Reviews of Oarsman's Bay Lodge 3 stars

The location was exceptional, the food was fantastic and the staff was super friendly and welcoming. We loved our stay!

Nothing, it's a great place! Highly recommend!!

The staff was absolutely amazing! The food was delicious and there were always plenty activities to choose from. The location itself is absolutely stunning!!! Absolutely clear water with the most amazing reefs, a waterslide for some fun and you can rent snorkel gear as well as kayaks and paddle boards free of charge. The spa is also amazing and worth mentioning. The accommodation was very clean. The dorm room had AC as well as ventilators, which was very pleasant. All in all it was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend it.

The staff was absolutely amazing, so kind, caring, and always ready to help. Josh, Jerry, Ismael, Maria and all the other staff members truly made our time so much better, we honestly couldn’t have asked for more. Saying goodbye was hard because they made the whole stay feel like home. The villa itself is beautiful and so relaxing. Can’t wait to come back.

The location is paradise on Earth, with a beautiful bay full of light blue and turquoise colors, white sand, a clean sea, palm trees, like on posters, where you want to go. The bay in front of the resort is good for swimming without corals and rocks, and you don't need water shoes. Corals are very close by, so you can do diving and snorkeling as well. I stayed in a hostel, because I wanted to stay longer and not pay too much for accommodation. The dorm is actually a very spacious room, divided into a few beds by small walls, so you have enough space for luggage and a wonderful view of the bay each morning. The resort is aesthetically decorated in a natural manner, and there is always nice, not too loud Fijian music in the background. You can see in the garden very interesting sculptures made from coconut shells and wood. Gardeners are real artists. There are some activities, like swimming in caves, learning about local medicine plants, weaving palm tree baskets, and a visit to a local village. There is a small concert with a cava ceremony on Sundays. All activities are done by staff from the resort. Those are multi-talented people with a great hospitality attitude. Food is good and healthy. They have a cute doggie, Rosie, and a friendly cat, Chrissy. The main management staff gives them food to eat and cleans them of parasites. They also have goats right behind the resort, and you can go to see them, too. Everyone is nice and approachable. Even though this is a tourism resort, and of course, money is important, in the Oarsman, somehow, you feel they take care of the well-being of guests, and you feel a personal connection with the staff. You see them, they see you, so you have some feelings about authentic Fijian people, and that they have good care about you. As a solo female traveler in a foreign land and a distant island, I felt safe. All in all, a right measure of everything for a wonderful vacation.

There is nothing really I can think of now.

The location was remote but absolutely worth the 4.5 hour boat trip. It was quiet, the bay was absolutely stunning, and the surrounding land was untouched. Our Bure was fairly new, at the end of North Beach. It was a good size and immaculately clean. The bed was firm but comfortable. The outdoor shower area was large with Pure Fiji products to clean ourselves. The staff were fantastic! Una was a special presence in the North Beach lounge. She relayed the history of the lodge and the structure of the Fijian clans, tribes and village to us, and her smile was ever present. The food was tasty and plentiful. The cakes for afternoon tea were always warm, fresh from the oven, as was the bread each morning. We also loved having the presence of Rosie the dog and Chris cat. Rosie would lie quietly on the deck and endear herself to guests who would offer her food. She didn't like being patted though. There were lots of activities to keep you entertained if you wished. We paid for the picnic on Yomoro Island which was an incredible experience - the whole small Island to ourselves for the day. We also enjoyed the Caves and Reef Hopping. The reef is alive and teeming with wildlife. Our goal on this holiday was to do nothing and relax... we chose the perfect place to stay.

There was no real coffee available (only instant sachets which I can't stand). It would be good to offer drip filter coffee at the very least. I saw that some guests had bought their own... I really wish I'd known this!

Location was beautiful, food was superb and staff were amazing-do yourself a huge favour and just go!!!!

The humans that run this resort are amazing! Ishmeal and Josh were fabulous at leading excursions and all of the other staff were always pleasant and kind.

The options for GF were limited and not always stated (on buffets) but I realize that this is not everyone's problem.

