By Prerna Priyanka
Guests to Paradise Taveuni Resort are welcomed to the property with a complimentary foot rub, their first encounter with the Taveuni locals working at the resort.
Owner-operator Terri Gortan believes it is these connections, from the women providing that first massage to the wait staff in the restaurant and the resort’s dive guides, that keep their guests coming back.
The resort is perched on an oceanfront cliff edge at the southern part of Taveuni, a one-hour drive from Matei airport or a slightly shorter trip by speedboat. There’s no sandy beaches there, but you can slip into the sea and be immediately surrounded by fish and coral any time of the day.
“Most of our guests are scuba divers from the North American part of the world,” says Gortan.
“People are saying it’s some of the best diving they have ever done.”
She says when they first bought the resort 18 years ago, it was “a rundown little backpackers…so we pretty much knocked everything down and started again.”
Traditionally a four-star resort, Gortan says they have now added three luxury rooms with extended decks, and separate bedroom and lounges. The ‘honeymoon’ bure also has its own plunge pool.
Paradise Taveuni Resort also features a pig and poultry farm that makes use of food scraps generated from the property’s kitchen. Plots on the property supply the hotel with fruit and vegetables, and a kava and dalo farm was also established during Covid.
Gortan says they discourage plastic at the resort, issuing guests with reusable bottles they can take on dive trips and eventually take home.
On the reef we have a no-touch policy, she says.
“We don’t handle any of the marine creatures. We don’t touch any, and our dive team are very passionate about that as well.
“There’s no picking up starfish or holding sea snakes or that kind of thing. So we basically hold our guests accountable.”
