Tana Russet Plaza

For our first time in Vanuatu we managed to book 2 nights here before moving over to Port Vila for the remainder of our trip. The transfer from the airport to the banana boat and then welcome to the hotel was great after a delayed flight. If you have mobility issues, this probably isn’t the place for you as you’ll need to manage your bags on a floating pontoon. The staff are all incredible and so kind. We checked in to villa 2 and while we booked through Expedia, we were sent a text long before departing offering us an upgrade to a pool villa for a fee, We accepted the offer and it was confirmed but when we arrived, no pool. While disappointed, we didn’t raise this with staff as we could hear another couple have the same thing happen and were complaining so we didn’t want to put added pressure on the staff and just used the hotel pool. We walked to Embas beach, the shipwreck and both the local villages and it was incredible to see the local way of life. Again a reminder of our privilege. The food was great & while sometimes they’ve run out of things, you need to remember you’re on an island as an extremely privileged tourist. There are no shops or other restaurants on the island so you may want to bring over some snacks. We booked the sunrise tour on our departure day but it was cancelled due to the tide being too low. The hotel also arranged our transfer from moso to Port Vila and the trip was smooth and efficient.

It was so special to return to Iririki after enjoying our honeymoon there 18 years ago, this time bringing our children! The same warmth and hospitality greeted us, and we loved our stay in the deluxe family fare, Everything was excellent throughout our stay, we did the snorkelling tour, enjoyed massages at the infinity spa and had fun at trivia night and kava tasting. Snorkelers Cove is such a gem too! Special shout out to Ruby who was a consistent highlight. The island itself is incredible but it’s the staff who make the experience so wonderful.