Hotel Dengan bar di Vava'u Islands, Tonga

A resort that embodies all the downsides of this type of accommodation. This is probably one of the most contradictory hotels I've ever stayed at, and it's hard to write about it, but I'll try! We stayed at the Tongan Beach Resort for three nights. We chose it based on two main criteria: a private beach with good snorkeling and a jetty from which to go whale watching. Formally, our expectations were 100% met: well-maintained grounds, a white-sand beach that the staff cleans daily from leaves and debris, blue water, and a pier where a tour company picked us up for our whale-watching tour. To our surprise, there were quite a few broken corals on the beach, so entering the water barefoot was uncomfortable in places. Also, the hotel descriptions feature many glowing reviews about the local snorkeling, but I don't know—people probably swim quite far from the shore and snorkel at a considerable depth, because at a depth of 1.5–2 meters, there is absolutely nothing to see. Now for the downsides: If you like to sleep in, this place is not for you. Or you'll need to use earplugs regularly, because church bells at 7:00 AM and frantic roosters from around 5:00 AM won't let you sleep. Food. Hotels in Oceania seem to have never heard of value for money. Here, the simplest and not very tasty food is sold at a very high price. This hotel is no exception. Breakfasts are especially worth mentioning: sausages, omelet, canned baked beans in tomato sauce, toast with jam, and coffee. Frankly speaking, this is not the breakfast you expect at a hotel costing $160 USD a night. Accessibility. There are practically no taxis here: you either rent a car or use a driver from the hotel, which is quite expensive again. There are no shops nearby either. If we used to escape mediocre and expensive hotel food by walking to local stores, here you practically become a hostage to the hotel. No freedom: there is almost nowhere to walk. Internet. Wi-Fi is only available in the lobby. Mobile internet doesn't save the situation either—it works terribly here. So if you need internet, get ready to spend your time in the restaurant or lobby. Water. This was the moment that genuinely shocked me: drinking water here has to be bought. There is no daily replenishment of bottles in the room. Rooms. The rooms are dated and tired. A couple of times I had to wash away hordes of ants from the laundry hanging in the shower. But there is an air conditioner, hot water, and they clean every day. Overall, the hotel is cozy and almost ideal for one night before a morning whale-watching trip: sleep over, have breakfast, and head straight to the excursion from the pier. But for the rest of my time in Tonga, I would have preferred to stay closer to town.

Not bad, not bad, not bad, not bad, not bad, not bad, not bad,