Hotel berhampiran Omaïkid, Noumea

Clean hotel in the heart of Baie des Citrons, with plenty of restaurants in walking distance. (Would like to rate as 3 1/2 stars but not possible.) Staff were friendly and efficient, booking airport transport with ‘Arc en Ciel’ before our arrival. (Rental cars have street parking near the hotel, and we always found a spot.). The only ocean swimming allowed in Noumea currently is in a small roped-off area across the street. Lagoon View rooms, some with balconies, look great but are quite noisy unless you are a nightclubber yourself. After three nights of hearing the nearby club music until 3.30 am, as well as cars racing past and people yelling on the beach and footpath ALL night long, we moved into a garden room which was perfect for us. Management were quite helpful facilitating this changeover. Babar below the hotel had good food, and there are plenty of other dining options nearby.

We stayed at the Hotel Le Lagon for 7 nights. It's located outside of the centre of Noumea in an area called Anse Vata and is located about a 100 metres from the beach. The welcome at the hotel was friendly and that was the general vibe of the hotel. Our room was a suite with a kitchenette, sofa and a small dining area. In addition there was a separate bedroom with a huge comfortable bed and en-suite bathroom. The only drawback to the bathroom was the shower was in the bath and stepping in and out can be a bit difficult. There was also a balcony with a table and chairs. The hotel has a dining area, heated swimming pool and spa and a gym. We took an aquarobics class one afternoon (free) and had lots of laughs with it. Not only is the hotel close to a nice beach but there's plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants there too. There's a very nice bar not more than 50 metres from the hotel. In the opposite direction, towards the city centre, there's a great boulangerie, a couple of alimentation magasins, and a fabulous small wine shop called Terre De Vignes (highly recommended). Further on is an Auchan supermarket, so self-catering is very easy. There's a bus route down at the beach, so it's easy to get to the centre of Noumea. All in all, we really enjoyed our stay at Le Lagon. It's in a great location and the staff are excellent.

Nous somme arrivés en avance et avons pu accéder à la chambre avant l’heure, personnel très professionnel, souriant et agréable. Nous avons été surclassés en appartement une chambre au lieu du studio et passés une nuit reposante malgré le bruit de la climatisation portable car celle de l’appartement était en panne. Très pratique vous n’avez pas besoin de serviettes ou nécessaire de douche, tout vous est fourni. Vue magnifique et imprenable sur l’océan. Accès à des commerces, boutiques et restaurants situées juste au dessous de l’hôtel et aux alentours.

This was the second time staying at the Ramada (we stayed for 12 nights) - and I think we finally found the perfect room for us. We had the one bedroom apartment, which has an amazing view over the sea. The apartment has a massive deck (with table and chairs) that expands from the bedroom to the lounge - perfect for sitting outside for breakfast, or watching the sun setting. We really enjoyed having the kitchen, giving us the option of cooking dinner, rather than dining out every night. There is a wonderful fish/vege market a short bus ride away, so we did enjoy just doing our own thing in the kitchen. We bought basic cooking supplies from the local four square, which is next to the bakery. Oils, jams, butter, cheese etc. We were told on arrival that our room wouldn't be serviced for 4 or 5 days, but that we could ask for fresh towels or coffee/tea bags when ever we liked. So this wasn't a problem for us, and we found the staff to be very obliging in accommodating this for us. We enjoyed visiting the local bakery which is down the road and around the corner most mornings for fresh croissants/baguettes etc. We also found a wonderful wine bar/restaurant just down the road. We spent a wonderful New Year's Eve there. Amazing, friendly staff with the most delicious food and wine. The local Anse Vata beach has had a bit of a revamp in the last couple of years, and it looks like they are working on another part of the beach in front of the main shops, which will give wonderful access. The water was soo warm and clear - 27 degrees!! All in all we had a wonderful time at the Ramada and are looking forward to our next stay.

Although there were always long queues to check in and no air-con at the reception, the staff was friendly and 'try their best' to help us. A few things that we hate about this place: was hard to communicate with the staff on the phone and at reception as only a few of them speak a very low English; they promote free wifi but they only give you 200MB per day and if you want more you need to pay AUD50; the bedroom service is really late (around 5pm), which was very inconvenient for us and the cleaning was average (we preassume that the staff didn't have the right equipment to clean properly: they used brooms instead of vacuums for example). The things we enjoyed: the bedroom was nice and had a fantastic view to the ocean, the swimming pool is beautiful and was clean, the location is perfect. They tried to charge our card twice (at check in and check out) but we have already paid through Trip ahead to our arrival, they might have some issue at their system. We appreciate that Trip responded positively to out complaint anout the wifi issue.

