Le Lagon Resort Vanuatu
Readers Reviews
Jo
April 2007
My husband and I and our 3 children aged 11, 9, 9, travelled to vanuatu mid april 0f 2007. We spent 10 fabulous nights at Le Lagon Resort. This was the best holiday we have ever had. The resort was immaculate, the people were so friendly and eager to help us. We were all made to feel like Kings and Queens. We would strongly recommend the all inclusive packages. Our kids were never bored, and neither were the adults. The only negative thing I would have to comment on would be the room we stayed in did not have a lounge or chairs to sit on. We had chairs on the verandah, but a lounge would not have gone astray inside the room. The swim up pool bar was put to great use by my husband, and I adopted the poolside deck chairs. The kids grew fins and made lots of new friends. The nightly themed restaurant was
magnificent, two of our kids are fussy eaters but we had no trouble at all finding something that they would like to eat. The poolside BBQ was awesome, as was the buffet breakfasts. If you are a big eater you are going to find the buffets fantastic. The amount of food these people prepare a day is unbelievable. We highly recommend a visit to Cascade waterfalls, this place was just beautiful. A day trip to Hideaway Island is a must as is snorkeling in the Lagoon. We could not fault this holiday experience at all. The only thing was that when we came home my husband expected the same sort of meals we'd had on holiday. WRONG!! We will definatly be going back in a couple of years and it will be to Le Lagon Resort.
Tracie
September 2006
My husband and I took our 3 kids aged 10 12 & 14 This is the best family holiday we have ever had Mum didn't have to do anything all the cooking and cleaning is done the kids are looked after Wow - Only warning don't leave your clothes out overnight there is someone walking round wearing some great ripcurl shorts and wearing my thongs. Don't take much to wear you won't need it and if you do go to the local market its cheap enough. We can't wait to go back this is What a family holiday should be like. MAKE SURE YOU TAKE THE ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGE.
GOING BACK SEPTEMBER 2007 THIS TIME FOR LONGER.
Fiona, Kevin, Daniel and Andrew
December 2004
My husband, 2 sons aged 4 and 8 and I, spent a
week at Le Lagon Resort, Vanuatu in December 2004. We will definitely be
going back again. The Kids Club staff were fantastic and very caring
towards our children, we had no qualms about leaving them in the Club. The
other resort staff were very friendly and obliging and worked very hard to
ensure that our stay was relaxing and fun. Although there were activities
organised every day there was no pressure to join in - you could do as much
or as little as you liked. The pool area was large and catered for different
age groups. The only thing that spoiled our holiday was inconsiderate people
who smoked in the reception area and the pool area.
Vanuatu, and in particular, Le Lagon
Resort, is a fantastic place for a relaxing holiday, especially if you have
children.
Michelle
We spent 7 glorious days at Le lagon resort,
had our honeymoon and got married all in the one place with our( 2 kids 2&3 yrs
old at the time.) We can't fault the place. Nothing was too much trouble and the
staff just love the kids. The kids club was well equipped, nice clean pools and
a great menu for kids too. The rooms were a little small but we did get the
cheapest. The staff were always friendly and helpful and one of them still sends
hello emails now! The only small worry was because the people are paid so low
you have to check your change and don't leave anything outside your rooms. We
dried our clothes outside one night and then they were gone but they were
recovered eventually. We loved the resort and had no real need to leave. The
rest of Vanuatu is quite poverty stricken and dirty but Le lagon is quite
luxurious and relaxing, especially for the price!!! Don't forget to have a
massage - Divine and out of this world! There is a couple of eating places, bars
and a pool bar. Usually there is some sort of entertainment every night and
tours/ tour desk that is helpful. But as I said you can easily spend the week in
the resort. I think this is the best resort for kids in Vanuatu - Highly
recommend it!
Shana
I recently arrived home after visiting the outrigger Resort in Fiji and the Le Lagon in Vanuatu.
We cannot praise the outrigger high enough. It has a fabulous kids club. The food in the resort was wonderful. The breakfast probably our favourite also the pizza cafe was the best pizzas our family had tasted in our lives.
We stayed in a deluxe ocean view room. Probably next time would stay in a bungalow as you do do a lot of walking each day up and down to your room.
The highlight was our walk each day to the village about 800m away where our kids had more fun than kids club, playing games with the local children.
The Le Lagon was also great in Vanuatu. The all inclusive meal plan was probably not quite as good as Fiji food. We found Vanuatu also easier to get around on a local bus, and a lot better shopping than Fiji. Also the Markets in Vanuatu are a pleasant experience unlike Fiji.
All in all both are highly recommended for a very cultural experience that your family would never forget.
