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Reviews of Matava - Fiji...Untouched

3.5 out of 5
Matava - Fiji...Untouched
Vunisea, Kadavu Island

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 14 out of 22 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 5 out of 22 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 2 out of 22 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 22 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 22 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

9.2/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

8.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Uschi, Munich & San Francisco

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Matava really feels like Fiji untouched: A nature jewel in midst of the jungle, no streets, no shops, only yourself, good company with similar guests staying in max. 10 huts, the sun and the sea - a dream for scuba divers and snorkelers alike. Take a breath and unwind. Please note Matava is NOT suitable for the common main stream tourist looking for the usual entertainment provided by big resorts.
Stayed 6 nights in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2018
Response from Matava Eco Resort on 17 Sept 2018
Hi Anonymous!! Thankyou for taking the time to rate Matava Eco Resort. We hope to see you again some day :)

10/10 Excellent

Bob, Hong Kong

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A beautiful setting on the water far away from almost everything. Comfortable but not fancy. Food is tasty but not gourmet. Didn't stay long enough
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Matava Eco Resort on 17 Sept 2018
Hi Bob, Thanks so much for taking time out to write a wonderful review! We hope you can stay with us longer next time :)

10/10 Excellent

Nojo, Los Angeles

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Truly nice place to stay!
We stayed there for two weeks. It was amazing. We had not relaxed that much in a long time. Away from noise. Away from people. Away from civilization. Away from craziness. Away from internet world. Away from busy world. True meaning of "Getaway" here. Facility was nicely done. It was like a small village. Having our own bure with ocean view patio was very very nice. We felt much of privacy, safe and comfortable. All the amenity was functioning well and we did had any problem whole time we stayed there. Staff was very very friendly but caring and professional. Food was excellent! Snorkel and diving was super. Walking in the jungle was very special. This place is not for the party people. But for the people who loves nature and truly deserve to relax, and enjoy Fiji. A truly special place. I would definitely love to go back there.
Stayed 12 nights in Oct 2017
Response from Adrian on 28 Nov 2017
Hi Nojo, Thank you for taking the time to write a Review of your stay with us. It was a pleasure to have you both as our guests and we hope to welcome you back one day. In the mean time, we wish you both safe and happy travels. Best regards,

8/10 Good

LULU, Los Angeles, CA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Matava
My brother and I decided to stay here because we wanted to snorkel the Great Astrolabe Reef. Overall, this place was comfortable, clean, in a great location, with very friendly staff. The journey here is a 45 minute boat ride, the only way to get to the resort, through beautiful coral reef clusters. Make sure to wear your sunscreen, tie down your hat, and long sleeves before you take off, as the boat is not covered. At the resort, you will do all of the activities together with the other residents, such as diving, eating meals, etc ... Electricity in the room worked during the hours they told us it would be available. However, down at the main burre, there is a 24 hour charging station where you charge any device at any time. The resort has a beautiful coral reef in front of it, that you can snorkel at any time. They also offer kayaks, snorkeling equipment, and a local map to hike to the local village with a waterfall. My recommendation for this resort is to stay here for as long as you can here, because if you have a long list of activities you would like to do, you most likely wont be able to complete them all. The staff needs some time to prepare for the activities that are separate from the usual daily morning dives, such as snorkeling at night. I dont think this is unusual for any resort in Fiji in general, but its best to go in knowing you wont be able to do everything. The culture is just slow and therefore you need time.

2/10 Terrible

Terry, Scotland

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Absolutely dreadful experience - avoid this place
This is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in - avoid it like the plague. The roof in my room leaked resulting in a pool of water on the floor whenever it rained. The windows did not fit properly and did not close, which together with the gaps between the tops of the walls and the roof resulted in constant wind noise and drafts. I have never seen such a shoddily built room. There is nothing authentic about it. I stayed in four other hotels during this trip to Fiji, all of which were considerably cheaper than Matava and infinitely better quality, so this is in no way typical of Fiji. The transfer from the airport was in a small open boat which I nicknamed "Spinebuster". I was sat on a hard wooden bench, and whilst the sea was relatively calm, was bumped and bounced the whole journey. There was also considerable spray from the sea, although full so'westers were provided to deal with this. The purpose of my holiday to Kadavu was to dive the Astrolobe Reef. Whilst several of the staff at Matava wear shirts encouraging you to dive the Astrolobe Reef I was unable to do so even once in my week's stay. Whilst Matava has two custom dive boats, one was out of action with electrical problems the whole of my stay and the second was often unavailable. "Spinebuster" was offered as an alternative, but after one dive on it where I came back almost hypothermic due to the windchill and sea spray I refused to dive from it again (and I dive in Scotland in winter). Poor dive sites were offered.
Response from Adrian on 3 Dec 2015
Hi Terry, Unfortunately the winter weather in Fiji has been challenging this year and your stay coincided with some particularly cold, rainy and windy bad weather. For safety reasons we were not able to take you diving outside the Barrier Reef. We apologize for the inconvenience of our main large dive boat being temporarily out of service. We were able to take you diving every day on our second large covered dive boat except on 2 days when the boat was booked out on other activities. Unfortunately we need a minimum of 2 divers to run the large dive boat for extra afternoon dives. We were however able to take you diving every day other than the one day you chose not to dive because you were the only diver and the scheduled dive boat was therefore a 23ft inshore dive skiff. Our Resort Managers did attempt to speak with you every evening to ensure you were enjoying you stay and had no issues. At no time did you advise them that you had any issues what so ever. Had you advised us of a problem with your bure, we would have made every attempt to fix that immediately or offered you alternative superior accommodation. We are disappointed that your visit coincided with particularly bad weather and you were unable to dive outside the barrier reef but unfortunately the weather is beyond our control.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Poor ownership
The resort lived up to expectations though expensive. Staff excellent and helpful. Owner only seemed interested in certain visitors not speaking to our group- even when a member of the group was very sick.

