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the beach at Yasawa Island resort

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?

Located on one of Fiji’s secluded and natural islands is the Yasawa Island Resort and Spa is Fiji’s most romantic hotel and perfect for a honeymoon.  Yasawa resort offers lucent waters to swim in, ten private beaches to delve into and an opportunity to explore its underwater caves connect with an ancient culture. Read on for an honest Yasawa island resort review and the top 5 things to do at Yasawa

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Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Island Resort – Sunset in front of our Bure

Getting there To Yasawa Island Resort

Taking over 33 hours to get to Nadi if coming from Europe, Fiji is definitely not an easy place to get to. The commonest routes in getting to Fiji is through Los Angeles, Australia, Singapore or Korea.

We spent the night at the Radisson Blu in Denarau. Denarau is a man-made island that is becoming Fiji’s main destination. I still don’t understand why anyone would take a long flight all in pursuit of a week vacation in Denarau with its underwhelming beaches. Definitely not my type of travel. Fortunately, we were there only for 1 night.

Tip: If you can time your flight to arrive early enough and catch the charter flight to Yasawa, it is probably best connecting directly

We then took the morning charter fight organized by the Yasawa Island Resort. It costs about 1200 Fiji Dollars per person and is in a private plane. We shared the plane with another couple and a few locals from Yasawa. The plane ride was quite choppy but the views were wonderful. Especially the landing into Yasawa Island.

Tip: Try and get a seat on the first row as those have the best view

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?

Yasawa island Resort – the plane to get to the island

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Resort – view from the plane

Checking in at Yasawa Island Resort

My Yasawa island resort review has to start with the chek-in. Following an exquisite view, while landing, a homely welcome was in place on the landing strip. There were traditional singing, drinks, and fresh fruits. We were quickly taken to the resort and a nice lunch was in order before we were shown to our room.

The rooms at Yasawa Island Resort

The deluxe Bure we had booked was well spacious and comfy, it had an indoor and an outdoor shower, few terraces with a delightful view of the pristine sea.  The room offered a lot of privacy.

Tip: The Bure Suite is a bit smaller than the Deluxe Bure. They are 2 Bure Suites in each Bure so they offer a little less privacy than the Deluxe Bure. So, if you ware on honeymoon and wants privacy, it is probably worth paying a little bit extra for a Deluxe Bure. This is one of the reason why Yasawa Island resort is the most romantic hotel in Fiji.

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Resort – the deluxe Bure
Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Resort – the bathroom with an outdoor shower

The food at Yasawa Island Resort

Having checked out the reviews on TripAdvisor before our trip, some of which stated that the food was horrible, I was quite worried about it.

But it turned out that the food was good considering the type of resort it is. No, it’s not a Michelin star type cuisine, but more of a varied and fresh cuisine

The restaurant behind the pool with an amazing view of the sea served as a dining area for our 3-course meals, both for lunch and dinner. The evening meal would often be preceded by a cocktail or a cultural activity that provided opportunities to meet other travelers.

I have dietary restrictions and the chef was very accommodating, making sure I got what I could eat every day. We probably expected a bit more seafood and fresh fruits than we got.

The food and all non-alcoholic drinks are included in the price. So enjoy!

Review of the resort’s facilities at Yasawa Island Resort

The Yasawa island resort has beautiful buildings, Pool, Bures, Day Spa, and even gardens that are large and well kept. The resort provides enough activities to keep you busy and entertained (see the top 5 things to do at Yasawa beach resort below), it also offers serenity and privacy – courtesy of the largeness and spread-out nature of the resort.

Walking on the beach around sunset was another activity we greatly enjoyed.

Tip: A 30 minutes’ walk can get you on the viewpoint higher on the hill that offers you a great view during sunset. By the way, make sure you cover yourself properly with mosquito repellent because of the many mosquitoes and flies there.

The reception area had a Wi-Fi service though it was slow. We had no Wi-Fi in our room.

Tip: If you absolutely need Wi-Fi, then ask for the room nearest the reception – it has Wi-Fi coverage.

Though the service provided there was really different from that at Four Seasons Nam Hai or the Six Senses Con Dao, it was very good. The service was friendly and welcoming but a few times, it wasn’t the most efficient service wanted. Proactivity levels varied widely, responses to requests were at times very slow and some requests even got lost. However, every single member of the staff was always smiling and that adds to the laid-back vibe of Yasawa Beach Resort.

The laid-back vibe is also seen in the type of guests the resort attracts. The guests are easygoing and unlikely to come with their designer clothes. During our stay, the resort was home to some honeymoon couples from China, some Europeans, Americans, and a family from New Zealand.

