Hotel berhampiran National Museum of Vanuatu, Efate

I had always wanted to visit Vanuatu, I had one week of annual leave coming up and thought why not!!! I was to travel by myself and did feel a little uneasy about it until I engaged with Mangoes Resort. The reservations team were amazing and so easy to deal with. They answered all my questions (as silly as they may of been) and really made me feel at ease and excited to just get there.... When I arrived, I was greeted by Mangoes wonderful staff, so smiley and very friendly. They assisted me again with all my questions, nothing was too hard for them. My plan for this trip was to relax, read a book, explore a little and eat delicious food. I had booked a Lagoon View Pool bungalow at Mangoes, the view was stunning, the breeze was nice and the pool was something I really enjoyed. I ended up spending majority of my days lazing around my private pool, reading my book and simply unwinding which was the exact holiday I was looking for. My room was serviced daily, the staff were friendly and very accommodating. Mangoes Resort also has a restaurant - I ate there nearly every night. The food was delicious, and the customer service was great. I had a really great time, thankyou Mangoes Team, I will be back.

Definitely a hostel, not a hotel (wish I knew before booking). We stayed for a few hours and bailed, getting another hotel instead. We loved walking into our room, the layout was beautiful and the view was incredible. We had one of the ocean-view villas (bottom room on the left when you walk down – the Erromango room). However, thanks to a very annoying group of Aussie girls (who, honestly, were just enjoying their holiday) we had a group of people sitting directly outside our room on the grass. Like, we couldn’t even sit on the deck as there is no railing and we would be essentially sitting with their group. We had been travelling all day and just wanted to relax on the bed, but we were in complete view of the group and they were talking very loudly, so no respite was offered. They kept looking in, so there was also zero privacy. What’s the point in 'that' view if we have to close all the slats on the doors and windows and sit in the dark? When sunset hit, we decided we just had to cop the non-refundable booking, as the girls returned (about 30 minutes of peace all up while they got dressed, I guess) and they then proceeded of take photos of each other for over an hour. If I hear the words, “that photo slays” one more time, I may actually throw up. Again, they were right outside our room. I felt so uncomfortable on the bed and we couldn’t enjoy the seats on the decking – as we felt creepy watching 18 year old girls in bikinis taking photos (we’re both teachers haha). It all reminds me of my early 20s and the hostel stays I used to do (although, I was always respectful – especially for people just checking in who might have been travelling all day – ladies, please think about this). We stayed until sunset ended that first day, copped the loss, and booked the Grand Hotel & ****** for the rest of our stay in Port Vila. But hey, doubled my money on the blackjack table, so all’s good. If you’re young and not worried about privacy – definitely a great location. However, it was a romantic holiday for my husband and I, so we bailed after a few hours. Wish I knew it was a hostel before booking. Well, essentially a hostel, but with lovely rooms. Oh, gosh, and don’t try and get changed if you have one of the bottom rooms like us! We had to try and change in the small bathroom. Shout out to the IG models for stealing our sunset hahah. Sadly we won’t be back, but I will recommend to any of my graduating students who are visiting Vanuatu. I’m 32 and too old for this :)

Great value for money , spacious clean room. Good cooking facilities. Free tea and coffee. Would definitely stay there again.

The moment we walked in the door of Vila Chaumiere, we felt part of Morgan’s family. He could not have showed us more kindness and warmth. On our second night he insisted that we have dinner with him and help him finish off his leftovers from Christmas lunch. We stayed up late talking and laughing, and listening to stories about his life. He introduced us to his sister-in-law, Miriam, who we instantly clicked with and we couldn’t have loved more. She has the most beautiful, infectious personality and the warmest smile. She took us for a tour of the island of Efate and then we caught up again on our last night as friends before flying back home. The accomodation at Vila Chaumiere was so comfortable and peaceful (the views were of the lagoon were idyllic!). But it the people you meet when you travel that really stay with you. I couldn’t speak more highly of our stay, and it was so heartwarming to support a genuine family business. I really hope to be back soon!

