My wife and I had a wonderful wedding and honeymoon at Maravu. The only complaint we have is that it took them an hour to have our room ready. After a 13 hour flight that is the last thing you want. All the staff we came into contact with were beyond nice. Flo was the wedding planner and we could not be happier with her work ( especially the pictures she took with our camera). Our bure was #20 and had the best oceanview. It could use a little TLC. There were a couple of minor issues. We loved that we hardly ever saw the maid and they did a wonderful job. We also loved the turn down service every night. The activities they offered were great. We did the honeymoon island, bouma waterfalls and levena costal walk. Loved them all!!! Did not like the drive to the walk and waterfalls it was beyond bumpy. The food is increadible!!! I loved it all and had plenty of it. The beach was nice. It felt like we were the only ones on it most of the time. Snorkling right off the beach is pretty good. The privacy in the bure and around the resort is very good. Alot of the time it seemed like we were the only ones at the resort. The nightly band was nice and Meke dancers were great. We loved learning about the culture and Fijian ways. We would recommend this resort to anyone wanting to have a wedding, honeymoon or just a vacation.

Just returned from a fatastic Fijian holiday at the equally exotic Maravu Plantation resort.

To begin with, there aren't enough adjectives around to do this place justice.

From the moment you arrive on the island, you are treated like a beloved long-lost family member. The hotel staff of at least 2-3 people are waiting for you to deplane and to whisk you and your luggage off to the resort, where the welcoming party SERENADE your arrival and present you with a refreshing coconut drink.

The resort itself is immaculate. It is so peaceful and serene, everything is so very well maintained and efficiently run. By the time I completed my registration, the daily buffet breakfast was beckoning, and immediately after my meal, I was shown to my quarters.

I had bure #15 and I LOVED IT!!! There were no phones, no TV's no WIFI, air conditioning and a bubbling spa that soothed my tired body after a 10 hour flight and the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Talk about pure bliss.

I have to compliment the staff for the incredible service. They truly get to know you while you are there, they treat you like royalty and they do a magnificent job of it. The staff are communicative, pro-active, pay attention to detail and all possess a highly-tuned sense of humor. Special appreciation to Chookie, Suka, Laite, Fine, Lilibet, Tina, Tupena, Pate and William.

Oh and did I mention the food! In a word - FANTASTIC!!! The resort chef, Roy is a gem. I highly recommend his pumpkin soup and his baked fish. One can tell that the ingredients are of the freshest quality (there is an organic veggie garden on the resort) and literally plucked from the garden an hour before it's served to you.

There is a pool at the resort, but I passed on it for the secluded sandy private beach and the magnificent ocean. The water is literally 5 shades of blue. It must be experienced to be appreciated.

Overall I would say this is probably the best hotel I've ever stayed in and I am extremely fussy! Some folks may take exception to not being able to access the internet or not having a phone in their rooms, but in this case, those are positives as to why one should visit this little slice of bliss.

I highly recommend Maravu to anyone thinking of visiting!!! Expect 4-star service and experience 5-star luxury!

My husband and I stayed at Maravu Plantation Resort from 10/06/2007 – 10/14/2007 and were married there on 10/10/2007 (see his review below – Stefan Brandes). We enjoyed everything about our first trip to Fiji…from the gorgeous coconut palm tree filled island of Taveuni, the diving along Somosomo Strait, the Fijian people who are truly the friendliest people on Earth, and of course Maravu Plantation Resort.

I felt like we really got to enjoy Fiji at it’s purest by visiting Taveuni. We were not bound to a resort island but got a chance to really explore the island, hiking to Bouma Waterfalls, visiting a local village (meeting with the chief and touring the elementary school), and shopping for Fijian artwork (handicrafts) around Somosomo Village. Taveuni is a beautifully lush island and exactly what I wanted for our trip to the South Pacific.