Deborah
November 2004
We recently travelled to Vanuatu using the new Virgin Blue service to Port
Vila with three children aged 14,12 and 7. Firstly the trip from Adelaide via
Melbourne was wonderful, no probs and we saved a fortune using Virgin as our
carriers. We stayed 7 nights at Le Lagon in 2 lagon view rooms. Although the
rooms were fairly small, bathrooms quiet outdated the rest of the resort we felt
made up for them. The kids club was fantastic had great activities and also
excursions to some local attractions. At 10pm we had to drag our kids back to
there rooms for some sleep so there'd have the energy to start over the next
day. The all inclusive package is just that no restrictions on children's meal
times or were they could eat it was any restaurant, any time, any food and drink
choice. With all that activity it was well worth the money especially for the 2
older boys! The staff and activities offered were wonderful. The next 7 nights
we stayed at The Melanesian in a 2 bedroom apartment, it was very spacious even
had its own laundry which was great. Not quiet up to Le Lagons standards but
most enjoyable and very close to town which made sightseeing very easy by just
catching a bus right outside. The people of Vanuatu are some of the friendliest
people you could meet, the local markets are a real treat and a great experience
for the kids, no pushy stall holders. There's heap to see and do around the
Island. Food is very expensive so take meal plans if you can. All in all a
wonderful cultural experience, a great relaxing place and we are already
planning our next trip.
Leonie Colquhoun
August 2002
Have just got back from a week at the Crowne Plaza
Vanuatu. We could not decide between the Crowne Plaza and Le Meridian, however
having stayed at the Crowne, and inspecting Le Meridian, we were happy with our
choice. We stayed with our 22 month old daughter, and our friends from Sydney
with their 21 month old son. For children this age, the Crowne was far better
suited for accommodation as Le Meridian rooms were hotel style with stairs. The
Crowne rooms all open out into the garden and were more spacious. We booked the
Queen Family rooms, so each room had bunks and a queen size bed. In saying that
however, the facilities at Le Meridian looked better for children with a nicer
beach, a playground and two swimming pools.
There is no longer any benefit to joining the Privilege
Club, no discounts on food as mentioned in another reader’s comments. Food is
very expensive, AUD20 for a buffet continental breakfast for example. If you get
an option, purchase a meal plan before you go, it will save you heaps. Even in
Port Vila the meals were not cheap. AUD30 for an average meal. The kids eat for
free though, and their meals were fantastic! The child minding was also
fantastic, with staff that genuinely loved children. At 250 Vatu per hour for
under 3’s it was worth it to get a pikininni (nanny) for a few hours to go and
enjoy the activities such as sailing, tennis and golf.
Although it appears the organised tours are the only way
to partake in some sightseeing, it is actually very easy to take yourself around
by local bus or taxi. 100 Vatu will get you into town, 200 Vatu will get you
from the hotel to the free hideaway island ferry for example. The buses don’t
have a set route, they just go to wherever the passengers want to go, so it
might be a bit of a tiki tour, but you get there eventually! Most taxi drivers
will negotiate the same fare as the bus and you get driven straight there. As a
hint, if you like to be a bit more independent, take a Lonely Planet book from
your local library with you to plan your excursions.
My only negative comment on my whole experience was that
we all got sick on the seafood platter at the hotel - beware the lobster! But I
guess you can get that anywhere!!!!
Janelle
I can only reiterate what many others have said about Le Lagon, Vanuatu - great value, wonderful staff and good facilites. We got a Lagoon view family room, worth paying a little bit more for, as it was away from the crowds (well, relatively speaking!). Our kids (12 and 8 at the time) had a ball sailing, snorkelling, picking coconuts and diving. We bought our food at the local markets in Vila, which saved a lot of money, but also had a meal package for breakfasts and some dinners (definitely worth doing) Again, another advantage to the lagoon view rooms was the refrigerator and electric jug in room, which allowed us to buy drinks/fruit etc in Vila (Local beer is great and much cheaper than the resort alcohol). Hideaway Island was definitely worth visiting for a day's diving.
We also travelled around New Zealand when our kids were 8 and 5, staying at YHA hostels. A fantastic way to travel with kids. The hostels were all in brilliant positions and it was a great way to meet people. We hired a car and moved around every couple of days, which allowed us to relax but still see a lot of the beautiful country. The hostels averaged about NZ$50 per day, so it was quite affordable. We travelled in winter, did quite a bit of skiing and snowboarding, and found the hostel travellers very tolerant and welcoming of our kids. Invariably, we would drive up to a hostel and by the time my husband and I had unpacked our bags and food, we would find the kids playing a game of cards with someone in the communal kitchen, or comparing notes on the days activities with fellow travellers. Hostels allow for self catering, which saves a huge amount on holiday costs.
