Friendly Beach
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Fast facts
Check in from: | 14:00 |
|---|---|
Check out before: | 10:00 |
More about Friendly Beach
Friendly Beach
Located in Tanna Island, Friendly Beach is by the ocean and close to Sulphur Bay and Mt. Yasur. This beach hotel is within the region of Port Resolution Beach and Lenakel Port.Rooms Make yourself at home in one of the 3 individually furnished guestrooms. Rooms have private balconies. Bathrooms with showers are provided. Conveniences include coffee/tea makers and sofa beds, and housekeeping is provided daily.Amenities Take in the views from a garden and make use of amenities such as babysitting/childcare (surcharge) and tour/ticket assistance.Dining Satisfy your appetite at the hotel's restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or stay in and take advantage of room service (during limited hours).Business, Other Amenities A roundtrip airport shuttle is provided for a surcharge (available on request).
Reviews from 
Couple
Comment: 20 Oct 2019
Stayed in: Oct 2019
Friendly indeed
Stayed four nights at friendly beach and it felt like we where guests in someones home rather than in a resort. Rooms are made in a traditional style and therefore basic compared to a normal resort, no internet, no tv, electricity six hours in the evening. But the experience of staying here is genuine and the staff all do the outmost to make you feel at home. Falling asleep to the sound of waves hitting the beach outside your room is really relaxing. You do not have a menu to choose from for meals, they cook one dish only, like it would be when visiting a friend. The staff are also helpful in booking tours to the vulcano and other places. Highly recommend friendly beach for a genuine Tanna experience.
Couple
AU
Comment: 26 Jan 2020
Stayed in: Jan 2020
Rough ride
Very friendly and helpful manager Evelyn and lovely staff, at a beautiful black sand beach but a very remote location down a long rough track. We picked this place as we believed it was close to the volcano, but it was actually still 45 minutes away from the volcano entrance (on another bumpy road). It is another half hour further on an even worse road to Port Resolution, so at almost an hour to get to the volcano and 1 1/2 hours to the airport and Port Resolution, you certainly can’t say this is a convenient location for seeing the island. The beach was rough with large waves and strong currents and not good for swimming when we were there, no watercraft or bicycles to use, so we really were a captive audience. Tours or a driver cost minimum 8000 Vatu+ for any outing. The bungalows were well screened with mosquito netting on the bed (but no coils or bug spray provided) and only had generator power in the evenings. The bathroom was beachy with coral flooring and a rainwater shower, but quite dark. We loved the hut and veranda and island feel. However, conditions were primitive with only the generator for a few hours each evening, and no fans or any cooling except for the sea. We would be raving about Friendly if the cost was about half of what we paid. In hindsight, however, for the high cost of these bungalows, we feel that staying on the West Coast would have been much more comfortable and convenient.
Couple
UK
Comment: 8 Jun 2019
Stayed in: Jun 2019
A wonderful stay in a beautiful and secluded spot
My husband and I stayed 4 nights and has a wonderful stay. We were the only guests for most of that time and therefore had the place to ourselves, sharing the beach occasionally with the local boys snorkelling on the reef. The accommodation was stylish and comfortable whilst being in the traditional style and the staff were super friendly helping us feel right at home. We loved the strong connection with the local village. All the staff - including the manager, the cooks, the waitresses, the cleaners, the masseuse, the gardener etc - all come from the local village, so you really feel like your stay is supporting the whole community. The food was wholesome and delicious with fresh, local produce and a different dish for every meal. The volcano tour is a must - absolutely spectacular once in a lifetime stuff. If you're feeling very energetic (VERY!) you can arrange to walk from Friendly Beach to the volcano and up the ash plain to the top of the crater. We did and it was very rewarding, but be warned that climbing the ash / sand is extremely tiring! We hike a lot and it was definitely the hardest thing we've done and we did the "short" route!
Couple
AU
Comment: 8 May 2019
Stayed in: Apr 2019
Unique Experience
My husband and I loved our two night stay at Friendly Beach and we wish it could have been longer. The bungalows were very authentic, nicely presented and comfortable. We enjoyed looking out at the beach and being lulled to sleep by the waves. The hosts went out of their way to make our stay pleasant and organised our later than expected pick up from the airport and our trip to Mt Yasur. We also enjoyed visiting the village up the hill from Friendly Beach. It gave us a real insight into life on Tanna. The meals were simple but filling. We are aware that this may not be everyone’s choice of accommodation but if you want a more authentic experience I’d give it a try.