Maravu Plantation Resort far exceeded our expectations. While there are other resorts on Taveuni and on smaller islands surrounding Taveuni that are more expensive and thus more modern and newer, Maravu provided the true Fijian experience we wanted. Our accommodations (Honeymoon Deluxe Suite #17 & Oceanview Spa Villa #18) were absolutely beautiful, with four-poster beds and simple but elegant island furnishings. We especially loved the outdoor shower (never took one indoors) and the private plunge pool. We were originally booked in another Oceanview Spa Villa (#21) that was their largest with largest private pool, but when we saw that it only had a partial ocean view they kindly moved us at our request. As my husband said, the wall of windowed doors that completely opened up onto the outdoor deck with the full ocean view was stunning!

Food at Maravu was top notch in my opinion. Yes there was a casual elegance about it but presentation was always beautiful and it tasted so good. They make amazing soups and I loved them all so much that I ordered soup every day it was offered. Each one was better then next. And this was odd to me because I never expected to love eating soup in the tropics! The steak dinner they made for our private wedding dinner was exceptional. Omelettes in the morning were also yummy, as well as the muffins and the pineapple jam I fell in love with and had to buy before returning home.

There are plenty of activities to keep you busy during your stay. From paid excursions, to the free afternoon classes at the resort, horseback riding, free kayaking and snorkeling equipment…You will never get bored unless you want to be. As has been mentioned the private beach is a short walk down the hill and across the street. I too was honestly concerned about this and it was probably my only reservation about Maravu before getting there. But I can honestly tell you it was never an issue. Our bures were very private and thus tucked either towards the back of the property or up on the hill. Walking through the beautiful grounds down the slight hill or walking down the stairs from our oceanview bure, our walk never took more the 2-3 minutes. And although you do cross a street and that street is the main road around the island, you have to remember that getting cars to the island is very expensive as well as gas, so there really aren’t many cars. We never had any worries, even when crossing at night. What you do get is a small, private beach that many times you enjoy all to yourself.

Finally, our wedding. I wanted a stress-free but beautiful wedding. And that is exactly what I got. Laite planned our perfect day. All I had to do was give her a general idea of what I wanted and she took care of the rest. As my husband told you regarding the video camera, they went above and beyond to make sure we had the most perfect day. And I can honestly say we did. I wouldn’t change a thing. It was perfect!

I have no hesitation recommending Maravu Plantation Resort or Taveuni to anyone. We can’t wait to go back (and check out the coconut palm we planted at the wedding). We look forward most to seeing people that we came to treasure as an integral part of our wonderful trip to Fiji: Laite, Maria, Mary, Titi, Esther, Liberta, Tracy, Tina, Chuckey, Bubba, Maria (in the restaurant) Suka, Sevu, William, Abraham, and everyone else I’m missing. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!

Also thanks to Qio and Caption Harry at Jewel Bubble Divers for my first dive experience. It was amazing and now I’m hooked. If I don’t get certified before I’m back in Fiji, I will definitely do it with you.

Shauna Brandes

I, like some men, allowed my significant other to make the arrangements for our Wedding Trip to Fiji. She gave me options and eventually we (she) narrowed it down to Maravu on Tavuni, Fiji. She showed me all of the reviews and like some people I was a bit skeptical. I got on trip advisor myself and searched out what few negative comments were made and made a little note for myself. I guess in a way I was preparing for it to be not so grand. How could it be? I figured it was going to be like when you hear about the funniest movie of the year. You go ready to laugh your butt off and you leave thinking ....ehhh. I mean c'mon how could Maravu be as good as everyone says?! Well the skeptic is here to tell you that......IT IS THAT GOOD! BETTER!

To the naysayers....One person complained about their air conditioning- saying that it took awhile to fix. I am sure they had no idea that repairs come all the way from the main land. You are on a tiny little island for god's sake. Oh and by the way - apparently there was a problem with our A.C. and there was someone there (from Suva) before we even realized it.