Excellent Location Clean and tidy Beachfront Bure Attentive Admin/Management Warm and friendly staff While not gourmet, meals were wholesome and tasty

No Kettle in the room (we took our own) For some reason, there was never any beef on the menu on any of the 7 nights we stayed there

Loved our beach front studio. Amazing food! Staff were wonderful and so caring and friendly. Also loved the swimming right out front. Not as much coral but great swimming in the lovely clear water. You could do a reef trip for more snorkeling. Also had a fabulous massage. Would highly recommend Oarsman’s for total relaxation in a stunning setting!

Nothing

Oarsman's Bay Lodge was a great place to stay for a week. It is a small resort (only 20 rooms) but with a big heart. The staff are super friendly and welcoming and sincere in their interactions. Great meals and fresh cake each day at 4pm. Loved all the free activities on offer and experienced some Fijian culture too. The snorkeling on the Reef in the bay was outstanding, great coral and heaps of fish, swam with a turtle too.

We found the bed too firm for our liking but it is typical in many Fijian settings.

Incredible and welcoming staff that made you feel a part of the Oarsman’s Bay family at a home away from home. Options to do as much or as little as we wanted, plenty of free activities and reasonably priced paid activities. Amazing location. Food was unbelievably good, we loved every meal. Huge thank you to the Oarsman’s Bay team for a wonderful start to our honeymoon!

Nothing

Third visit there. Beautiful beach, the food is good, good rooms, the staff are great & they have good activities. The sunsets are beautiful. I have tried a few different resorts in Fiji, some cheaper & some pricier but still love to come back here each year. I like balance of chill vibe but great service by the staff.

Nil

Located on a truly stunning beach, beautiful small (max 48 persons occupancy) adult only resort with extremely friendly staff who, without exception were helpful and kind. The resort offered plenty of cultural activities (such as the Lovo feast) which meant it felt very Fijian i.e. not one of those international resorts where you could be anywhere. Enough activities run by the brilliant Josh (many free such as the Fijian plant medicine talk, Kava ceremony, Fijian dancing, basket/hat making, crab racing) to keep you busy, but also plenty of places and hammocks to take yourself off and get some quiet time. Good snorkelling from the resort (there is some underwater "art" to be found). I travelled alone but found the set up enabled easy mingling with other guests. Dining tables are set up by room number, and the staff realised a few of us were eating together and thoughtfully and automatically arranged the table set up for this for subsequent meals. You can walk up to the highest point on Nacula Island (about 1.5 hrs there and back), and the walk incorporates other lower (but worthwhile) viewpoints where you can watch sunrise to the East of the Island. Excellent spa run by the amazing Maria who does world beating and very reasonably priced massages and facial! Cards and board games available. My beach front bure was beautiful and very well maintained (the furthest bures over the bridge were new in April 2025) with quiet effective air con, ceiling fan, spacious outside shower and fridge. I sneaked a peek at the dorm and it had privacy screens and was one of the better dorms I have seen. You have to pay a daily fee of just under £50 / day for full board (includes breakfast, lunch and dinner). Breakfast is generally buffet, tea and coffee are available all through the day, meals are mostly al la carte (with a meat, fish or veggy option) or sometimes a buffet.

If I was to be picky then the cocktails could do with some tweaks to improve them.

Food was very nice and the island very quiet and chilled (no kids and no day trippers). The staff were extremely friendly and polite. We enjoyed the saturday night feast and cultural activites. My husband really liked his massage with Maria, we enjoyed the garden and chicken coop tour with the farmer. I enjoyed the hike and my husband really enjoyed the medicine walk, we loved the caves. The patience of Josh trying to teach basket weaving and hat making was a joy to watch! Langy? the barman was also lovely. Could not fault the activities and the staff.

We were happy with the holiday at Oarsmans Bay lodge. The dogs were a bit disruptive a few evenings with their barking and howling and there were a few altercations between the cat and one of the dogs near the restaurant. The dogs roaming around were a bit unexpected. We are dog lovers but not everyone is. Chris the cat adopted us and made himself? at home on our verandah chairs. He tried every opportunity to get inside but was unsuccessful! Ha

Excellent food and people. Extremely beautiful views

Beautiful location, delicious food, staff were extremely friendly, comfortable accommodation, great swimming/snorkeling right out in front of the resort, fun activities throughout the day.