2nd visit to Noumea after staying at Hilton Le Promenade approx 4 yrs ago Originally staying in a standard one bedroom we upgraded to a full ocean view room. Standard one bedrooms just aren't worth it view wise, gotta ask the point of them really. Hotel is nice and clean, rooms are ok and the beds are quite hard, it's good they are self contained, a convenience shop on site would be really good given the self contained nature. There was only one full time English tv channel (BBC World) Internet was very limited in the one bedroom apartment (256mb a day) and then it cost, 30gb in the ocean view. Was unable to swim due to recent shark attacks closing beaches and pool seemed to be cooled, was way to cold to stay in any longer then 5 to 7 mins which was really disappointing given the beach was off limits. We also dropped the daily breakfast as compared to Fiji it was incredibly disappointing Tried the spa next door at additional cost and was good as was the massage. Room service was very good and could be requested daily if needed. Staff at front desk very helpful, shout out to Juliette who was always courteous and nice and tried to help. There was a real lack of cooperation and coordination with tourist activities and suppliers especially when there was no swimming. Many had cut back days they operated If you wonder why a lovely pool is empty on a tropical island... it's because it's so cold. The front desk could really do with a tourism desk and offer services like they do in Fiji with hotel pick up etc... there really did seem to be no interest in this area and new caledonia tourism arm needs to realise the other pacific countries are way better at this than them. With the beach shut and the pool cold it made for a bit of disappointment really Staff were nice and rooms clean, beautiful view from room 420. Stayed 7 days

2 adults + young adult stayed in a suite. Spacious internally with kitchenette and large balcony with lounger. Shower, separate bath, spacious bathroom and cupboard space. Hotel was 5 star standard and well maintained in direct contrast to many negative reviews I saw (not sure those people were staying in the same resort). Service was very good, in particular the conceige staff. Pool/beachside service was good island style. A la carte casual lunch menu at the beach side was OK but not spectacular, Dinners were buffet and we didn't do that because we tend to prefer a la carte menus so we ate out. Cocktail bar was good. Overall best choice to stay here. Based on the Nomeau experience, I would love to have stayed at Le Merridean Isle of Pines or at least get the day package there for the day trip but it was unavailable (so book well in advance).

The entire island is a fantastic time away, we stayed in an overwater bungalow for 4 nights, which in hindsight was the right amount with another 3 nights on the mainland. Getting from the airport to the island, we book the tickets on the bus (red and white one), we waited 20 mins to leave the airport, the island guests are the first to be dropped off. (btw the car hire guests were still waiting for cars when we left so the bus was quicker). Yes, the buffet dinner is expensive but you can do just Hot or Cold (seafood) buffet for $60Aud which was worth it. The full buffet is ok once. There is a small selection of food that you can eat by the pool ( or any secluded spot you find [ quote from their in room brochure ] most food is fried but they had veggie platter or a cold meats platter. So food is ok on the island. Breakfast had a good variety and its included in the price so nothing to complain about. newbie tip--if you want to eat outside, DO NOT get a big plate of food, find a great table, put your food down and then go back inside to get a juice, coffee,etc.. the seagulls will clean your plate before you've decided on orange or tropical juice? if you're a couple go up to the buffet separately. All tables have spray bottles to scare the birds away. The bungalows are huge with plenty of room and well maintained, the staff dropped off water every morning and room cleaning was well done. Considering the Hotel is a marine environment the staff are to be congratulated for an incredible job. There are plenty of turtles that hang around the bungalows at high tide but only saw snakes one day, and yes they are quick up the stairs if you leave them down. BRING your own snorkels as the current swimming ban prohibits lending them out.the staff didnt seem to care about guests swimming but they don't encourage it so no beach towels in the room either. Getting back to the food, the main land is a 20min boat trip back. If you turn left and follow the coast around there's a big supermarket that has all the snacks you need, bread, pate, softdrinks etc. note Gin drinkers - Sweps tonic water is the only brand we found. If you turn right and walk 20 mins (or ask the hotel reception to book a driver before you get on the boat $14aud) you can go to La Maison Ballande. French wine and Champ at quarter the price of the island, plus they have french chocs and foods that make great gifts. And while youre there book a dinner at La Marmite (amazing food) To get back to the airport we used a driver that spoke English (grew up in Paris but now lives in Noumea for his 2 kids) and was a quick Whatsapp message away. Message me and I can send you his number. Overal a great place to visit, not setup up for lots of tourists but a great island holiday