Family traveller
Comment: 9 Jan 2019
Stayed in: Nov 2018
Not ideal for a family
We loved the peaceful location, large bungalows with room for all 4 of us, and the staff were very warm and hospitable, but we found a few things disappointing/tricky for a family stay (we have two teenagers).
Once at the resort, you are a captive audience, with no other food choices. Meals were very basic, which we didn't mind as we assume this supports local village produce, but we were spending nearly $200AUD a day to feed 2 adults/2 children very simple lunches and dinners, such as chicken with rice, chicken with mashed potatoes, etc. Far more than we paid at large hotels on the mainland, and staying 3 nights/4 days made for a hefty food bill at the end of our stay. We were able to do one 'half order' some nights for dinner ($15, rather than $30 for a meal), but this only worked when our pickier eater was less hungry. Sandwiches were on offer at lunch for a few dollars less, but fillings/spreads were unusual and our kids couldn't eat them.
There were no snacks available to purchase, and so wait times between meals was a HUGE problem for us all, especially our teenage children. We had read of this issue on previous reviews, but our supply of muesli bars quickly ran out and our kids were often hungry waiting for meal time. Factor in a teenage boy, and having nothing to snack on was a big problem. We'd have been happy to pay for snacks, but there were none to buy.
Meal items were set, and with children, this proved difficult at times. Alternative choices were offered, such as french fries, but we didn't find this ideal, so we stuck to chicken and rice. Set meal times were a challenge with kids too, especially with only a 1-hour window (tricky at breakfast with teenagers!)
We didn't mind the lack of electricity during the day, as there was plenty of light, but the shower was almost impossible to use. It was as though it couldn't allow both hot and cold water through at once, so it was always scorching or cold... after fiddling with it for 10 mins or so, the hot water would run out and so we'd try again the following day.
We liked that hot water was provided for tea/coffee, the Milo was lovely for the kids, and there was Australian wine on offer at a reasonable price. Evelyn was lovely, and staff in general very friendly. Pick up from the airport was easy, and the tour to the volcano was great, although the jeep was a set fee, with no child price. I imagine this would be the same for all the island's jeep tours though. Be sure to bring a warm jumper to the twilight tour... we didn't know this and struggled with the cold up on the volcano.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay, but would not choose this resort again.
Once at the resort, you are a captive audience, with no other food choices. Meals were very basic, which we didn't mind as we assume this supports local village produce, but we were spending nearly $200AUD a day to feed 2 adults/2 children very simple lunches and dinners, such as chicken with rice, chicken with mashed potatoes, etc. Far more than we paid at large hotels on the mainland, and staying 3 nights/4 days made for a hefty food bill at the end of our stay. We were able to do one 'half order' some nights for dinner ($15, rather than $30 for a meal), but this only worked when our pickier eater was less hungry. Sandwiches were on offer at lunch for a few dollars less, but fillings/spreads were unusual and our kids couldn't eat them.
There were no snacks available to purchase, and so wait times between meals was a HUGE problem for us all, especially our teenage children. We had read of this issue on previous reviews, but our supply of muesli bars quickly ran out and our kids were often hungry waiting for meal time. Factor in a teenage boy, and having nothing to snack on was a big problem. We'd have been happy to pay for snacks, but there were none to buy.
Meal items were set, and with children, this proved difficult at times. Alternative choices were offered, such as french fries, but we didn't find this ideal, so we stuck to chicken and rice. Set meal times were a challenge with kids too, especially with only a 1-hour window (tricky at breakfast with teenagers!)
We didn't mind the lack of electricity during the day, as there was plenty of light, but the shower was almost impossible to use. It was as though it couldn't allow both hot and cold water through at once, so it was always scorching or cold... after fiddling with it for 10 mins or so, the hot water would run out and so we'd try again the following day.
We liked that hot water was provided for tea/coffee, the Milo was lovely for the kids, and there was Australian wine on offer at a reasonable price. Evelyn was lovely, and staff in general very friendly. Pick up from the airport was easy, and the tour to the volcano was great, although the jeep was a set fee, with no child price. I imagine this would be the same for all the island's jeep tours though. Be sure to bring a warm jumper to the twilight tour... we didn't know this and struggled with the cold up on the volcano.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay, but would not choose this resort again.
Excellent location
Tanna island, Manuapen, Vanuatu|7.59 km from city centre
Check in and check out
Check in from:
14:00
Check out before:
10:00
Good to know
Please contact the hotel for details about adding extra beds.
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