After a disappointing stay out on Mana island (Ratu Kini Backpackers) we were very pleasantly surprised. The rooms are so spacious and beautifully airy with shutters and air flowing through. Staff are very friendly and helpful and particuarly good with kids, Snorkling is great when the tides in.
We were glad of having a rental car as there is nothing within walking distance.
Bula SusanMM50,
Greetings to you from the team at Tambua Sands!
We sincerely thank you for your comments! We are pleased to read that you enjoyed your holiday at our beautiful resort. Thank you for your positive comments in relation to snorkeling during high tide kids Activities and most importantly is the friendliness of our staffs.Once again, thank you for your comments and we look forward to your return.
Warm Regards.
Nasoni Tamani
I would say that the highlight of Tambua Sands is the people. They stop to learn your name and greet you by name every time they see you.
So pros include the people, their Saturday lovo (includes everything traditional Fijian), the rooms are spacious, and the beds are comfortable, the rooms are also clean.
The cons include that all of their snorkel gear was broken, they only had one kayak to use.
If you are a person that needs to be connected every second be aware that there is no WiFi in the rooms. I didn’t mind this but some do. I do also wish they had a shuttle into town a couple times a day. Was a bit challenging to get there and back.
I would also say beware of the tour operators house there. I am putting this here since I can’t find the one I used on trip advisor to leave a review. I used Skelly to book a snorkeling trip nearby and was shown photos of what I would see. It was nothing like that. All of the coral was basically gone since it had been harvested years earlier. There were still fish there but not the bright and colorful underwater world I was shown. I was also made to walk back to the hotel. The guide was really nice and it was not his fault or the fault of the hotel, since it is not their product but ask a lot of questions before using at least Skelly’s.
Overall I really enjoyed my stay at the hotel, excluding the tour part, and would definitely go back again.
Bula Mandy R,
Warm greetings from Tambua Sands Resort. We are glad that you enjoyed your stay with us and most importantly is your comment on staffs and our Lovo night. . Thank you for taking your time to comment about your recent stay at Tambua Sands which is really appreciated.
However, we still strive to offer our clients the best quality service especially with our snorkeling gears as well as our tour organizers. We are looking into getting more kayaks as well.
Mandy R, thank you for your interest in returning to Tambua Sands and would love to have the pleasure of seeing you as a regular guest in future.
Warm Regards,
NasoniTamani
We stayed at Tambua Sands for 7 nights with our 3 children aged 11, 9 & 2. We stayed in Bure 1 (family room) on the beach. It was perfect. We can not speak highly enough of Tambua Sands and will definitely be returning. We were completely aware that this was not a 5 star resort so we have no complaints about the facilities. The accommodation was clean and beds were comfortable - we didn't need anything other than this.
The staff are what make Tambua Sands what it is. For us, the activity guys Sunny and Lori were absolutely amazing. They went above and beyond for our children (and us) everyday. Frog and crab catching and racing, husking coconuts, cooking, playing rugby, teaching us the Fijian language and so much about their culture, village visits, cultural nights, the list goes on. They were patient and friendly, totally engaged with us and the kids (except maybe when the Rugby is on TV haha!). They taught us so much about Fiji. And they were FUN! The restaurant and front desk staff were also amazing, Vilisi and Tui always had time for a chat, they were interested in what we had been doing and everyone doted on our 2 year old. If you want to experience Fiji and holiday on Fiji time, Tambua Sands is definitely the place to stay. Vinaka vaka levu to everyone at Tambua Sands, we can't wait to see you again. Tegan, Dave, Hayden, Zali and Aubrey.
Bula DTScultz ,
Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your recent experience at Tambua Sands Resort. It is always a pleasure to receive positive feedback.
We strive to provide a quality service and a memorable experience to all our guests, therefore your feedback is very important to us.
I am glad that you remarked the outstanding service from our staff including management which we have exceeded your expectations.
Thank you for your great comments and we hope to see you again at the resort soon.
Warm Regards,
Nasoni Tamani
Loved the place,quite and relaxing,great view.Sunny&the rest of the staff were terrific. We enjoyed our stay immensely. Its a place where you can sit and chill out.we keep coming back The resort's not oever sized and in your face
Bula Bubbylamb,
Thank you for taking the time to write your online review. It is great to read that we have exceeded your expectations which has been always our goal to achieve! I am so happy that you remarked the lovely service from our staff which is something that we are well renown of.
Thank you again for your great comments and we look forward to seeing again in the future.
Warm Regards,
Nasoni Tamani
The room:
So we arrived at the hotel while it was dark and all seemed ok for the price we paid. However as the days went by you start to realise how much updating the hotel needs. The room we stayed in was barely cleaned, just floor swept and one bin emptied. We had to ask for clean towels and our bed was only made once, the rest of the time we just did it ourselves. Never received fresh bedding. We also had a hornet nest in the roof covering the terrace outside above the seating area, we told reception hoping they would resolve the problem but were just given a bottle of insect killer to sort it ourselves... We had about 7 hornets (large wasps) enter our room in the space of 5 minutes even though all doors and windows were shut, and about 20 flying around outside at the same time. A few days later they seemed to get less so I'm not sure if someone sorted something. On the last morning we even noticed a rat or big mouse run across the wooden beam in our room. Another guest we spoke to said they were given a different room as they had rats in theirs too!
Food:
The food at the hotel was average but VERY overpriced. A magnum ice-cream is F$9 when in the shop down the road it's only $3, same applies to Fiji beer. Cocktails are $21 and evening meals start around $24 (if you're lucky) and have limited options, about 8 meals each evening most of which are replicated daily. They offer 2 evenings a week where it's BBQ or loco both at $55 each which we felt disappointed with the range of food on offer for this price even though some basic entertainment is included. Breakfast is average and the same everyday. They could do with keeping on top of refilling everything when it's busy as it took them 20 mins to refill the juice on one occasion and kids were waiting for a drink! As soon as dinner is over at 9pm the hotel is dead.. if they reduced drink prices people might be more likely to spend more at the bar and actually socialize a bit more with one another rather than go to their rooms as nothing else to do.
Staff:
Most of the staff were extremely friendly especially Kini and Visili at the bar. The entertainment guys are nice but could do with being a bit more active at actually doing any activities... The reception staff seem nice until you ask them anything and then they seem to want to back away and not provide much help or suggestions. Ground staff outside all seem very friendly. Security staff are okay, when we checked out they said they would get our bags for us while we had breakfast but our transfer arrived and our bags had still been left at the room. (They bring them on a trolley as there's no path just grass which is very wet with dew in mornings) Overall it might be 'Fiji time' but I think they could all be a bit more pro active.
Grounds:
The grounds are well maintained and the beach is nice but lots of glass, bring reef shoes! The sea when calm is beautiful and can see so many fish! You can catch a bus outside the hotel easily and is fairly cheap! Needs more sunbeds around the pool, there only about 9?
To summarize I think this hotel is okay but needs some improvement. Guests pay a fair amount to stay here and so should be able to expect a decent level of service.
(Also this may not be to do with the hotel but be vigilant as my husband had been affected by Fiji flu, seems like it's a problem in Fiji at the moment so you might want to give the kava ceremony and sharing a cup a miss..)
Bula CJM8940,
Thank you for taking your time to comment about your recent stay at Tambua Sands. I do regret and am deeply sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience at the resort.
We really appreciate your honest feedback and we do hope that you give us the chance to make it right.
“If you happen to come back to Tambua Sands I would love to have the opportunity to speak with you directly, so please ask for me.
We hope to see you again in the future and wish you the very best.
Warm Regards,
Nasoni Tamani