Other trips we have enjoyed have been to Hawaii and Cook Islands. In Hawaii, I can heartily recommend The Rosewood B&B at Kapaa (872 Kamalu Rd, Kapaa, HI 96746 Kaui Island) for the relaxed bungalow style accomodation. We had our own little bungalow in gorgeous gardens, with local fruits, coffee etc provided for breakfast. Also a highlight was staying in a cabin in the Kokee State Park (Kaui Island) - the huts can be rented by contacting Kokee Lodge Box 819 Waimea HI 96796. On Oahu, we stayed in the Outrigger Reef Towers in Honolulu which was a bit run down, but very central to everything. On the North Shore, we stayed in the Mark Foo Apartments, right on the beach near Waimea Bay. Again, rather run down, but self catering and relatively inexpensive. Our kids were 5 and 2 when we were in Hawaii, and the Hawaiians loved their little Aussie accents! Hawaii surprised me with it's cultural beauty. Once you get away from the tourist strips, it is a fascinating area and the native Hawaiians are as friendly and welcoming as most other Pacific nations.
We went to Rarotonga when our daughter was 4 months old. The Cook Islanders, like most Pacific people, love children and we rarely had her with us! Everywhere we went, from a stopover in Samoa when the security guard at the airport asked to show her to his friends, to the people living next door to our beach house in Rarotonga, we would be stopped to pass her around for a cuddle! We stayed with a local (she had built a block of units at the back of her home, bordering on the beach and very quiet) just down the road from the Edgewater Resort. The strip of beach along this area is great for kids, as it is protected lagoon. Food was very expensive and rather limited, so we tended to buy from the market where possible. The local fish markets are reasonable, but many other products are brought in from New Zealand, so beware.
We're currently planning a trip to the Pacific for this summer, so I'll keep dropping back to this site for hints!
Darlene
Thanks for this site, it's great to get comments from people who have actually stayed in places and experienced them first hand.
Have read some of the feedback re Vanuatu and totally agree with Bre Waite regarding Le Lagon Park Royal. We stayed there last year with our 14 month old and can highly recommend it as a family destination. The staff (and Vanuatu people in general) are so friendly (we even though that overall they were friendlier than Fijians which is something!) and their love of children is apparent, not only the kids club staff but groundsmen, restaurant staff, reception staff etc etc. The Piccaninny Buddy system is fabulous for children too young for the kids club as the babysitters take the kids to the club where they can play with others. The parents can really get a holiday here knowing the children are well cared for. And to make it even better the flight from Australia is only 3-4 hours (just enough when you have small children!). We're going back in a month!!
We found the standard rooms a bit noisy as they have interconnecting doors so unless you are taking both rooms I would recommend a Queen Room as they are much quieter and a little larger. I agree that a negative of Vanuatu is the high price of food. It works out a little cheaper if you buy a meal package from your travel agent when booking.
We have also stayed at Shangri-La's Fijian Resort, Fiji and can also highly recommend it as a family destination. Our son was only 4 months old so I can't comment on the kids club but again the staff are friendly, and the resort is very family orientated with a great pool and lagoon.
Bre Waite
Hi there! Found your website - probably too late for my requirements - but I was really impressed. I take it you are from Oz.
Thought you might be interested to know that we too have traveled to all the same destinations with our two children!
We were in Vanuatu this year, and I just had to comment as I feel very fortunate that we stayed at the Le Legon Parkroyal instead of the Le Meridian (we had serious problems making the decision prior to going). We thought the Le Legon was great - the kids club particularly (apart from a couple of small glitches which we ironed out). It was even better than our daughter's childcare centre! The had non-stop activities, - including pony rides on the resorts own horses, mini Olympics, tee-shirt painting, the list goes on and on. The free food was fairly limited to start with, but a word in managements ear soon fixed this. The resort even did the kids laundry for nothing. The queen-size rooms were smallish, but had beautiful views over the gardens or lagoon and were more than adequate (300% better than Le.M which we did have a nosey in). All in all, apart from the cost of food, we had an absolutely fantastic holiday in Vanuatu, and would highly recommend it to anyone with children who are looking for an alternative to Fiji.
One thing we learned a little too late (ie after we got home) was that if we had joined the Parkroyal Hotel Pacific Privilege Reward Scheme, we would have received a 50% discount on all food at the resort which represents a huge saving in Vanuatu. It also allows for free upgrades etc.
We too stayed at Diamond Beach resort on the Gold Coast last December. We took our wee ones to some of the theme parks, including seaworld. They now have a fantastic area of rides dedicated to small children. I think there are about 6 or seven really cool rides for under 8 year olds.
Once again, congratulations on an excellent site - I look forward to hearing about your next trip. We're hoping to go to Singapore and Phuket next year - all going well that is. I'm busy researching the best kid friendly hotels at the moment. Plenty to choose from if your kids are over 4, not so many cater for our 3 year old.
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