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Paula G
Gold Coast, Australia

Even better than we remembered

5.0 of 5 bubblesReviewed 3 Nov 2023
We were engaged at Eratap over 10 years ago. When our friends decided to go for their 50th birthday this year we had mixed emotions. Excited to return but anxious incase it wasn’t the same! It was better than we remembered!

1. Snorkelling was wonderful. The resort have a range of reef shoes but you may like to bring your own. They are definitely needed.
2. The best snorkelling was right out front of the restaurant but we did also snorkel at castaway, near the lagoon and off the drop via boat at big island.
3. The pool was well appointed, lots of loungers and umbrellas and an iPhone and speaker that provided chill out music. There’s a phone there which you can use to call and order food and drink service which we used daily.
4. The food was amazing. In 7 days we didn’t have one bad meal!
5. Staff are what makes this place. From pascalle and Laela to Melanie, Maki, Sharon, Jenny, Joseph, Natasha, Mak, Odile - everyone was fantastic.

Tips:
1. Bring some duty free and then buy mixers for late night drinks. The restaurant/bar closes around 9ish so it was often nice to grab a bucket of ice and some mixers after dinner to have a nightcap in the villa.
2. Happy hour is only available Saturdays. We weren’t told this so turned up to happy hour most days haha! We were still very happy!
3. Arrange a tour with the hotels car. We are so glad we could call the shots on where we went and for how long. Some of the tours offered too long in one spot. Cyril (spelling) was an amazing tour guide and driver.

In prior reviews there have been comments on food and drink value. We ordered cocktails, wine, French champagne and 2-3 courses daily and every meal and drink we found to be completely worth it.

We are already talking about coming back in the new year!
Thank you all for a special stay!
Date of stay: October 2023
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
5.0 of 5 bubblesValue
5.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
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Tony Pittar, Owner at Eratap Beach Resort, responded to this review
Responded 11 Nov 2023
Dear Paula G

Thank you for coming back and visiting us after 10 years and we are so glad you once again enjoyed your time at Eratap. We work hard trying to improve the Resort all the time so its great to get that kind of feed back from return guests.

So glad you enjoyed the wonderful and accessible snorkeling and the lovely pool area, it is very peaceful down there.

Thanks also for mentioning the wonderful staff who try so hard to make people’s stay fun and workable. We are really glad you enjoyed the restaurant food, that too requires plenty of effort and the team in the kitchen are doing a fantastic job producing what they do.

We’d love to have you back in the New Year, we’ll be here ready to go!

Kind regards
Tony
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The listings of booking offers for each property take into account the compensation paid to us by our partners. Prices shown may be for varying room types. Prices displayed are the lowest available, corresponding to the least expensive room type available, as provided from our partners as of the time of the user’s search.
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Reviewed 30 October 2023

What a wonderful place to stay! Everyone from the owners to the boat operator made us feel like friends, not customers. We had 3 villas for our party of 6, and they are excellent and spacious – great for us all to play cards in one when it rained (see cyclone Lola below). A standout was the services provided as included. Our son and grandson were taken out by boat early several mornings to get the best waves to surf. All our snorkeling gear was provided, and we had great family bocce competitions.

Being taken to Castaway Island by boat for a private BBQ was very special. The Resort provided for everything, the boat driver set up the BBQ and lit the fire, then went off and stayed on the other side of the island, leaving us in privacy. When we finished he came back and cleaned up the BBQ. All we had to pay for was the food and drinks hamper.

Also great was the Tuesday night Fire Dance at dinner. Not a mock traditional affair, but a modern dance show that was very professional. The bar and restaurant staff were wonderfully happy – always with a smile – and nothing was too much trouble to them.

We had an unintended stay extension when Cyclone Lola closed Port Vila airport. The on-site manager, Pascalle, was wonderful. She found out before us that our flight was cancelled. She contacted us and told us not to worry – our stay would be extended at a reduced rate. She then monitored both Air Vanuatu and Port Vila airport websites and kept us fully up to date. She even gave us (without being asked) a confirming letter for our travel insurance. We could not have asked for more support.

Date of stay: October 2023
Trip type: Travelled with family
1  Thank Companion56093622871
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony Pittar, Owner at Eratap Beach Resort, responded to this reviewResponded 1 November 2023

Dear Companion,

Thank you for taking the time to post this review and we are so glad you all enjoyed yourselves at Eratap. We loved having you all at the resort and really appreciated your patience when dealing with the flight disruptions.

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful marine playground around us. Being able to surf, snorkel, kayak and have island picnics and BBQs makes for a super fun stay. Glad you were able to participate in it all.

We are also really lucky to have such caring and hard working staff and yes you are in very capable hands when being looked after by Pascalle. She's the best in the business!

Hopefully we will see you all back again here one day and thanks for choosing to stay with us

Kind regards
Tony

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 4 October 2023

A truly memorable experience: outstanding location, lots to do, superb accommodation and outstanding staff.

All the outstanding bits.
1/ Absolutely beautiful location: ocean at your doorstep, right on a healthy house reef, two islands to explore with excellent snorkelling at both.
2/ Despite the beach being closed for 8 out of the 10 days we were there (strong swell and wind), having free access to boats and a driver meant we were able to snorkel every day. Visibility wasn't great (wind and swell again) but the coral was healthy and fish life abundant. In total we snorkelled in 8 different locations with the drift snorkelling off the 'big island' and the southern eastern tip of Castaway beach being our favourites. A side note: Castaway Beach at low tide is exquisite! We also enjoyed great kayaking and massages were were great.
3/ Rooms are spacious, very well appointed, right on the beach and exceptionally functional. We loved the outdoor shower area (with hot water) where we could wash down snorkelling gear ... and ourselves ... and hang up things to dry. Also loved the private outdoor lounges and table and the lounge gazebo, literally with waves lapping a metre away!
4/ Staff were not staff ... they we family and nothing, ever, was too much trouble. Thank you so much Mac, Max, Balou, Maki, Jenny, Sharon, Melanie, Sele, Siel, Annie, Tony, Pascalle and all the others I've missed. Apologies for spelling!