10/10 Excellent

Annie, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Matava experience
Enjoyed every minute, sad to leave. Staff were friendly and very helpful. Would definitely return.
Response from Adrian on 27 Mar 2015
Hi Annie, Thank you for taking the time to write a review of your stay with us. We are delighted to see you enjoyed your stay and we look forward to welcoming you back one day ! In the mean time we wish you safe and happy travels :-)

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place to stay, amazing staff and very involved owners. The rooms are basic, but comfortable. The location is amazing. The food was great and there was ample to go around! If you want an inclusive place to stay this is it. You all dine together and the staff drink Kava and play cards with you in the evenings. The activities are well organised too. I would definitely recommend this place.
Response from Adrian on 27 Mar 2015
Thank you for writing a review and sharing your experience with other travelers. We are delighted you enjoyed our food, our Fijian staff, fun activities and amazing views ! Thank you for recommending us to other readers :-)

8/10 Good

Orla, Ireland

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Real getaway
Loved the getaway factor. The fijian people looking after you were so kind and pleasant. You have to be able to and want to socialise as all meals are together. Might not suit everyone. Fantastic place to learn to scuba dive.
Response from Adrian on 27 Mar 2015
Hi Oria, Thank you for reviewing your stay with us. I am pleased to see you enjoyed your getaway and appreciated our wonderful Fijian staff which we feel are one of our greatest assets :-) Guests do generally all dine together however if guests request a private dinner table we are more than happy to oblige ! Thanks again for your review and we wish you safe an happy travels.

6/10 Okay

Dave, australia

Liked: Cleanliness
mmm... only just adequate
For an Eco Lodge and what it provided the rates were very expensive... too much! Food was Ok but lots of Carbs with minimal fresh fuit and vegies... relied on deep sea fishing clients to catch fish that were kept by the resort and fed to the staff and guests. lovely aquatic environment, friendly staff but resort lacking in quality for what they charge.
Response from Adrian on 27 Mar 2015
Hi Dave, We were disappointed to find that you had issues with flights and had to cut your stay short. I am happy to see you enjoyed our friendly staff and the Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef and we hope you appreciated your complimentary private dinner served on your bure deck. The Resort now has an extensive Organic Farm which provides our guests with a wide range of fresh organic fruits and vegetables. We don't serve reef fish caught by local village fishermen partly to help preserve the pristine reef ecosystem and partly because we don't want to take food off the plates of local villagers. We only serve pelagic sustainably caught species such as Wahoo, Mahimahi and yellowfin tuna, caught outside the barrier reef by angling guests. The Resort restaurant now caters for specific guest dietary requirement such as vegetarian, vegan and Gluten Free diets and we are happy to tailor meals to suit guest requests.

10/10 Excellent

Liam & Elesha, Sydney, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Truly a pleasurable stay!
A fantastic resort! All the staff are there to please. Food was brilliant. Plenty of great activities to do and the staff are happy to tailor a plan to suit your needs.
Response from Adrian on 27 Mar 2015
Hi Liam and Elesha, Thank you for writing such a complimentary review ! I an delighted to read you found our resort fantastic :-) I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your stay and we all wish you both, safe and happy travels.

10/10 Excellent

jj, NZ

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
True island living
If you are looking for a true Fiji island experience, living simply, getting away from it all, resting and enjoying nature - this is it! Explore the forest, visit the village, meet the locals as you get lost in the bush, slow down and experience the genuine hospitality and care of these wonderful people who work at Matava. Maggie was a star providing entertainment mixed with great island knowledge. The food was great- no choice but that makes it easier in a way, the fish caught only hours ago. It's a divers and snorkelers paradise. If you need luxury and western style comfort this is not the place for you. If you want to get away from it all and enjoy the simplicity of nature and people with open hearts then you will have a fantastic time- as we did. Leaving it felt we were saying goodbye to family.