Another complained about bugs...it's the tropics! Another about frogs? Are you kidding? The beach is to far away. No it’s not. It is across a 2 lane very small road and you may not even see a car on your way. Trust me with all of the great food you will be getting you will need the walk. But really it’s maybe a 3 minute walk from the resort itself - Maybe longer from some of the bures but that’s the price of privacy.

If you want an American style hotel, stay at the Sheraton on the mainland, but if you want a unique experience in some wonderful accommodations stay at Maravu. So here's my review point by point.

The Rooms- We had two suites while we were there one pre wedding and one post. Our first #17 was beautiful. And it was huge! I loved the out door tub and shower. It was only eclipsed by our ocean view room #18. A bit smaller but still nice sized. This room is awesome. A little nicer finishes but it is the views that make this room! Breathtaking every night at sunset. The whole back wall opens up to a deck. It was so nice to sit out there and read a book or just watch the southern sky. What I really liked about it was how intelligently designed the suite was. The out door tub and shower could be opened to the view and still remain very private.

The Food- Great! I was a little concerned about the food since it was all included. I have stayed at resorts like this where the food served reflected that pricing policy; not at Maravu. It was really great. It's not ultra fine dining but it was tasty and there was plenty of it. It was defiantly more of a casual atmosphere and the food reflected that.

The Resort- The grounds are simple bet very well kept. Again if you want marble pathways; Sheraton. Lots of Palm tree and grass and rolling hills. There is not a lot of extensive landscaping. They just allowed the beauty of Taveuni take care of that. I found it to be quite understated. The beach is small but never, ever crowded. You have to remember this isn’t a huge resort so a small beach is fine. The snorkeling off the beach is great too. The trick is to go out there a bit. (100-150 meters or so) If you don’t want to swim there is a person on the beach that will rent you a sea-spy. It’s a little electric boat with viewing windows; pretty fun.

The Diving- This is the reason my wife chose taveuni. The diving was great and the dive shop, Jewel Bubble was great too. Qio and Misa were great to dive with and Cap’t Harry is the happiest man on Taveuni. He will leave you smiling. We went to a variety of dive sites and it was always amazing. Qio even took my wife on her first dive and now she is very excited to become certified. We also met Qio’s wife- wonderfully friendly, and daughter - so cute. Great, great people that do everything they can to make sure you have a good expierence.

The People- I saved the best for last - Here’s the difference, the people. I have stayed in hotels all over the world. And in every decent hotel the people are nice, and they may even know your name. But the people at Maravu offer that and more. Here are the few stand out moments for me.

I had very few responsibilities leading up the vacation and wedding, but one of those was to get a video tape for our camera prior to leaving. On the plane I realized….I forgot the tape! I thought for sure that we’d be able to get it on the island but since I did hardly any of the planning I did not realize that that was going to be impossible. (Of course my wife knew) The people at Maravu took us to every store on the island to no avail. That was not the stand out moment. Here’s the difference. Maria at the resort had me write down the exact information about the tape and had it flown in from Suva. It arrived 30 minutes before the wedding and now we have a video to show our family. Oh and by the way she did the video and it was great.

The people aren’t just nice because they have to be. We went to a restaurant down the road to watch the sunset. Unfortunately it was closed for a private party. At that moment one of the girls from the desk at Maravu pulled in with some friends. She saw us and came out an insisted that we join the party. They really are as nice as they seem.

Finally- Our flight out of Taveuni was cancelled so we stayed an extra night at the resort. As a joke I said to the person from Maravu, “good thing there is a room, or we’d have to stay at your house” She turned to me and asked, “Would you like to stay? Why don’t you?” We opted for the resort because they did have a room but I really believe that she was completely serious. There are dozens of other little examples but at the end of that day when the plane was cancelled and, for what ever reason, all of the other people from the other resorts were stranded, we were back home at beautiful Maravu having another great meal, served by amazing people, while they all scrambled for a place to sleep.

BTW- after the driver from Maravu dropped us off they went back to the airport to help the others to find a place to stay.

It really is that good.

Stefan Brandes