Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Fiji

Bula! My family (3 teenagers in high school, my wife & I) spent our Christmas & New Year Holiday at the JMC Resort. It was amazing. We appreciate that the resort facilitates the local Fijian culture and communities- instead of corporately stamping the local Fijian culture and communities out. This resort allows the local Fijians to bring their cultures into the resort and the locals love sharing about their unique villages and about their families. My wife became friends with Camamari who was super kind to our entire family and made us feel like home. We got to know about her amazing children and about her village. If you enjoy fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, SUPs, kayaking, hiking & exploring - then this is the place for you! The locals went out of their way for us on New Years with a party at the bar, pool and fireworks at the pier - ending up in the pool after midnight - so fun! My son and I caught amazing yellowfin tunas with Bait. Bait is not only the best skipper/fish guide we know - he is one of the kindest and nicest people we have ever met. We love Bait. We stayed in Bure No. 8 for a few nights - it is spacious with two bathrooms and is right in the beach. The A/C units worked fine. Then we spent the rest of our stay in Bure No. 23 - which is nice but smaller with 1 bathroom. However, it is right on the Point with amazing views! Okay - the food here is outstanding- and we have been to three star Michelin restaurants! The selection/options were dynamic - well thought out and super tasty. Even the coffee was fantastic! The bar has plenty of options and even makes non-alcoholic drinks (somehow) fun! Just keep in mind the service is always with smiles and kindness and on Fijian Time. You will spend a long time at lunch and dinner. My kids and I enjoyed the Hobie sailboats and SUPs. Leo was our dive master, even at our dives at the Namena Reserve - he is professional, safe & solid - making for an amazing fun time! Gabby took us to a local geothermal pool with warm mud - mud baths - my first and so fun! We had a blast tubing down the river too and saw hot water shoot up from a geothermal hotspot beneath the river. Wow. And the hike to the local water fall is worth it. Try to swim up to the falls and climb through the falls to the cave on the other side. So cool. Again - not corporate at all - just enjoying the local mud pool, river and water fall. Learning about the local villages was interesting and eye opening too. The Fijians are wonderful and their love and friendliness is infectious! Thank you to everyone at JMC Resort! Huge Vinaka vaka levu to Bait, Camamri, Gabby & Leo!

This place combines the comforts of a high end luxury resort with cultural and educational enrichment. The facilities are beautiful and situated right on a spectacular reef. They have a marine biologist on site, and have a full schedule of cultural experiences from basket making to dancing. The food is fabulous. They grow all of their amazing food on the organic farm in the back. Their pastry chef is remarkable – the chocolate is sourced from the cacao farm up the road and is some of the best chocolate confections I’ve had in my life. Dive sites are fantastic. But you don't need to be a diver to enjoy this trip. They go out of their way to ensure the trip is relaxing and restoring but also enriching. While I came as a solo traveler, I could see that this is also a phenomenal option for families with kids – they have the equivalent of a fiji day camp for the kids while the parents are off adventuring or relaxing. I want to return for a multi-generational family vacation. But it was also amazing as a solo traveler, since the resort staff went out of their way to include me in dinners and activities, so I felt like I was traveling with my favorite friends!

Holidays with the accountants. This is a expensive holiday, in my mind unnecessarily expensive. They charge the very top western prices, while paying local expenses and wages. Evidence of cost cutting popped up everywhere. The lovely local workers were clearly strained. Sadly, I think you can do a lot better for such significant spend.