The Very Good
1/ Excellent breakfast with a wonderful range of hot and cold options.
2/ Wide variety of choices for dinner but a little hit and miss in terms of value and quality. Overall, flavours were a little light for our tastes. Eratap Fish and Chips was the standout for us.

Tips for Travellers
1/ Bring a rope or travel clothes line to string up in the outdoor shower area.
2/ Buy alcohol duty free when you get to Vanuatu ... and when you leave: much better prices than duty free in Australia. At the resort, we ordered a bucket of ice and our mixers for sunset drinks by the water.
3/ The boat drivers will both drop you off wherever you want to go or stay with you while you surf or snorkel.
4/ Take a trip to Port Vila to buy snacks and visit the outstanding food markets.
5/ Take a tour around Efate Island before deciding if you want to visit tourist spots. We did a 4 hour tour that was organised from the front desk and decided that ... well ... we needed to go nowhere else!

Room tip: See public review.
Date of stay: September 2023
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Service
2  Thank Ian B
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony Pittar, Owner at Eratap Beach Resort, responded to this reviewResponded 4 October 2023

Dear Ian B,

Thanks for coming to stay with us and for taking the time to post this informative review.

Glad you were able to take advantage of the free boats and explore the reefs and islands around the resort. We are very lucky indeed to have the beautiful Castaway Island nearby, a classic little tropical island.

Yes we have had a rough and windy winter this year. We were probably due it given the trade winds and seas had been mostly calm during the la Nina years across Covid. It’s actually been nice having the sea cool down a lot this winter….the reef has enjoyed it especially.

Eratap is a great place to do as much or as little as you like and glad you were able to fit in many activities.
Hopefully you can come back again one day and re snorkel all your favourite spots.

Kind regards
Tony

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Reviewed 24 September 2023 via mobile

We stayed here recently for a wedding anniversary. The resort and its staff are great. All the units have a beach frontage with good snorkelling off the beach. The restaurant food was also great.

One of the best resorts in Vanuatu, the two co managers were both lovely and helpful.

Date of stay: September 2023
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Thank Hegedus3
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony Pittar, Owner at Eratap Beach Resort, responded to this reviewResponded 4 October 2023

Dear Hegedus 3,

Thank you for choosing to have your wedding anniversary at Eratap and great to hear you enjoyed your stay.

Yes we are really lucky to have some excellent snorkeling around the resort and glad you also enjoyed the food - Todd and the kitchen team do a wonderful job managing that.

Glad Pascalle and Laela were able to help look after you and hopefully you can come back again one day to celebrate another wedding anniversary at Eratap!

kind regards
Tony

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Reviewed 7 September 2023

What an A-MAZING palce this is! Like many businessses in Vanuatu, this business has really been through some tough tiomes with COVID and then more lately the cyclone in March 2023. They are now working really hard to restore the whole place to its former glory. The villas are wonderful! So much room! The bed was amazing! (Always a concern when you leave your own bed at home!). Now, the staff are just so terrific. Nothing was ever too much trouble in our two weeks stay here :-) So many names to mention but a HUGE hello to

Room tip: The road leading into the actual resort is a shocker so be prepared. The rough ride is WELL worth it though!
Date of stay: August 2023
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Service
Thank U9987WPjacquib
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony Pittar, Owner at Eratap Beach Resort, responded to this reviewResponded 11 September 2023

Dear Jacqui B,

Thank you so much for coming to stay with us for your two week south pacific holiday. We loved having you both, you brought great warmth and colour to the Resort.

We are so glad you enjoyed your time here and the staff loved looking after you. Yes we have certainly been through a lot with Covid closure and the double header cyclones in March. But we have bounced back really well and the place is looking better than ever. It is reassuring to know we can cop all that and still keep going!

We hope you can make it back to see us again one day…we plan on being here whatever the world throws at us!

Kind regards
Tony

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Reviewed 24 August 2023

The resort was wonderful. The scenery was very picturesque, the pool very attractive and refreshing, the massages excellent and with bikes, kayaks, paddleboards and a gym, there were plenty of things to do. Nothing ever felt crowded. The villas were spacious, well appointed and private, with loungers on the deck and more loungers in our own gazebo right on the beach. The food in the restaurant was outstanding. All staff, from restaurant to housekeeping, were well trained and very efficient. Boatmen were on call to take us to offshore islands or to snorkeling spots. Castaway Island in particular was stunning. The best snorkeling is about 10m off the beach in front of the restaurant, but weather conditions limited our access many days.

Date of stay: July 2023
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Service
Thank dons0000
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony Pittar, Owner at Eratap Beach Resort, responded to this reviewResponded 30 August 2023

Dear Don S,
Thank you very much for choosing to have your holiday at Eratap and also for taking the time to post this review. It’s not always the kind of thing you feel like doing when you get back home, but we really appreciate it.

So glad you enjoyed the resort and the facilities and of course our lovely staff. Many of them have been working at the resort for a long time and are super thankful that we survived the dreadful covid years. We are thankful for their resilience.

We’d love it if you are able to come back and visit us again one day.

Kind regards
Tony

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