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!

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.

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!