Paradise Taveuni

I often find that when going back to places after a great experience, second time around is not as good. That was not the case here and with 7 years between visits, my second visit was just as good as the first. This is a resort for divers, in fact all of Taveuni probably is as there is not a lot to do on land. If you are not a diver, stick to the bigger Fiji islands. Diving was mainly on the spectacular Rainbow Reef, each day the dive guides choose the site based on the weather, sea conditions and the tide. Over 5 days of diving, most had an element of gentle drift diving, with no fierce currents to worry about. 18-20 metre visibility on every dive. We only dived one site twice, sand that was the world famous white wall, so all divers were happy with that. On land, the food and service is excellent, rooms of a high standard, and the staff are great. From your arrival to departure, all the staff you interact with know your name without fail. A highlight was Fiji night, which involved meats cooked in the traditional way in an earth oven, kava ceremony, singing and dancing with the staff. It felt like a group of friends having a party and we had been invited along. I will go back again, hopefully not another 7 years before my next visit.

What a wonderful holiday my wife and I had! The resort was brilliantl!Friendly staff, beautifully appointed rooms, great food and fantastic location. The diving was superb (Rainbow reef)with some of the healthiest coral I have seen in my 30 years + diving and prolific fish life. Many thanks to Manasa and the dive team for all those great dives.Well done Terri and Alan- we will be back. Steve and Robyn Grigoleit Australia

The Upside: The grounds here were beautiful and everything you could imagine about a Fijian resort. Lush greens, grass, tropical plants, and stunning views. The staff was welcoming and friendly. The Fijian hospitality is awesome. You get 15 minutes of free wifi each day at 1 mbps only available in the restaurant. If you want more data, the “premium” wifi for a fee is still at 1 mbps, but it’s unlimited. This is a remote island, so poor connection is expected. French-pressed coffee, hot tea (not iced), and water are free all day long. Sodas and alcohol are quite expensive, $4 for a can of Coke and $12-$15 for cocktails. It's best if you stop at a local market before arrival to stock up on your favorite snacks and drinks. Some of the food was very good and some not so good. The portions were a nice size. The service was a bit slow at breakfast when all the divers are eating at once. It's best to get breakfast between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. The Downsides: They fouled up my reservation and put me in a different room on arrival than what I booked because they oversold my room category. After three days in the substitute room, I had to then move to the other room, which meant I couldn’t really unpack everything. I made this booking one year in advance and it was poor planning on their part. The accommodation has a lack of plugs. You’ll need Australian adapters. The A/C was barely able to keep up with the heat and I had to keep the bathroom door shut just to get the room cool enough to sleep at night. There are no glass windows, just screens with wooden shutters, which is not very energy efficient and explains why the room never completely cooled off. They run off a generator and 24-hour power is provided. There was plenty of hot water for a shower with good water pressure. The power was lost multiple times during my stay. The room was clean and well supplied, except the mattress was very old and uncomfortable, soft and soggy in the middle. Cyclone Winston hit the island in 2016 and wiped out the resort and the reef. They rebuilt the resort, so the mattresses have not been replaced since then. My back was sore every morning. When I pulled the sheets back, what I saw was a mattress that was filthy and falling apart. Thankfully, I did not get any bed bug bites. See the attached photos. I came here to dive, and the dive guides were masters at finding the small stuff. They were great! I confirmed with the owner before my arrival that the dive groups were no bigger than 6 divers per guide, but sometimes there were 7-8 divers per guide. I'm a very experienced diver and don't book anywhere where there are large dive groups. They only have two boats, a smaller dive boat and a bigger boat that has a rack of chairs in several rows on the top deck for the non-diving excursions but also used as a dive boat. The bigger boat was chartered for a group, so everyone else was on the smaller boat. That was 13-15 divers, plus 5-6 staff.

I spent a week in Paradise for diving vacation. Overall i visited 4 resorts during my Fiji vacation and looking back i had the best experience at Paradise mostly because of the family atmoshere and the tireless staff. There is always room for improvement in materialistic things like food (which is very good overall) or diving (which is great, probably some room for improvement in the equipment and grouping strong divers together to more difficult dive sites) but the people are top. Found the welcome and farewells very cute and touching, the cookies left in the fridge every day also a cute touch. Everyone did an excellent job if i had to pick the top i would say from DMs is AP and from staff Eta "the little boss"....I will miss the daily smiles and jokes from the staff. Isa Lei.

