Find all hotels by Independent in Kuata Island

"Bill and Paula, their family and community welcomed my family with generosity, kindness and hard work to make our trip memorable. We felt safe and were treated with respect. Our rooms were clean and comfortable. The food was absolutely amazing! Paula and her daughter Sarah made everything from scratch each day. We dined on traditional foods either farmed from their gardens or gathered from the sea. Bill and his son Jim took us on our amazing adventures, like snorkeling the open waters with sharks and manta rays, taking us to a private island to snorkel the surrounding reef with Sarah preparing us a delicious picnic of local fruits and fish. They made every effort to make the experiences memorable for us! We were extremely fortunate to be invited to a kava ceremony with the elders and we invited to help with a traditional lovo ceremony of roasting meats underground on the beach. Bill and Paula taught us about local weaving. Recommendations: Go with an open mind. You will be off grid with no air conditioning, but living in a traditional home. Bring one more box of water than you think you’ll need. We ran out the last two days and had to ask Paula to boil water for us. Bring kava to share with the village elders as a thank you to joining their village. Buy a little chocolate for their granddaughter. It is a rarity and she loves it. The village is always in need of donated sheets, towels, kitchen towels, underwear (both adult and children) and kitchen cutlery. "

"Loved our time in Matamanoa. First time to this resort, small island so quick to explore. Lovely gardens, food is excellent, pricey but being a remote resort it was to be expected. Staff always friendly and helpful. We spent hours snorkelling, very good experience with coral and fish in abundance. Highly recommend this resort. (Convenience shop doesn’t have variety so bring from the main island what you need)"

"Stayed in a beachfront bure at Barefoot Kuata, and it was fantastic - very comfortable (super comfy bed), amazing outdoor bathroom, very clean, great airflow, and right on the beautiful beach. The staff were friendly and I was able to do the shark snorkel, which was good. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do the shark dive as it was booked up and there was only one day where it would have been possible for me, if it's something you're interested in I recommend booking it as soon as you're able- I heard it was incredible. Over my stay was great - the island is stunning, staff is friendly, and food was good (one night was a buffet, one night was a la carte). Snorkelling off the beach was great too, you have to go out a little ways but then it's very good. Reef sharks can be found there too. I'm really happy I went with the beach front bure, it was ideal!"

"Barefoot Manta is a wonderful, small resort on beautiful Drawaqa Island. The staff are wonderful, friendly, and make you feel at home. The bures (and from what I heard, the dorms too) are clean and comfortable - being able to walk out straight to the beach is a joy! The food is great with lots of veggie options, and the bar makes some tasty cocktails. The reason I chose Barefoot Manta was both for swimming with the Manta rays, and for the Marine Science centre. Swimming with the rays is amazing! And I really enjoyed the talks at the science centre. Also, the reef at Barefoot Manta is probably the healthiest one I've ever seen in my life - the snorkelling is amazing and the diversity in coral and other sea life is really wonderful. I cannot recommend this gem of a place enough, it exceeded my expectations by a lot, and I would very happily return (and for longer) to this amazing spot!"

"Amazing in all aspects!!! Definitely a come back for holidays."

"A bit rustic but a charming island resort retreat. Food was great; reef Bure was right there a few steps from the ocean. Very welcoming."

"Loved that it is run by family. Only 4 bures so very personal. The food was delicious and plenty of it. The snorkelling right out front with beautiful coral."

"Location is beautiful. Staff incredibly friendly, helpful, welcoming and excellent hosts. Really enjoyed our time here and will come back and already recommending to my friends. Food was great and accomodations were lovely, clean with awesome wifi connection. Chef did a foculous job with all the fresh fish we caught! "

"My friend and I really enjoyed our stay here! The house is set up well and the view from the balcony is lovely. Paula and Sarah cooked us amazing meals! The snorkelling with sharks was also amazing. Only thing we would say is that we felt we never saw Paula and bill and wish we could have seen them more! Perhaps this was also because of our short stay"