Hi, everyone -<BR><BR>Has anyone been to Matangi Island recently? I have read good things about it on this board, but in one of the guidebooks it got panned. Since the reports on this board are a little older, I was wondering if anyone's been recently (in the last year or so?)<BR><BR>Any thoughts, opinions, suggestions welcome.<BR><BR>Thanks very much,<BR>Kim

topper

We are thinking of going back in May. What guidebook panned it and what did they find wrong with it?

Topper

Hi-<BR><BR>It was the Moonguide to Fiji. He quoted a letter that a reader sent him to update the guide and she went on and on about how dissapointing Matagi was. I don't have it here with me, and don't want to misquote, but the food apparently wasn't great and she was &quot;very unhappy&quot; with the dive shop.<BR><BR>Who knows if this is some hard to please picky American, or if it's a genuine complaint. Horrible thing to publish if unconfirmed...<BR><BR>That's why I was seeking more recent comments here, b/c most of them are about 2 years old.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Kim<BR><BR>

Kim: Thanks for the info. We were last at Matagi/Matangi in May 1999. We were also in Fiji during there election in 2000 but went to Marlin Bay instead as Matangi was booked. I am going to write some of the friends of the family that own Matangi that live in New Zealand and see if any major changes have occured. I have another area to check also. Between the attempted coup and 9/11 perhaps there has been some business problems but that seems unlikely. Matangi is one of my wife's favorite places and I hope that things are still as they were. If I find out anything I will post it and try to e-mail it to you. It appears that you are familiar with Fiji as you used Matagi the correct spelling of the island name along with Matangi the way it is pronouced. .

Hi, Louis (and everyone!)<BR><BR>Thanks for investigating for me. I'm stumped b/c everything I've read about it sounds great, except for that one thing, so normally I'd discount the one for the most, but the author must've had more than one bad report, b/c surely he wouldn't harm someone's reputation based on only one letter? Any info is greatly appreciated.<BR><BR>I'm planning our honeymoon, and needless to say want everything to be wonderful and go smoothly, especially with that kind of travel and $ involved, too. I enjoyed reading your posts about it. <BR><BR>A lot, or nothing, could have changed since your 1999 visit.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Kim

ps: I used both spellings for in case people are doing searches.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Kim

If anybody has been to Matangi Island Resort in the past year we would like your comments on your stay.

Due to our interest in a return visit to Matangi this year I looked up the remarks in Moon Handbooks - Fiji by David Stanley 6th Ed., 2001 and made several contacts with people that have recent knowledge about Matangi. I found nothing that would suggest that is not still the little jewel that is was in 1999 and it appears that there have been several improvements in the last 3 years since we were there. <BR><BR>In his remarks David suggests that Matangi is too far to visit the prime Somosomo Strait dive site. This is not true and they take divers there all of the time. It is only about 12 miles away and they now have a new high speed 32 foot dive boat that can get there in about a half hour. There are many other sites that make two dive days easily possible for those that desire them. All activities there are planned to the desires of each guest and all the help will know and call you by your first name. This has not changed. In my research I obtained info from friends of the Douglas family in New Zealand and comments from five visitors in the past year. In fact one rated it as being a great place to be in the rain as their bure was wonderful and the food was to die for!!! I also glanced though other guides at the local book store and found that Matangi was still considered special place for honeymooners and divers both. <BR><BR>New this year is an overwater bar and dinning area. Also two more honeymoon abodes have been added since our visit. In summary I found that all the current information supports all the good things said on this board about Matangi.<BR><BR>I pass this info on with some regret as I fear that as more people know about special islands like Matangi -- we will find it hard to find space there when we desire a visit without planning a year in advance. In 2000 after our first visit space was not available. <BR>

Kim:<BR><BR>We were on Matangi Island in June 2002. Got married there and spent a total of 8 nights on the island. We chose this island after reading about it in guide books and confirming everything with Fodorite opinions. I too saw the negative comment in the Moonguide book and didn't find anything to substantiate their negativity.<BR><BR>Our first 5 nights were in one of the treehouse bures (with the outdoor shower) and the last 3 were in a bure on the beach. Both were unique and lovely. Each have their pros and cons and I am glad we got to experience both of them.<BR><BR>I simply cannot say enough nice things about this resort. It's beautiful! The staff is exceptional. The food was scrumptuous. The activities were abundant and well planned. There was absolutely NOTHING we asked for that they didn't accommodate. Our wedding was beautifully planned by the staff and so incredibly stress free!! We shared the island with about 3 other honeymooning couples and got to attend a wedding about 2 days after ours. Also shared the island with several divers. My husband only dove once but he agreed with the other expert divers on Matangi -- words just cannot describe how beautiful and wonderful the dives are. The dive staff were so helpful and friendly too.<BR><BR>I am limited in my recommendation of Matangi only by my lack of superlatives! Forget what the one negative comment was and go!!!!!!!<BR><BR>The highlight of our time there (other than the wedding, of course!) was when we were taken to secluded Horseshoe Bay. We were dropped off with a picnic lunch, snorkeling gear, wine, chairs, etc. and picked up several hours later. It truly felt like we were all alone on that island -- so romantic!<BR><BR>I'm jealous of you!!<BR><BR>

We were there a couple of years ago, and the experience was less positive. The island is beautiful, and the opportunities for reef kayaking and hobie sailing are worth taking time off from diving. Dive sites are excellent as well. Local staff were wonderful, but we had horrible interactions with management. <BR><BR>We had lots of small problems that snowballed -- no mosquito nets in the room, and it took 2 days to have them put in. By that time, we were pretty cranky. Our bathroom was never clean, and we had a water leak during the rain that went right over an electrical outlet. We asked, nicely, about these and other problems, and they were consistently dismissed. The manager refused to even acknowledge that we had problems, pointing out that the other guests were happy.<BR><BR>We also encountered some irregularities regarding pricing. For instance, we were told that we qualified for a &quot;special family rate&quot;. After we had paid, we found out -- from another family -- that we were paying 50% more than if we had booked on an individual basis. This seemed pretty unethical. Leaving the resort, we compared notes with other guests and found out there was a wide variability in prices. For instance, three people traveling on the same plane, same day, bought through the same rep, all paid different prices. The airline indicated that the price had been stable during the period we all bought our tickets. Similarly, two people paid different rates for identical weddings. We asked the rep about this and were told it was none of our business what other people paid. <BR><BR>Overall, it was a mixed experience. A beautiful part of the world, though.