We stayed here our first three nights after arriving in Port Vila and LOVED it. Highly recommend paying the bit extra to have a waterfront bungalow - we had #6 (two bedrooms) I think and it was just heaven having the water lapping just 15 steps out from the back sliding door. Location was so peaceful and about 5 drive into the centre of Port Vila. The bungalow itself is quite basic but very clean and a great hot shower, tv, lovely table and chairs at the back overlooking the lagoon, and temperamental wi-fi which worked better by the pool area. There was everything we needed in the kitchen (including microwave and coffee mocha!) to be able to self-cater which is handy where food and eating out in Vanuatu is pricey. You are a mini-bus taxi ride away from supermarket/Port Vila town centre so worthwhile picking up essentials such as drinks, beer, milk on way there if possible, to tide you over until you can do a bigger supermarket trip. (Note that supermarkets stop selling alcohol in Vanuatu from 11am Saturday through to Monday morning.) Manager, Chris, was incredibly helpful to us and helped make our stay very enjoyable. We went to Three Pigs restaurant (1km) our first night and second night when we had a car we drove to a Thai restaurant Chris had recommended. The pool is inviting but quite small and was cold whilst we were there, but there are kayaks to borrow and all sorts of snorkelling gear, reef shoes etc that we didn't need but could be handy. This really was a lovely place to begin our hols, enjoy the lagoon views and slide into the island vibe.

We loved every minute of our five nights at Nasama. The suites are spacious, well equipped, and comfortable with large balconies. We overlooked a lovely infinity pool and a small beach with an ocean breeze and view. To sit back at night and look at the stars was magical. The staff, Sharlyn, Ashley, Mona, and the others whose names I did not get unfortunately, were so helpful and friendly. We always felt well cared for. What we also really appreciated were the two excellent restaurants right on the property. Three Pigs was good for pizza and a beer, but Cafe Vila was one of the best places we have eaten on our three month trip. The menu is creative, healthy, and so delicious. The real bonus in staying at Nasama is the gourmet full breakfast with lots of choices, is included in the price of the room. It was something we really looked forward to each day and it added real value. Nasama is highly recommended from someone not easily pleased.

Slightly underwhelming for the price. We stayed at the Warwick three times over a 2 week period - in different rooms/areas each time. I can confirm none of our rooms had any mould smell. There was nothing 'wrong' with the rooms - they could do with a little bit of an update and the shower in our last room - could do with a re-grout this could be due to the humidity. We ate at the seafood buffet which was very poor for the price point - around $63AUD (5000VUV) per person and it had very little on offer. We did eat at the Buffet for the Asian Fusion night and this was much more exciting in terms of options and flavours - 3000 VUV price. Buffet Breakfast was pretty standard, lots of pastry options along side your standard Eggs, Bacon and regular buffet breakfast offerings. The Pools were on the cooler side, not that you want a hot pool in warm weather but it wasn't overly welcoming to get in and from the minimal amount of people (other than kids and there supervising parents) in the pools I think this is probably fair to say. It was however not super super hot in the few times we stayed at Warwick perhaps if really hot and clear skies I would think differently? Kids club wasn't very exciting, needs a bit of an update. The playground was loved by all the kids but internal areas, toys and activities need a revamp - Majority of the days had the same activities each day if staying multiple days it's a bit repetitive. Service around the pool was essentially non existent. People would clear your plates and glasses but no-one asked if you wanted anything as they passed by. There was a miscommunication on our last arrival (with 2 sleeping kids late at night) we were told we needed to pay on arrival which was not the case for our other 2 stays which we questioned given our prior experience. We were told it was in the notes from the reservation team, as I struggled to find my wallet carrying a sleeping 4 month old (my husband had a sleeping toddler on his shoulder) the staff member said don't worry about it now with the sleeping kids (it was 9pm) this was then not mentioned again. When we went to check out and finalise the bill we realised that we had actually paid via Expedia therefore we should never have made a direct payment - still unclear why this request was made in the first place or if it was a breakdown in communication, language barrier or just misinformed front of house. It has it's upsides and we enjoyed ourselves but the price point doesn't quite match the amenities and level of service.