Octopus Resort — Hotel in Waya

Octopus Resort is perfect if you are looking for a secluded, quiet, relaxing place to stay in the Waya Islands. ||From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed with a beautiful Fijian welcome song, a cocktail, and smiles. The staff at Octopus are some of the friendliest, most humble people we have met in our travels.||We stayed in Premium Garden Bure 6 which was next to the spa and nestled in amongst the beautiful tropical trees and flowers. The room was well appointed with super comfortable beds, each with mosquito netting but we never needed it. The bathroom is open-air with an outdoor rain shower which we love. While we had some centipedes scurrying along the bathroom floor, they didn't mind us and we didn't mind them. ||The food at Octopus was one of the best parts of our stay. Each morning, there were fresh-baked pastries, fresh fruit, juices, coffee, and a menu of ala carte options ranging from eggs to a delicious Fijian French Toast. At lunch, we could choose from several options on the menu. My favorite was the Chicken Salad, which, admittedly, I ate 3 times during our stay. The dinners were beyond anything we have experienced in all of our travels. Each night, we chose each course of a 5-course meal. The dinners are served in the European style with a starter, appetizer, palate cleanser, main course, and dessert. While it sounds like a lot of food, the portions are small enough that you don't go away hungry, but you also are not leaving food on the plate.||One of the highlights of our trip was the hike over the mountain to visit the local village where the majority of the employees live. I will say that if you struggle with elevation gains or are not in the best of shape, this may be a challenge for you. One run of stairs up the mountain is 71 stairs and was challenging for me. The hike is beautiful as we strolled through the jungle, saw wild pigs and piglets, and came over the mountain to the village on the beach. We learned all about the village life, participated in a Kava ceremony with the village elders, and were treated to a performance by the villagers, and then shopped for local handicrafts made by the ladies in the village. Then it was back over the hill.||The SCUBA diving shop, Vertical Blue, took us to some amazing dive spots around the islands. The first day of diving, we dropped in on Black Tip Reef Sharks which was absolutly amazing. The diving was spectacular with colorful corals, lots of fish life, and even a shipwreck, complete with a huge Hawksbill turtle.||While the meals were included in the meal plan cost, beverages, except for water, were not. That was not an issue as we don't drink alcohol heavily and mostly had water throughout the day to stay hydrated, which they provide free of charge at the bar.||Some things to note - ||The boat ride from the mainland to the resort is a bit long, so be sure and have water with you and take motion sickness pills if you get seasick. ||Once you get to the island, you will transfer to another small boat to get to shore so I suggest you wear sandals or take your shoes off unless you want wet shoes.||Take snacks like crackers, granola bars, Pringles-type chips, etc. as there are not stores on the island the the snack options are limited and can get costly. I also took tea bags to make iced tea in a travel tumbler. **Just be sure to claim all of it with customs and do not take any honey.||Woudl we return to Octopus? Absolutely! We loved the resort, the staff, the food, the room, the diving...everything about it. This was our first trip to Fiji and we look forward...

Ridiculously overpriced for everything! The rooms, the activities, the boat transfers but especially the food package. $189 per person, per day for a below average food package. They ask for you to fill in a questionnaire before arrival to state any dietary requirements and then nothing was even pre arranged for it, I had to restate it at the beginning of each meal time and even then the wrong things were served numerous times. Breakfast was average at best, the lunch menu was the same each day, even the ‘lunch specials’ board had 2 out of 3 options the same for the 3 days we stayed there. The evening meal was tasty and they try and make it feel like you’re eating at a fine dining restaurant with the multiple courses but it doesn’t hide the fact that it’s just multiple small portions. If you waned to order any extra food it was an extra $47.. whether you wanted a burger or a fruit bowl. Majority of the staff here are super friendly and great at their jobs but there were a few certain ones who you made it feel like you were bothering them when asking for something especially the lunch time servers. Due to the property being fully booked me and my girlfriend had to stay in a dorm the first night before moving into a private garden villa for our second and third night, we had to switch villas after one night due to them overbooking the first villa which we were happy to do but it was very annoying when they expected us to be checked out of the room at 9.30am and wait by the pool until the new one was available, they also said that they would have our luggage moved for us but after 40 minutes of being in the new villa I had to go and collect the luggage myself. All the room changing fun made it a very long process when it came to paying the bill for the drinks at the end due to giving 3 different room numbers to the staff. They tried to charge their own room rates rather than the price I had received with using booking.com They had also added on some activities that we didn’t even do, I’m not sure whether this was an accident or something they do regularly hoping people don’t notice.

Lobster/seafood dinner menu.. stating you get a ‘complimentary’ bottle of sparkling wine but have to pay an extra $249/$200 for the package so it’s not exactly complimentary. Also they try and advertise all the great things you are getting for the extra money but when it’s just a lemon wedge or tomato sauce it doesn’t really seem that impressive.

The snorkelling here is great, the few times we did it here, we had near perfect visibility and there is so much to see. Also stunning sunset views from the beach and bar area.

The staff who play the live music during the evening dinner were really good. Unfortunately the other music that is on at other times of the day is not very well organised with the songs just on repeat, one song was actually played four times in a row before someone changed it.

Overall I really wouldn’t recommend staying here, it’s not worth the money at all. We had a much more enjoyable time and more local authentic experience at barefoot kuata for a lot more...

If you go to Fiji, you want to stay at Octopus Resort! Our family of 4 (kids ages 15 and 12) stayed in a beachfront bure and they weren't kidding about beach front! We had the ocean about 10 meters from our front door! It was delightful to listen to the sound of the waves as we went to bed each night and walk right down the front steps and into the water from our bure! The beds were comfortable and the outdoor shower was refreshing.

This resort is on a secluded strip of beach on an island that has no roads and no cars. It is only accessible by boat, which makes it really special. There is a boat channel in the reef which enables snorkeling at any time of the day regardless of the tide. The reef and aquatic life in it were spectacular. We spent more than half our waking hours exploring the reef.

There were activities planned daily, some free, some at an additional charge. All the paid activities were worth every penny. Our family went on the village hike (free) where we were treated to a Kava ceremony, a meke show, and a craft sale by the local women. We also got to see the local kindergarten and learn about the schools. We went night snorkeling which gave a completely different view to the beautiful reef; we went hand line fishing and the fish we caught were cooked for us for lunch the following day (delicious!); we went on the Mountain Hike and were treated to gorgeous panoramic views at the top; we went on an island hopping snorkeling trip where we got to explore a different reef and we participated in a cooking class where we learned how to make a local dish. We also participated in the island weaving, jewelry making and coconut demonstrations all of which were both informative and fun (and free!). The crab races were a lot of fun and the proceeds all go back to the village, which I just love.

Whatever you do, don't miss Friday night! The whole staff puts on a Meke show and then treats the guests to a delicious and special 9 course dinner. It was a really special way for us to end our time at Octopus.

Overall, the staff was incredibly friendly and went above and beyond to make sure we had a memorable vacation. I loved that the resort was low stress - everything was very reasonably priced (even the spa!) and there was no pressure to do anything. I love how the resort and the local village have a beautiful partnership - I felt like it made our time in Fiji more authentic and enabled us to really learn more about the local culture.

I would absolutely recommend Octopus Resort to anyone considering...