Garden Island Resort

★ 3 · Debra R. · 2010-01-11

Funky experience as hotel in flux. Specific to diving, hotel was empty--literally. Only 4 guests so we had dive boat to ourselves which was super. On Fiji time meaning when we were to gather @8:30--maybe leave 9:30 as they slowly got organized. Staff sure knew their stuff. Wished they shared more re: how to be a better diver. Equipment horrible, what there was of it. As it's remote, takes longer and more expensive to get it (some stolen along the way); management changes; lack of expertise in maintaining it. Dive staff had equipment that was leaky and suits that were substandard. They did not even have a dive suit of reasonable size to rent--had to drive around island to other resorts and borrow. While the reefs are absolutely glorious, after a week we saw no major schools or big fish. Got tedious as it was much the same day to day. The dive master is uncannily savvy in knowing it all--currents, locations, what to expect. It was fine but doubt I'll return.

★ 5 · Sara G. · 2009-06-28

At the Airport, I was greeted by Nigel, the hotel manager, who was very friendly and made the drive to the resort a pleasant one. When I arrived, I received a warm welcome from the staff and was taken to a beautiful ground floor room, with Jacuzzi and amazing views out over the sea (it was so nice in fact, I thought they had made a mistake with my booking). The standard of the room was lovely and modern and great value for money (the bed and linen were fantastic quality). This was just the rest I needed after travelling and staying in hostels over the last 6 months. The only criticism I had with the room was a bright light was needed by the mirror as the main lights were very dim for us girls who like to pamper ourselves and sometimes put on make up. The hotel staff were so friendly and catered to my every need. The only criticism I have really was that the lunch menu could have been lighter, I am not accustomed to eating a 3 course meal for lunch as well as dinner, however, if you mention to the staff you would prefer a sandwich or fruit they are happy to supply you. The musicians in the evening were fantastic and very pleasant to speak to. I happily bought a CD from them to remind me of the lovely relaxing evenings I had whilst listening to them, drinking wine and chatting to the staff and management. As for the diving, this was truly amazing and probably the best soft coral I have ever seen. The dive masters were all lovely and very knowledgeable. The fact that I was pretty much the only diver going out every day, the value for money was outstanding for the quality to which I received. My only criticism were the regulators, which were in need of a thorough service, as I quite often had to use my spare or change to a different reg. However, I did mention this to the management and they were very responsive and said they would make sure they were serviced straight away. I was so happy with my stay, I decided to extend my trip by a further 4 days and spent another 3 of those diving. I managed to get to the great white wall 3 times, which was great. I think I covered pretty much most of the rainbow reef during my stay and accumulated some amazing videos and photos. When I had to change my flight between Taveuni and Nadi, the airline wanted to charge me an extra FJD 90, to which, when the sales and marketing manager realized called the airline straight away and managed to get them to drop the fee to a nominal FJD 30, which I thought was wonderful service and going above and beyond what was expected. I was very disappointed to leave Garden Island and could have quite easily have stayed longer had it had not been for my back packer budget!

★ 5 · Carol N. · 2009-10-05

I went to GIR with a group from our local dive shop and we were the very first group to stay with the new management. First off, I was thrilled that Aqua Trek added a third dive for us every day and we also had the option to have them take us over to Waitatavi Beach on the little island across from the resort where we could shore dive to our heart's content The dive staff was absolutey wonderful! I dove with Hiram, Annie and Jimmy, and they were all exeptional to dive with. They are all locals and they know the reef inside and out. I enjoyed watching Hiram as he observed the surface and made 100% accurate predictions of what the current was going to do during our dive. He is a very soft-spoken man, so I'd suggest to pay close attention during his dive briefings - you will be glad you did when you do your safety stop in a current so strong your bubbles are released on a vertical plane and you fly like a flag in a windstorm as you cling to a piece of reef - bring a reef hook!!! All DM's were very attentive, communicated well, they were fun, friendly and extremely knowledgeable. I can't make a judgement on the rental gear - we all had our own, but I have no doubt that they take great care of it. As far as the diving itself is concerned, the soft coral is truly amazing - especially the blushing coral - very neat! I thought the diving was spectacular, great viz, lots of things to see - especially fun little things like lots of species of nudibranch and things like that. I would empathize that the Rainbow Reef poses challenges for novice divers. There are many wall dives and at times very strong currents. We had a few new divers in our group and they had the ususal challenges of running low on air sooner and struggling with their bouyancy - what worked in their favor was that we had many very experienced divers in our group - several dive masters and 3 instructors - who stayed with them, plus the dive staff was watching the novice divers carefully and they were right there when they were needed and helped them out, and if necessary they'd stay with them during the safety stops and assisted them on their ascends. They were great, really paid attention, very safe! We always went to the same island for our surface intervals, it's a beautiful beach and I could see reef squid, lionfish and christmas tree worms and a spanish dancer right there when I snorkeled after lunch. The food was great - our breakfast snack was fresh fruit, cookies and different juices, lunch was a little bit of everything - it all was good and fresh and there was always something different. Food at GIR was also very good, we could choose from a menu every day. We had to move to another hotel on the main island for the last three days of our trip, and we all agreed that we would have loved to stay longer at GIR. The staff was small and personable, we all got to know each other quickly and we shared a lot of kava with them in the evenings - do not miss this! Kava is Fiji! In summary, I'd say that GIR and Taveuni is THE place for you if you are an avid diver and are not into shopping and night live and tons of fancy restaurants. GIR is truly a dive hotel - it sits by a retaining wall, so there is no beach to speak of, there is one small convenience store nearby, for everything else you'll need to get a ride into one of the larger villages, and I would empathize that they are still villages...! There are a few upscale resorts and a golf course on the island, but aside from that it's rain forest, so if you travel with a non-diving teenager or a high maintenance non-diver, I think they'd be bored to tears. If you love nature, peace and quiet, are obsessed with diving and want to immerse yourself in Fijian culture - this place is your ticket! Be sure to visit Bouma National Park - it's well worth the hike to get to the waterfalls! Important: Fijians SHARE everything, if you want to tip them, ask them about their 'Christmas Fund'. There is one box for the dive shop and one for the hotel staff (they are separate!), so be sure to place your monetary appreciation in the x-mas boxes! Also, they love gifts from us, t-shirts, hats, etc. from your local dive shop or from other places you've been. Jimmy had an old, decrepid poker stick, so one of the gals in our group gave him her nicer, better, longer one! Stuff like that makes a great gift. In summary, all I can say is that this was a wonderful experience, I hope to go back there again, I would highly recommend it for divers.