holiday where I’ve missed all the staff members after returning home. The new manager Kaydee made sure to individually greet every guest on each day of our stay, with genuine care and concern for the enjoyment of the guests. The OG Manasa (what a legend) and his beautiful wife Wati looked after us each breakfast and lunch. Make sure to chat with Manasa as he is so knowledgeable and has the full history of the resort and island. Pedro & Smiga from the activities team make sure you experience the best of the island and tailor the activities depending on the weather and surf conditions. We had the snorkeling, private beach picnics, Blue Lagoon caves to name a few, and my husband took a Scuba Dive session which included 2 spectacular dives with Pedro. We both agree that the coral reefs are more stunning and way more unspoilt than what we have here in Australia. We had a couples massage included in our package, which was just divine, in the open air spa pavilion with the waves and ocean breezes right there. Tak

We are truly disappointed at our experience at Yasawa Resort & Spa in late December 2024. To start with, I would like to caution anyone to think twice before booking this resort (which is at the furthest outer island) during raining season due to the uncertainty of transportation to the resort from the main island. While it should be an easy 30-45 minutes flight, it turned out to be a 6-7 hours ordeal via ferry/boat on a rough sea for us in late Dec. What's more disappointing is how the senior hotel management dealt with this: first of all, we weren’t offered any option to take aferry beforehand when the weather forecast was obviously bad with a high chance of flight cancellation. Instead, we had to wait at the airport for almost half a day and then were told that all flights were canceled. As a result, we had to pay for additional accommodation at the main island while getting no refund or discount for our rooms at Yasawa on the day we missed (these are very expensive rooms!). When we did get to the resort via the long boat ride on the next day, the resort general manager blaimed everything to the bad weather while making no efforts to make up for the day we missed (no discount, no extra service, or other little things that can improve customer experience). We came to Yasawa Resort & Spa (a five-star resort!) with high expectations, but unfortunately, our experience is truly disappointing, especially toward senior management's indifference toward customer satisfaction.

When we decided to go to Fiji, we had a specific experience in mind: we did not want the sterile, crowded, large resort that might as well have been in Mexico or someplace else. While we did want comfort and luxury, we also wanted value, beauty, authenticity, and a distinctive character. We did extensive research and It all pointed to Yasawa Island Resort. We were not disappointed with what we found during our stay. Our bure was large and comfortable and right on the beach. It was well-maintained and very clean. Housekeeping came every day and even left fresh flowers. We had turn down service every night. Sure, there was the occasional lizard and a few ants but they were never a bother. YIR is a beautiful, unspoiled, place—the resort has purposely disturbed the environs to the smallest amount possible to accommodate the bures and other facilities. This means that you are surrounded by lush plants and flowers. If a lizard or a few ants are the result of that, it’s a trade that I’m willing to make. The staff are unbelievably attentive, kind, and dedicated to your happiness while on their island. They treat you like honored guests or family and you quickly develop one-on-one relationships with each of them. The staff learn your names and remember facts about you. They are proud to share their home and their culture with you. Each staff member exudes joy and it is infectious. It rained frequently during our visit (we knew it would be the rainy season when we booked), which made some of the planned activities difficult, but Pedro, Smiga, Dan and all of the staff worked hard and still made sure that we got to do the things that we wanted to do. It was a significant logistical challenge but they did it and remained unfailingly cheerful throughout it all. The food was delicious and abundant and the restaurant seevice, friendly and attentive. The massages and other spa treatments were excellent and having the services done overlooking the ocean was magical and relaxing. Get the Ultimate Spa package for a spa service every day—it is very much worth it. On Christmas Eve, the children from the local villages came and shared Christmas with us by singing carols. They had been practicing for weeks. Afterward, each of them shook the hand of each guest—a touching show of friendliness and respect. The children also came caroling on Christmas morning and stopped at each bure to share a song just for us. These children included many children of staff members and you could see their pride as they watched and took pictures and videos of their children like any proud parent. To have been able to share in their Christmas—to have them share their Christmas with us, total strangers—was so special and hospitable and unforgettable. Before heading to Yasawa Island, we spent a couple of days at another resort on the main island of Viti Levu. More than once, when we told the Fijian staff at that resort or at various places in and around Nadi that our next stop was Yasawa

Let me begin by saying the location is beautiful with wonderful beaches, although coming from the US the trip was a trial with a long wait on the mainland before the flight over to the resort. But, and it’s a big but , it fell far below our expectations in many other respects. We were put in Bure #2, a so called beachfront bure. It was a distance from the beach and you could only see the ocean when standing ( not sitting) on the deck. The bure was in very shabby condition; cracks and stains on the walls, dirt in the corners, inadequate A/C , broken shutters and screens. I have seen better toilet rooms in gas stations! We have stayed in other small Fijian resorts on outer islands and never been in such poor accommodation. We did not expect or want a chain style hotel with icy A/C but we did expect a clean , comfortable and pleasant room with the promised view. We did ask to be moved immediately but were told the resort was fully booked. ( An online search suggested there was another room available). We had our last 3 days in bure SubZero which was a huge improvement. It really is beachfront! This was the first boutique adult-only resort that also fell short in the restaurant. The breakfast has no buffet where you can choose what fruit or pastries you want. A fruit plate is brought to your table and had very little tropical fruits. I asked for papaya and only got it once in 9 days! The breakfast menu is the same every day except for a daily special. Lunch and dinner are a choice of two starters, three main courses and two desserts. Fish was often spoiled by too much salt. The seafood platter was good but we were told we could only have it once even for a 9 day stay. The lovo feast night on Tuesday was family style seating and again no buffet style food presentation. Our beach picnic on Yawini was lovely but did need to be booked ahead of time which is understandable. But, even the snorkeling trips had to be signed up for the night before. Unlike other places we’ve stayed these were not offered every day. Snorkeling off the resort beach was limited. The village visit seemed to be a means for the locals to sell their goods . We didn’t go to the school and hear any singing because the children had tests that day! Why not reschedule the visit? Sadly there was quite a bit of trash there and it was frankly boring sitting waiting for the bus to pick us up. As always the Fijian staff were wonderful but that could not compensate for the other failings of this expensive resort.

Great hotel experience Hotel was very nice - bungalow right on the beach and very spacious. Hotel provided lots of activities (snorkeling, paddle boarding, blue lagoon visit, etc). However note that not all activities are offered at all times so if you don’t stay a whole week you won’t be able to participate in all the activities they have listed. Also even though an all inclusive - food was limited. All meals were served in a sit down setting and certain times during the day. There were approx. 3-4 options. There is a snack menu offered a la carte, but it’s only full meal options and not really snacks. It would be nice if they offered chips, fruit salad plate, etc that’s just a snack between meals.