Vatulele Island Resort

The development of a perfect tropical escape was the vision of Emmy-award winning Australian television producer Henry Crawford, and Martin Livingston a fifth generation European Fijian, hotelier. It was voted Fiji''s top resort in the Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards (Dec 2004) and "Fiji's Top Property" in the Australia/Pacific Hotel Management/AAA Tourism Awards (April 2005).

Vatulele (pronounced ‘Vah-too-lay-lay’), is located on a spectacular island in the Fiji group. The resort is 'all inclusive' and accommodates just 19 couples who are pampered by 110 staff. In keeping with the owner's philosophy, there are no TVs, newspapers, telephones, money transactions or shoes.

Vatulele is generally acknowledged as one of the most outstanding 'bare-foot' luxury resorts in the world, and is well known for its amazing weddings as well as scuba diving.

Vatulele has been designed to ensure that your stay is carefree from the moment you arrive on the island. You don't need to tip, you don't need formal dress and even footwear is optional at all times. However, to make your stay as smooth as possible, you do need to know some general information about both Fiji and the resort.

Accommodations

There are 18 Deluxe Beach Villas (bures) of equal standard. Some are further away from the central bure (located between 3 & 4) than others. Please let us know your distance preference when you are booking and we will do our best to accommodate your needs. Sometimes guests (particularly past ones) request specific bures. On all occasions we do our best to accommodate these requests, but you should know that we NEVER GUARANTEE a special bure will be available at the time. One of the Villas (the most distant) has been built as a Premium Honeymoon bure. It has air conditioning and a plunge pool along with premium finishes and furnishings.

Guest Profile

Vatulele visits are often “special occasion” vacations - honeymoons, birthdays or anniversaries. Vatulele particularly suits those who want to escape from the pressures of the Western world, yet still be able to enjoy five star standards. As the bures are set in jungle, Vatulele will not suit travellers who feel more comfortable in a “bug free”, sterile environment (at some times of the year, as with any tropical destination, there may be some mosquitoes after rain, though we do have a very comprehensive control program). Rather, it suits the more adventurous traveller who wants “to get the sand between their toes”.

The resort particularly suits OUTGOING people who are able to enjoy the company of others, in addition to privacy. More than half our guests are North American, the balance is split evenly between Australia/New Zealand and Europe (mostly English, German speaking and Italian). We strongly recommended that guests be able to speak SOME ENGLISH to get full value out of the experience we offer. We are normally able to accommodate requests for singles - depending on space. As most guests mix together guests travelling alone are unlikely to feel excluded. We do not recommend less than 5 nights. Our average stay is 7 nights. Guests under the age of twelve years are not accepted, unless in certain circumstances in THE POINT. If we have available space we accept singles (you are not alone as many guests dine communally at "The Captain's Table". Unlike some other top end resorts in Fiji, we do not discriminate against same sex couples.

Diving

The quality of the scuba diving sites at Vatulele is exceptional and it is said to be one of the premier dive destinations in the region. Vatuele offers a variety of courses: 'Resort' courses, full 'Open Water' certification courses, and various specialty courses.

The resort offers a cross-section of diving possibilities: soft coral, hard coral and pelagics. Underwater visibility ranges from above average to excellent and there are few currents. The island is surrounded by deep water with large 'drop-offs', offering twenty-two dive sites within fifteen minutes' travel.

Vatulele Island

• Located 25 minutes flying time (south-west) from Nadi airport
• Normally we use a seaplane that lands on the lagoon in front of the resort
• Unless advised to the contrary this will be on PACIFIC ISLAND SEAPLANES
• We also have a well maintained (grass) airfield. Not suitable for jets!

• We automatically reserve seats on the transfer flights, and no tickets are required. No western development apart from the resort which consists of 17 villas located on a magnificent white sand beach and lagoon. A GRAND HONEYMOON BURE and premium villa called THE POINT

• Island is mostly covered with dense jungle and surrounded by spectacular coral reef

• The island has 4 villages with a native (subsistence) population of 1000
• Famous for TAPA cloth (made from bark) and the legendary Red Prawns
• Island religion is Methodist and the people are quite conservative
• Fijians are generally regarded as the ‘aristocrats’ of the South Pacific and are noted for their friendly and gregarious nature. (Voted ‘world’s friendliest people’ by Conde Nast Readers).