10/10 Excellent

Trevor&franny, Wellington NZ/Scotland UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
paradise is worth the journey
This is a remote eco hotel. It is basic in amenity but that which is provided is of the highest order considering its location.Simplicity with excellence would be its trademark. Such hotels tend to attract a certain type of person . People who just want to chill in perfect peace, those devoted to scuba diving or fishing or snorkelling. Others who just want to walk and explore in the surrounding countryside and villages. All who come seem to delight in each others company and tales of their days experiences at the communal dining tables where the conversation is enlightening and stimulating. What a special place this is!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Matava Resort Ranks Top
Leave your high heels at home, this resort is not for whimps. Matava is for adventure lovers, open-minded and green travelers. Matava has a great atmosphere, most friendly and welcoming staff we've ever seen, high quality food, amazing dives, great location, environmentally sound hotel, very quiet and peaceful environment, opportunity to do activities such as walking, birdwatching, diving, fishing, etc. We had the chance to learn more about local culture, food and traditions. We've visited the neighbouring village and meet the children from the local school. We were greated with songs and smiles. We highly recommend to walk with a guide to the village and waterfall since the trail was quite treacherous, but fun. The SCUBA diving was amazing and Te, the dive master, was knowledgeable and made new divers feel safe. Maggie, George, Ta and all the others were always available to answer our questions and make us feel at home, Sala made great massages and the chef made healthy and tasty food from their organic garden. Overall it was more than what we've expected.

8/10 Good

Anne, Victoria, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Escape to a simpler life
We were looking for a quiet, relaxing week somewhere warm and Matava was perfect. Flight to Kadavu and boat trip to the resort a great start. Remote location, no traffic, few guests, delightful staff, good food. Bures very private with outlook over the sea to the island and reef beyond. Interesting walks through the jungle or along the beach. Good bird watching, kayaking, snorkeling. Other guests who were there for the diving seemed very satisfied. We were disappointed not to have the chance to go fishing as there were boat engine problems. Simple entertainment, reading, scrabble, Jenga, talking. There were birthday and wedding celebrations during our stay and the staff were brilliant. We visited the local village, experienced a kava ceremony, and generally felt we were seeing something of old Fiji in an unspoiled setting.

10/10 Excellent

Eve27, Belgium

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Most beautiful place on earth!
Matava was the most beautiful place we've ever been to! I really hope we can go back sometime... Because it's on the island of Kadavu its very remote from everything. But as a guest you hardly have to miss any comfort. Okay there's no tv or aircon in the bure's but the staff does everything they can to make your stay as comfortable and entertaining as possible! They have a way of making every guest feel special. We did our first dive there and it was like everyone there knew about it. They all asked how it went and if we enjoyed ourselves! All the staff knew us by name and we knew all of their names. It really has a family kinda feel to it! The bure's are very clean and spacious. As is the bathroom. The food was divine, and there was plenty of it!!! Beautiful snorkeling and diving! Alex, the diving instructor, was very patient and calm. Perfect for our first dive! Everything was perfect!! No complaints at all!!

10/10 Excellent

おばシュノーケラー, Tokyo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
素晴らしい景色と静かな夜、楽しく親切なスタッフ
自然が身近に感じられるナチュラルリゾート。それなりの値段ではありますが。特にハネムーンブレに泊まったので、プライベート感がありました。海で泳ぎ、ブレのバルコニーで日光浴、というのは最高の贅沢ですよね。

8/10 Good

Alex, Moscow

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Активный отдых
Небольшой отель с домашней атмосферой. Очень располагает для занятия дайвингом и снорклингом. Питание достойное, но не восхитительное. Напитки за отдельную плату.
Response from Adrian on 30 May 2015
Привет Алекс, Спасибо, что нашли время, чтобы написать отзыв. Мы надеемся, что вам понравилось ваше пребывание у нас, и мы желаем вам безопасной и счастливой путешествия.

10/10 Excellent

Mikkel, Bryllupsreise bure med utsikt

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Alt var helt fantastisk! Super mat, service!
Dette var bra! Anbefaler alle som vil oppleve det ekte Fiji og slappe av. Trenger ikke å dykke selvom det var fantastisk!
Response from Adrian on 28 Mar 2015
Hei Mikkel Takk for din vurdering! Jeg er veldig glad for å se du likte oppholdet hos oss, og likte dykkingen! Vi ønsker deg trygge og lykkelige reiser.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Kompromiss fuer Naturfreunde
Nicht für Leute die ein Komfort suchen. Aber wenn jemand in Natur ein schönes und still komfortables Platz sucht, dann es ist ein Optimales Kompromiss.

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Exzellentes Ressort
Ein wunderbarer Ort zum Tauchen und Ruhe finden. Eine sehr schöne Anlage, umwerfend freundliches Personal, herausragendes Essen, optimale Lage. Kurz und knapp: selten fühlten wir uns so wohl wie an diesem Ort.
Response from Adrian on 27 Mar 2015
Hallo Michael, Vielen Dank für das Schreiben eines solchen kostenlose Überprüfung der Ihren Aufenthalt bei uns! Ich freue mich, Sie beide genossen das Essen, die Lage und unsere wunderbare Fijian Personal:-) Wir hoffen, Sie beide wieder eines Tages wieder begrüßen zu dürfen. In der Zwischenzeit wünschen wir Ihnen sichere und glückliche Reise.