From the moment you step off the sea plane, you'll feel like you've come home to the place your soul was searching for. I'm not exaggerating! As a photographer, I have seen some beautiful resorts and been to some amazing places. I've traveled around Fiji and am familiar with Fijian culture. Trust me when I say that this place is what you're looking for: 100% GENUINE PARADISE. Turtle Island combines the best of Fijian culture/hospitality with the most spectacular natural beauty, then wraps it all up for you with creative five-star service.
Maybe you've stayed in a place with butler service. There's no stiff-service-providing here; at Turtle Island you'll be introduced to your "Mama" or "Papa." Our Mama took care of our beachfront bure (villa), and our every need, from washing our clothes, to booking our desired activities and setting up our picnic lunch on a private beach. She wrote messages on our bed in flower petals, left us little notes and basically spent her entire day ensuring our happiness (her full-time job is to look after only one couple). She didn't hover, but she was there if we needed her with just a call on the hand-held radio. Want a milkshake whilst soaking in the in-room hot tub? No problem. Just call it in.
We had lots of options for meals. If we wanted to be alone, we could order breakfast in bed, or breakfast on the beach in front of our bure. We could choose from beautiful dine-out locations around the island for dinner, and we could picnic on a private beach for lunch. Or, for any meal, we could join the family-style dining at the long table, where we were seated with a host from the island and other guests. My husband is an introvert and wasn't sure he'd love the family style dining, but it ended up being one of his favourite things about Turtle Island. You will meet such interesting people here, and the atmosphere is laid-back, fun and relaxed. If you want solitude, you can have it. If you want social, you can have that too. It's the best of both worlds.
The food is primarily sourced from the island and the sea. Turtle Island produces much of the food on the island, including pigs, chickens, cows, honey, and a massive raised-bed garden and hydroponics system. You'll also eat a lot of seafood caught fresh from the ocean--definitely a highlight for us. I loved the food at Turtle Island, because it's healthy and island-grown, tastes amazing, and was beautifully introduced/presented personally by the chef who created it for us. One of the challenges of living on an all-inclusive island is pacing yourself with food/drink! (I'm up for the challenge though!).
As far as activities, we did the island tour first, which really helped us to understand the fascinating history of the island. If you bought an island, what would you do on it? Richard Evanson's vision created an amazing paradise, and his legacy is continued by his children. On the island you can also snorkel (beautiful snorkeling is just off the main beach), swim in the bathtub-warm water, kayak, SUP, subwing, sail, dive, or visit the nearby attractions. Relax in the sun in front of your bure, or book a private beach for as long as you want (we tried to visit as many of them as we could). The original "Blue Lagoon" movie was filmed here back in the day, and not much has changed. We felt like we'd stepped right into that idyllic tropical island paradise.
Photos can showcase the natural beauty of the island, but you'll just have to come in order to experience the warm love and hospitality shown by the Fijian staff. Many of the staff are from the islands and villages around Turtle Island, and they loved introducing us to their island home. The people of Fiji have so much joy, so much love, and are so gracious. Spend some time getting to know them! I cried when I left because I knew I was genuinely loved. What other resort makes you feel like that? You'll just have to come and experience it yourself.