Waisalima or Matava or... on Kadavu?

Any advice for a moderately priced good Kadavu lodging with diving? Grown past backpacker dorm level, but not into spendy deluxe frou-frou either. Latest apparent info is Waisalima Resort is in that range on Kadavu but might/might not be open. Anyone know? Web site not responding and hasn't for 2 weeks. Today is Aug 30 07. Also---Matava, other than no beach the place sounds good for diving and most other things Fiji. And---affordable. We are independent travelers, love to interact with Fiji culture. Willing to pay up to say $100-$125 night for 2. Looking for a week on Kadavu. Thanks for any tips---Cheers!

Yes there is a problem with the Waisalima webpage, but the Resort is open. I met Maureen (the owner) about a week ago. Try to email her direct: waisalima@connect.com.fj

Hi Luv,
I booked Waisalima last week for a week of diving in Oct.
Maureen answered the e mail promptly and was very helpful. E mail above in the #1 response. 7 nights in a bure plus 6 days of diving was under $1000 US. It's as affordable as diving in Fiji as I found. And diving supposed to be good and it's remote.

B.

Thanks everyone for the good info!.... am following up. -LuvFiji

Matava was great for diving, although I wouldn't recommend it for non-divers. They take trips out to a manta ray site, which is amazing. You can also walk or get a boat to the local village, which is quite a nice experience. Have a look at Trip Advisor (Google) for reviews, including one of mine.

I don't recommend staying at Waisalima as it was the worst value for money I have ever experienced in all the years I have travelled (we have also spent 7 months travelling in Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Fiji so far this year).

We stayed for a night at Waisalima in September in a standard bure which was basically a thatched shack with a sandy floor next to the beach. The bedclothes were damp and mildewy and the shared toilets and bathroom outside were not that clean. Yet our cost for two people for one night with food and one-way transfer from the airport was over FJ$330. The owner Maureen overcharged us by 1 night ($75) which she refused to refund. In addition Maureen was grumpy and rude to us during our stay (she is currently trying to sell the resort). We had intended to return after sea kayaking around Kadavu but the weather was against us. My inlaws stayed there for a full week so we still brought in a lot of business for the resort. Once you arrive at the resort, everything costs additional money including walks and snorkelling (rental price is $35 a day!). My 2 inlaws also thought it was very poor value for money, their bill for the week including only accommodation, food and transfer but no alcohol nor activities was FJ$2,500 (they stayed in the deluxe bure which was much nicer but the only light good enough to read by was in the toilet)!

If you want to see another recent review, look on hostelworld.com.

Good luck!

Christine Mcc---thanks for your comments. I'm sorry to get your report. I have some questions for you to help me decide. 1) We are divers and are primarily there to dive. Did you dive and if so how was it. 2) Meals: how were they, and, what did you think of the prices. 3) Fijian staff: friendly and happy there, or not. 4) Night: quiet, or did you hear a generator? 5) General mood of the place---were other travelers unhappy and sharing their woes also, creating an us vs. them environment? 6) Your in-laws---did they have a good time since they stayed a week or did they not have a good time? Thanks so much for your tips and advice. -L