Paradise Taveuni - My wife and I recently returned from our second trip (February 2024) to Paradise Taveuni. We are experienced divers (over 4,000+ dives jointly) and travellers and were so happy that we returned again to Paradise. Terri, the Kiwi owner, does an excellent job with all aspects of the resort, especially with her well trained and experienced staff. The entire resort makes all of the guests feel very welcome and 'at home' - we especially wanted to recognize her staff members, Flo and Eta for their excellent care. The grounds are lush and beautiful, food is very good, great availability of offsite tours if one desires, and the accommodations are fantastic - well maintained and cared for. We found the dive operation professional and safe. They have several boats, including one fast (2 * 300 hp motors) boat with a spacious upper deck for lounging between dives. They typically do 2 dives every morning returning for lunch, each limited to about 45-50 minutes. A third boat dive is available and all of the house reef (which is very good!) Dives are free. Nitrox is available for an extra charge. Another thing we liked about the resort is how well they integrate into and support the locals and their economy. We have even met staff members at other Fijian resorts that have been excellently trained at Paradise. Overall a very good experience. We plan on returning again in the future.

How can a resort get consistently a perfect rating on all major plate-forms - including TripAdvisor ? By providing simply the best service I have seen in a resort ! Paradise Taveuni is a relatively small resort with less than 20 rooms, nested on the south-west shore of Taveuni, the Garden island of Fiji. It is reached in about 75 minutes from the airport through a road which is unpaved for the last part of it (an alternative is to arrange with the resort a boat transfer allowing to skip the unpaved road). The staff of Paradise Taveuni is simply incredible. Everyone will greet you by your first name, and do anything to make your stay more comfortable - for example, one of the staff arranged for a special potion to be prepared for my wife when she was sick. Unlike most resorts, the food at Taveuni was excellent and not buffet style. Instead, guests order every morning their lunch and dinner from a selection changing regularly. Whether it is the fish of the day, a burger, pizza or any of the specials, everything was tasty - not surprising when you know that the owner is also the cook! Cocktails are excellent, too. The resort has a very pleasant pool overlooking the sea, and a well-equipped diving center with a camera room. There are two diving boats (a larger, slow one as well as a faster for 6-7 divers) heading usually to the famous Rainbow Reef. Overall, an amazing and welcoming place which will please divers and non-divers alike.

Our primary reason for going was the diving. We were not disappointed. The Rainbow Reef is beautiful, with many different areas and variations on the coral and fish. The dive staff was super helpful from the Captain, to the dive guides, to the boat hands and the dock/shop folks. Everyone was fun and friendly while being very professional. Loved it! We were not thinking about food when we chose the location, but wow we were so impressed with the menus. Delicious from breakfast, lunch and dinner. The method they use of asking you to select your lunch/dinner at breakfast makes life really enjoyable. Our rooms were lovely and comfortable. Being "spoiled" travelers we enjoyed the air con, the lovely showers and the comfortable bed. We also enjoyed our tours of the Taveuni and Kioa islands. This resort really makes and effort to allow the guest to feel that they are in Fiji. We were able to participate in activities that brought us closer to their culture. We loved every part of it.

Paradise Taveuni is quite simply exceptional; I cannot rate it highly enough, nor recommend it more. I had a week whilst travelling where I was by myself and I fancied doing some diving in Fiji. I chose Paradise after reading the TripAdvisor reviews and was sold. The experience has been above and beyond what I expected. The diving was amazing. The crew were great: very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. I've never dived without my own buddy and I felt very safe and comfortable. The dive sites are exquisite. I rented gear and it was all fab. If you love diving, this is a really special place to stay and dive. The resort was so lovely: the rooms are really comfortable and I slept very well. The air con and shower(s) are both good (my tests of places!). The bed was very comfy too. I had an outside shower which was so cool. The grounds are stunning. The activities available outside diving are also great- I went kayaking, snorkelling on the home reef and I did the excursion up to Devous peak. The home reef is really good for shore dives and snorkelling (I've never been anywhere that has a home reef and it is brilliant). Also, travelling without anyone else (as a first) the team were super friendly and the other divers really good fun. I especially enjoyed the group tables available at dinner. The food is great, especially breakfast. The home grown pineapple was the best I have ever had! Finally, the team that work at Paradise are amazing. They work so hard and are always happy to help. Everyone is so friendly and kind, and they really make the trip to Paradise great. Every tiny detail at Paradise has been thought about and considered. There is a friendly buzz, but it is also very peaceful. Honestly, just book it- you won't regret it, it is such a special place to stay.

The resort is beautiful. The dive team is experienced and over the top helpful. The rooms are excellent. The people and service are the best. All employees know all the guests by name and offer fantastic service with a smile every day all day.