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Resort – Sunset by the pool

 

Review of the activities at Yasawa Beach resort

In this Yasawa Island resort review, we are highlighting the top five activities for a romantic hotel stay and a great honeymoon. With those activities, you can see why the Yasawa island resort is the most romantic hotel in Fiji

Private picnics

The Private picnic is definitely one activity not to be missed while at Yasawa Island Resort & Spa.

You get an entire beach all to yourself and we all know only a few places in the world will do that. The very thought of you and the love of your life having a private picnic as an escape from the harsh reality of everyday life in a tropical island Paradise is a dream come true. Yasawa Island is surrounded by 11 wonderful secluded beaches with names like Lovers’ Beach, Paradise Beach and our favorite being Champagne Beach. The beautiful nature of the beaches had us so awed that we went on a picnic almost every day reliving the idyllic feeling too.

We chose delicious picnic options from the daily selection, ordered beers or a bottle of champagne and this was delivered to us on the beach.

We were dropped off by boat at our chosen beach by the staff with cushions and an umbrella and before leaving, they would ask us when we wanted to be picked up. Yet they happened to always be 30-40 minutes late every time. So when mentioning your pick-up time, factor in the 30-40 minutes tardiness.

Private beach picnics are included in the tariff.

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Resort – picnic on your own private beach
Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Resort – Picnic on another private beach
The Blue Lagoon Caves

The Blue Lagoon caves are hidden under the volcanic peak at the southern end of Yasawa Island. The caves were used as one of the settings for the 1980 movie which starred Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. Getting there requires traveling the picturesque length of the Island and it is one of their amazing water-based activity.

The lagoon has hidden Chambers that are connected to the sea by underwater passages. Swimming here is absolutely a delight. The snorkeling outside the cave is superb, so you might want to check it out after your cave tour. Come with a little cash because there are amazing souvenirs being sold by the locals that will interest you. The Cave tour is also included in the tariff.

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Island Resort – Blue Lagoon cave
Snorkeling (or Scuba diving)

The Yasawa Island is made up of rugged volcanic rock with sheer cliffs which create the most awesome limestone coral formations and drops off when they fall into the sea. Uncharted reefs submerged in turquoise and Jade green seas make up the surroundings of the Island.

The snorkeling trips did not provide anything out of the ordinary. But they were definitely enjoyable the few times they were organized with all the fine corals and a large number of fishes.

For outstanding diving, I prefer destinations in Indonesia like Komodo, East Timor Atarau, Alor or Maumere

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Island Resort – the boat for the excursions
Cultural Activities

We also visited the village of Bukama after receiving the chief’s permission. We attended church service there and don’t say you weren’t warned, you might be asked to do a little talking during the mass. The mass was quite long but the choir was beautiful. The choir also came to the hotel on Sunday night and sang before diner

The village locals offered us the opportunity to partake in a lovo (Fijian feast), we tried the Kava too, the local drink which we really liked. The evening ended with us in a relaxed state of mind, all thanks to drinking too much Kava.

Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?
Yasawa Island Resort – Cava ceremony
The Spa

The Yasawa spa fell short of the high standards that the Asian spas have exposed us to so we felt slightly underwhelmed by the spa. If a good spa is one of the reasons you are going for a vacation, the Yasawa resort is just not the best place for you. If all you require is an occasional massage, then they will do just fine. The spa is on the beach at the end of the resort and offers a charming atmosphere.

Conclusion of my Yasawa Island Resort review

The Yasawa Island is easy to fall in love with considering the fact that they have some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. If you desire a true experience, privacy and friendly welcome and not luxurious pampering, then this resort is for you. They have many repeat customers and it is easy to see why. It is a beautiful place with beautiful people…

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honeymoon destination in Fiji?

Yasawa Island Resort – another one of the 11 private beaches

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For a romantic honeymoon in a different style, also check out my hotel reviews of The Four Seasons Nam Hai and the newly opened Ayana Komodo resort  amongst my other hotels’ reviews

Have you ever experienced Yasawa Island resort? I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a comment or your Yasawa Island resort review below.

 

 

 

 

2 thoughts on “Review: Is Yasawa Island Resort the best honeymoon destination in Fiji?”

  1. Alfie Chess

    The private picnic and cultural activities definitely drew my attention! I guess I’ll note this resort down because my honeymoon is just around the corner and I’ll definitely want to have the best experience in such a place.

  2. Lady Grasha

    Yasawa island resort and spa is just the best place if you are there with your partner. The atmosphere is very good and there are lot of things you both can do together that you’ll enjoy. Not to mention that the spa is the best I’ve been to recently.

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