Fiji - Bamboo Beach Resort

[sophia]

Hola Sophia:

Could you pls. tell us more about the diving?

Did you went to the off shore distant sites in Bligh Waters or the close to shore sites in the island's fringing reefs.
How was the vis. + marine life + corals ?

the diving at the bligh waters is spectacular!! the best dive site was neptune. i heard Bamboo Reef Divers is planning to have a shark dive there, that'll be really interesting to see.

shore dive's visibility is not so good, but if you want to see juvenile fish, it's a good place to go.

 

[Niamey]

Bamboo Beach Reorts was started by the previous owners of Marlin Bay Resort in Fiji which was recently sold to some Russians. He took most of his employees with him to BBR, so no wonder there was that confusion. Bamboo Beach Resort (BBR) is open for business but not yet completed, expected date of completion in Dec 2004. The poolside resurant and bar, as well as the SPA and DIVE shop are not yet completed. Crystal Dive shop is located just the other end of the island until they move to BBR. For now they will pick you up at BBR and you can book your dives through the resort. Diving in the Bligh waters and around Nananu-i-ra is superb. Crystal Dive operation is excellent. The rooms at BBR are competed and beautiful. They sit up on Privated outdoor showers located just off bathroom are wonderful. Rooms decorated with an asian flare. Downside is none of the windows open, so you can't take advantage of cool breezes but having to use ac cuts down on mildew and dampness which you can't get away from in Fiji. Food and the main resturant is gourmet. It's group seating, long elegant tables.

 

[sophia]

I have been in contact with one of the BBR staff and she has confirmed that the owner of BBR still owns part of MBR. And they took only a couple of employees from Beqa with them. Although, MBR has a new office staff that are new to the biz. Their dive shop will be operational by next week. And I also heard that they got a new chef that cooks fab food!

 

[sophia]

Here is the latest from Bamboo Beach, first week of July, 2004. There is still much to be done. No Bar and Grill at pool side. No restrooms or showers either. You can get cold drinks from the office adjacent to the pool, but no mixed drinks. Pool is beautiful. All deep blue tile and sparkling clean. Pool chairs and lounges leave a litle to be desired. Bures are completed, but not really finished. There is lots of detail work left to do everywhere. Rooms sit up on a ridge with fantastic views of the water. They are clean, have plenty of room, and excellent quality mattresses. No water toys. no hammocks. Grounds are still being worked on but it is all looking pretty darn good! Food is to die for! Diving is great! Best I've done in quite awhile. Book your trip from Saturday to Saturday, this wil insure you get to go to the outer reefs, as there is a 6 diver minimum. I'm sure this is due to the fuel costs. The staff is a cut above the normally great service you get in Fiji. Warm, friendly and very helpful. Office and support staff is never too busy to not stop and listen. Don't hesitate to ask for anything, as they will take care of you on the spot. No one works 8 to 5 around the place. I mentioned a problem with the nails on my deck to the man incharge of the maintenance one evening before dinner and it was taken care of by the time I returned to my room that night! All in all a good experience. Would have been a great one if it was a fully completed resort. Bar, Grill and Restroom/showers are a must if they are going to keep calling this a 5 star resort. 5 star people, but as yet, not the resort.

 

[maddmike]

Trying to decide if Nananu-i-Ra is the right place to go - BBR is too expensive, so we were thinking of staying at a private house or Betham's. But no one says much about anything except the diving, which I understand is excellent.

So,

How easy is it to get around the island? roads? taxis?
How much of a town/village is there? Are there restaurants?
Is there anything to do besides dive & hang out?

 

[CaribQueen]

Go somewhere else if you do not enjoy JUST diving and laying around a swimming pool and 'hiking" up to the bar to get a drink. There are NO roads, NO taxi's, NO town, NO village, NO nothing to do. You cannot even walk around the island due to tides and private property. Granted, the diving was top notch...but you can't be underwater all day. There are little to no activities. You can walk to two beachside eats and drinks places...they are very refreshing to visit when you get tired of other guests @ BBR *****ing about their stocks & bonds and their Hummer's. The drinks were better and cheaper, by far, at the backpacker places ie McDonalds or Bethan's Cottages, but check the tide first. You must be phyically fit to perfection to survive the tremendous amount of walking involved at BBR. It is a hike to get from your bure to the restarant. It is even more of a hike just to go to the pool. God, forbid if you forgot something in the bure. The dive boat is way far away. I am phyically fit but have one bad hip that hasn't bothered me in years and I suffered dearly. There are much better places with great diving in the South Pacific. Don't waste your $$ on this place. (If you want to dive with Crystal Divers, find out via e-mail w/Crystal Divers, where else you can stay to dive with them. I hate to think that BBR is the only place you can stay and dive with Crystal Divers. Dan (owner of CD), might know of somewhere else.

 

[Scubaroo]

sophia, sounds like you might have been there the same time as my wife and I.

Definitely a group destination - I wouldn't book there again as a couple, but would go back in future with a larger group - you end up being "carried with the flow" a bit - it feels a little like the groups are the prime guests when it comes to the diving arrangements, but I honestly can't fault the service of any of the staff. It's pretty cool to go somewhere and have the facilities manager bust open a coconut on request (thanks Ken!).

It has potential. It was disappointing to see that the bar & grill was not finished, and the tennis/basketball court definitely needs a makeover. A lot of facilities improvements were underway during our stay, but out of sight type stuff like a greywater treatment plant, which apparently the former resort never had. None of the construction interfered with our stay (last week June / first week July 04).

There is absolutely fantastic snorkelling a 5 minute boat ride away at a beach around a small headland to the north(?). Saw more stuff snorkelling and poking around in the tidal mudpools than on a couple of the dives - even a tiger cowrie. We went to the resort not expecting to do much *other* than dive, so we were pretty satisfied with our stay. Take a couple of good books, and donate one or two to the growing library on departure. Leave your gear on the dive boat, and bring your wetsuit in a bag to the dining hall for breakfast, and head straight down to the boat after eating to save a trip back up to the bure. We were in the very very top bure on the ridge, so we know all about the walking up and down the hill. Definitely take a good pair of walking shoes - thongs or flip-flops won't cut it on the steep paths. There's a 120V converter in the dining hall for US chargers, otherwise the rooms all have 240V Australian plugs (except for the ubiquitous universal electric razor plug - not suitable for plugging a charger into).

Funnily enough we thought the food was good, but not great. The walks up and down the hill definitely keeps you from gaining any weight during your vacation If you want great food, nowhere on earth beats the Ports o' Call restaurant at Sheraton Fiji in Denarau. Worth booking a night there just to go to the restaurant before you fly out from Nadi.

Our main gripe is that someone packed my wife's Cobra console cover into their gear bag by mistake and we never saw it again.

 

[kroorda]

Hi, Haven't been to Bamboo Beach yet. However, we've been to Marlin Bay a couple of times and loved it. Great Diving & super relaxing and nice resort. The resorts share the same owners so I trust that Bamboo Beach should be nice. We've been told that the diving at B.B is even better than at Marlin Bay. That should be spectacular. We will be going to B.B in January 05.

 

[chuck e]

We stayed a week each at Marlin Bay and Bamboo Beach this July with a small group. Even tho BB was a more modern resort, MB clearly edged it out for overall experience and ambience. The MB staff lives in two small villages nearby which were allowed to visit and were serenaded nightly by the school teachers during dinner. The dive operation was first class with roomy and comfortable boats. Diving was great at both resorts, but the layout at MB was much better.