Yasawa Island Resort & Spa

This was my honeymoon and a huge splurge. Sadly, it wasn't worth it. The good: the location is fantastic, the food was good, the rooms are big, and the staff were mostly very friendly and accommodating. The bad: The hot water was unreliable for most of the stay and eventually went out entirely. I asked multiple times to shower in another room before management finally agreed. My husband got sick—as did several other guests—and while the resort blamed a seasonal virus, they kept the pool open and took no steps to quarantine sick guests or increase sanitation. Our room was poorly sealed, with cracking drywall, lizards in the rafters at night, and enough millipedes that we started wearing shoes indoors. I also had to remind the dining staff multiple times about my nut allergy. The front desk here treated basic requests like extra hangers as impositions. Through private conversations, we got the sense that the current owners of the resort are not supporting their employees and the local villages in the way the original owners did. For comparison, during the first part of the trip I stayed at another remote, all-inclusive resort on the same trip for less than half the price. The room was more basic, but it had extremely attentive staff, attentive manager, zero hot water issues, and no bugs in the room. EDIT: After a protracted back and forth with my travel agent and the resort, we were granted a refund for one of our give nights (we had requested two).

There are two ways I want to rate this review for the sake of an honest review.  First, the island and then the resort. The Island: Magical.  Pristine, untouched, secluded and awe inspiring.   The ocean was so blue and clear (we are calling that kind of blue Bula Blue now).  Tons of hermit crabs and a beautiful coral reef just outside your backdoor.  You see it best during high tide, it gets too shallow at low tide to really see it all.  Giant bats, birds, lizards and bugs are the wildlife here.  I honestly thought the mosquitoes would be awful,  but they weren't so bad.  The tiny biting critters that came out in the evening (not skeeters) were annoying but the  bug spray provided did the trick. The resort:  This resort is labeled as luxury, however it is not the most luxurious, there are things that keep it humble, like chipping paint, bugs and no bathtub. Rather, it is a unique way to unplug, rejuvenate and connect with nature in an extremely lovely setting and very nice bure.   It is very nice, and the bures are absolutely cozy, humble and fancy all at the same time.  The outdoor showers were so nice and unique! They take great pains to remind you you are hear to unplug-but they only have wi-fi in the main area. My initial reaction was that this is annoying because that encourages people to be on their phones at meal times, and that is the one time I don't want to be on my phone.  I am on a nature vacation, I want to be by the ocean alone...I am not going to spend my free time at the pool hooked to the wi-fi. But, by the end of the trip I was fine with the way it works, and didn't even bother with my phone for the first time in forever.   It was nice! The way they do the meals is not my ideal (I wake up around 4 am).  Meals are at 7-10, 12-2 and 7-9.  what??!!  My first reaction was annoyance.  I don't want to be cornered into eating meals at specific times.  I also don't want to be tied to a meal.  Each meal takes almost ALL OF THAT TIME.  They wink and nod and say, "sorry, Fiji time," as an excuse to have you just sit there waiting.  A buffet would greatly have been appreciated for the times I just wanna shove something in my mouth so I can get back to playtime.  They do offer certain food throughout the day, but that takes just as long and is even more limited than their limited menu.  But, again, by the end of our week long visit, we just settled in to the pace and were not bothered by it at all.  We got the alcohol package.  Then we are shown the special list we can order from,  as if we aren't allowed to have anything from the rest of the alcohol menu.  In fine print on the alcohol list, it does say we can order off the other lists...so WHY have a special menu as if you are limited, which makes you feel like you didn't just spend a huge amount?  Yeah, it takes a while to get a drink too.  And they keep a tab on you even if you have the package.  That you have to sign.  That is not luxury.  Give people a band that you can scan or something if you need to track it.  Was the package worth it? For us, fiscally, no.  We don't drink enough to justify the cost BUT if we had to pay for individual drinks we may not have experimented with the fun drink menu.  I loved the Island Aperol Spritz and my hubbs loved the Nuku Vulu Wala.  So, it was worth it emotionally 🤣🤣 There are many amazing employees at the resort.  They are very welcoming and friendly.  If you take the time to chat with them, they are happy to tell you about their lives,  and we found it so interesting! The excursions they have?  Pedro was FANTASTIC at activity planning.   He wasn't there for a few days and his replacement was a bit harder to track down.  At first, for us, it was annoying to even try to do something.  You have to see the activity guy at 6:30...but Fiji time...so maybe 7...maybe he will remember to get to you...maybe he won't.   We had to beg for 2 days for a picnic on the beach-which had been advertised as "dinner on a different beach every night."  That was what I wanted.  I didn't want my meals far from the beach with a bunch of strangers.  If you are going to claim to want people to disconnect,  let them disconnect.     I found out later, that Pedro is the REAL activities guy and he is amazing.  Once he got back from being away, we were able to actually book things better, and around 6-6:30.  Never got a seafood dinner though. even though Dan said we booked it, they told us nope, no seafood. 🤦‍♀️. My hubbs was MAD.  I just liked that they let us sit on the beach to eat our not seafood anyways.  I preferred dining that way on the beach. The picnic lunches are the best!  We were able to book a few and it was so so nice! The Caves with Smiga were amazing! He also did a snorkle tour that was the BEST!  Smiga even did a basket weaving demonstration.  He is a superhero!  The food was good.  Not big options, but mostly everything was delicious.  You order everything all at once and then you wait...and wait and wait.  I am an early riser.  I explained this to the owner.  I need to eat asap when I awaken.  I guess we get a jar of cookies that they say they will keep replenished.  They didn't really give us more...until we asked...the breakfast menu is always the same....so if you like change-good luck. The water?  You drink the tap water.  Here is a dumb fact about me: tap water makes me violently ill.  I am from USA and the water is usually fine for everyone....but me.  I was so scared to drink this water.  I started with little sips to test the waters (pun intended)...it was fine, I was able to drink it with no problems!  Yeah!!!  🤣🤣 I feel bad saying anything negative, because we had a lovely vacation, but I wish it had been described accurately, so we could enjoy our time without feeling like things were misrepresented.   So, really the first two days took a bit to settle in.  We are pretty easy going and find the fun in everything,  and there are many things to love here.  I only mention the "negatives" so there is an accurate description of expectations...I feel that it would be easy for someone less easygoing to be disappointed.   In the wee hours of the morning, the water shuts off.  This is especially annoying when you are an early riser.  I enjoyed my 4 AM  walks on the beach,  I got to see some bioluminescent plankton in the waves our first morning and it was so magical!  The Fijian dinner was amazing,  but the singing and dancing they blessed us with was something that touched me deep inside and I feel truly honored to have been able to witness it!  The village visit was a MUST DO.  We were blessed to hear the lovely school children sing and they were absolutely amazing! Venaka Vaka Velu to Shirine, Sai, Smiga, Pedro, Wonga, Jope, Masana, Channel, Kara, Omi, Sita, Sam, Alivarti, Obi, Wati, Saote, and anyone else I missed! Thank you for giving us the very most special week of our lives! There are definitely areas in which this resort can improve.  Either update the inaccurate online descriptions, or change/add a few things....I feel our trip was worth every penny and look forward to coming again, knowing what to expect.

