Almost 30 years on, freshly revamped resort remains a love letter to Fiji

Before “eco-luxury” became a buzz word, a low-key retreat on Fiji’s Vanua Levu attempted something more ambitious.

The Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, a 6.9-hectare site that was once a coconut plantation, set out to prove that tourism can help protect the environment it depends on.

Overlooking Savusavu Bay, it existed in a more conventional form before ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau became involved in the mid-1990s and reshaped it into what was, at the time, a relatively radical proposition.

His aim: a place where environmental responsibility and commercial viability could coexist.

That ambition still drives the property today, as it reveals its most extensive redesign to date.

Family travel is at the centre of a multimillion-dollar renovation that debuted earlier this month. Five one-bedroom oceanfront bures have been reconfigured into two-bedroom, two-bathroom residences, with expanded indoor-outdoor living areas, extended decks and outdoor dining spaces.

The addition of larger bures relates to the way people seeking longer stays and in family groups travel.

Across the property, bures have been rethatched and interiors refreshed with new finishes, lighting and furnishings. Traditional materials remain central. Magimagi, the woven coconut-fibre rope that features across traditional Fijian craft, is incorporated into beams and structural detailing, while locally sourced timbers, handcrafted pieces and textiles add texture.

Shared spaces have also been reworked, with upgrades to the main pool, dining and reception areas, alongside landscaping designed to give a sense of a tropical enclave rather than a sprawling resort.

A new ocean-facing, air-conditioned fitness centre brings the property into line with current luxury expectations, while tennis, pickleball and basketball courts have been resurfaced. They join the existing open-air yoga platform and spa.

The Cousteau name carries weight (its use was once contested in a now resolved legal dispute). Jean-Michel is the son of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the pioneering ocean explorer who helped bring the underwater world into public consciousness via television documentaries in the 1960s and ’70s. While his father’s legacy was built on exploration and filmmaking, Jean-Michel’s work has focused more directly on education and conservation.

At the resort, marine biologists accompany snorkelling and diving excursions. Guests are introduced to reef systems, mangroves and rainforest environments as functioning ecosystems rather than just scenic backdrops. Village visits and cultural exchanges are framed as part of broader understanding of the location.

Today, those kinds of experiences are increasingly common across high-end resorts in the Pacific and beyond. In the mid-1990s, they were not.

While it was not the first resort to consider its impact on the environment, it was among the earlier examples to embed conservation, education and community engagement into a luxury offering and to present that as central to its identity rather than an optional add-on.

Recognition followed. By the early 2000s, it had been named among the world’s leading eco-resorts, helping to establish a model that has since been widely replicated.

The current renovation does not attempt to reinvent that model so much as extend it. Notably, the works were carried out with the involvement of staff from neighbouring villages, all of whom were retained during the temporary closure.

Now, almost 30 years after Jean-Michel Cousteau helped reshape it, the resort may have had a makeover, but it is still operating as it was originally intended: as a love letter to Fiji’s delicate environment and distinct, welcoming culture.

See fijiresort.com