Mantaray Island Resort

Great stay, the treetop house was super cute and less than 30sec walk to the beach. Make sure you do the Village Walk, 100% worth it!

The resort was in a lovely location but is a little tired, understandable after covid. Even after a few emails requesting a double bed close to the beach they did not have one arraigned for us, they had put us in a Bure up the hill. I have tendinitis in my knees so that was never going to work. In the end they put my husband and I in a Bure with twin beds closer to the beach - not at all romantic! The meal plan was really expensive but the food was plentiful, unfortunately the restaurant was up the hill so it was a painful effort on my behalf for each meal. Unlike other resorts that we stayed in this resort required a daily fuel surcharge and we also had to pay a hire fee for fins. They did not put on Manta ray trips on either of the 2 days that we stayed there although there were Manta rays in the channel both of those days. Unimpressed. Luckily we had also booked nights at Barefoot Manta Ray Resort so ended up swimming with the mantas which was our sole reason for going. To be fair other people staying at MRIR said that they had been taken on Manta trips earlier in the week so I have no idea why they told us that there were no mantas on the 2 days that we were there - Barefoot Manta Resort said that on one of the days there had in fact been 7. This resort is much more of a backpacker resort although the high cost of the meal plan would give most backpackers a second thought.

Der Service im Mantaray Island Resort kann nicht bemängelt werden. Das Personal merkte sich sofort unsere Namen und benutzte sie jedes Mal, wenn wir sie sahen. Nichts war zu viel Mühe, vor allem für das freundliche Restaurantpersonal. Das Essen war sehr gut, es gab ein Frühstücksbuffet sowie Mittag- und Abendessen à la carte. Einige Optionen waren zum Mittagessen nicht verfügbar, dies änderte sich jedoch täglich und war eindeutig von den Bootslieferungen abhängig. Hier gab es keine Probleme, es gab immer eine große Auswahl. Das Zimmer war komfortabel und geräumig und hatte eine Außendusche (Villa am Strand). Die Klimaanlage wurde während der sommerlichen Luftfeuchtigkeit sehr geschätzt. Andere Annehmlichkeiten sind vielleicht etwas einfacher als in anderen ähnlichen Resorts. Das Schnorcheln am Strand war erstklassig und die Schnorchelbootfahrt hat sich gelohnt und ist für 59 FJD ein gutes Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis - unglaubliche Unterwasserwelt. Bei unserem Aufenthalt im Hotel gab es zwar ein Problem (das außerhalb der Kontrolle des Hotels lag), aber es wurde perfekt gelöst und ich kann an der Reaktion überhaupt nichts auszusetzen haben. Sehr geschätzt.

Snorkelling spot was extremely good with beautiful corals right at the front. Mantaray resort was fairly good thanks to amazing staff members especially Mili from the bar, Jon(Mili’s hubby), Pate the manta expert snorkelling guide, Magi and Tima from the restaurant and special thanks to Naca and Nico from Nacula. Nico has been welcoming us from the first step we put on this island. Hardworking but warm hearted staff. Naca has been fantastic for us as well. We went out for snorkelling two days in a row - first day was extremely good as we got to see the local Mantaray multiple times for about an hour but the next day they did not have enough boats so we had to go out when the first two boats came back. Unfortunately we spent only 30 mins out there whereas first group spent more than an hour with the same price so it would have been great if there was bit of consistency or set time to make it fair for the price we paid for. Other than that, staff members were friendly and meals were quite okay. Def recommend for people who would like to do some manta sightseeing during tours at Yasawa islands!

The food was lovely, lunch is the best with multiple options. The wood fire pizzas are a great additive if you get hungry in the afternoon and lots of snack options at the bar. The dorms leave a little to be desired as it’s a 32 bed dorm, but the resort is a nice mix of families, backpackers and honeymooners. Lots of options for activities. The kayaks and SUP’s are in great condition. Bathrooms were always clean. If you are staying in the dorms they allow you to lock your valuables in the safe which is a very nice option. The snorkeling in front of the resort is excellent, sometimes the manta rays are right there including some reef sharks! Dive equipment was in good shape.