This was our first time in Fiji and we loved it at the Yasawa. Island Resort! We experienced the whole Fijian culture from going to the villages, meeting the children, going to a Kava ceremony and enjoying the amazing food!! The staff really made us feel like family. The beach picnics were amazing, as we had the whole beach to ourselves. The food was delecious! Thank you to Manasa, Wate, Freddy, Smega, Cita, Cara, Chanel, Pedro and Sami for making our trip memorable. Carmen and Jorge

Beautiful Setting with Unfulfilled Potential This resort sits in a stunning, peaceful location that is absolutely perfect for couples seeking quiet serenity. The public areas and bures are well presented, exceptionally clean, and make a wonderful first impression. Warm Service vs. Poor Room Lighting The absolute highlight of our stay was the service staff. They are wonderfully warm, welcoming, and attentive. Our bure was spacious and generally well-appointed. However, the room lighting is incredibly poor. Reading in bed is nearly impossible, and my wife struggled to do her hair and makeup. Maintenance Concerns We noticed a lack of attention to detail regarding property maintenance. The timber deck in front of our bure was quite rickety. Additionally, the exterior steps were not kept in good order, forcing us to remain constantly vigilant about where we walked. An old fridge lay discarded by the beach in full view of all guests - What can you say?! Disappointing Dining and Value The cost of staying here is premium, but the resort fails to deliver true value for money. The food is the biggest letdown, tracking as average at best. While we had a lovely time overall, we cannot recommend this resort or choose to return ourselves due to the lack of value delivery.

This is our most favorite resort in Fiji. The staff are the most wonderful people. Each one wants to personally know each guest and vocalizes how appreciative they are for your stay. From the top management to the groundskeepers, they want to shake your hand and introduce themselves. They offer a spa package with massages and other procedures of 50 mins per day and they are one of our highlights of the day. The grounds are immaculate and each cottage is a work of art.