Matafonua Lodge Resort and Restaurant — Hotel in Foa

This was our second trip to Foa Island. The first trip was in 2019 and we stayed at the sister Resort, Sandy Beach. We loved it so much we wanted to take our family next time and decided on Matafonua as it is a little more relaxed and family friendly. |The staff are all amazing and couldn't be more helpful if they tried. The food is fantastic and it is great to be able to be able to buy food any time you want after breakfast from 10.00am through to dinner time. The fales are basic but very clean and comfortable. The shared shower/toilet facilities are really clean and the showers lovely. They have good wifi but only in the communal dining area so be prepared for a little internet downtime at your fale. A good thing really.|Highlights: the snorkling (outside your fale door) and of course the whale trips. Over 7 days of snorkling I saw something new every time I went in the water. |The managers, Nina and Darren, and their staff are also highlights. Nina and Darren are widely travelled and so interesting to listen to. The staff go out of their way to be accommodating and are simply delightful. The young whale trip staff come from around the world and are passionate about what they do. Peta works in the office at Sandy Beach and she is a total gem if you need help with anything also. |Lows: no tea/coffee facilities in your room (Sandy Beach has this facility). I'm in my 60's and love a cuppa in bed before getting up. I took a good thermos, cups and Latte sachets. The kitchen girls were good enough to fill my thermos at the end of dinner each night so problem solved. Not a low then really!|Domestic Airline, Lulutai, is quirky in that it is totally unreliable. Our flight leaving Ha'apai was scheduled for 1020am. It was delayed more than 2 hours due to 'pilot fatigue' (they don't fly ovenight!?). So unlike me take the resorts recommendation to overnight in Tongatapu there and back. We did make our connection but only just and only thanks to Nina and Peta helping out communicating with airport shuttle and AirNZ for us. Seriously not...

This was our second trip to Foa Island. The first trip was in 2019 and we stayed at the sister Resort, Sandy Beach. We loved it so much we wanted to take our family next time and decided on Matafonua as it is a little more relaxed and family friendly. |The staff are all amazing and couldn't be more helpful if they tried. The food is fantastic and it is great to be able to be able to buy food any time you want after breakfast from 10.00am through to dinner time. The fales are basic but very clean and comfortable. The shared shower/toilet facilities are really clean and the showers lovely. They have good wifi but only in the communal dining area so be prepared for a little internet downtime at your fale. A good thing really.|Highlights: the snorkling (outside your fale door) and of course the whale trips. Over 7 days of snorkling I saw something new every time I went in the water. |The managers, Nina and Darren, and their staff are also highlights. Nina and Darren are widely travelled and so interesting to listen to. The staff go out of their way to be accommodating and are simply delightful. The young whale trip staff come from around the world and are passionate about what they do. Peta works in the office at Sandy Beach and she is a total gem if you need help with anything also. |Lows: no tea/coffee facilities in your room (Sandy Beach has this facility). I'm in my 60's and love a cuppa in bed before getting up. I took a good thermos, cups and Latte sachets. The kitchen girls were good enough to fill my thermos at the end of dinner each night so problem solved. Not a low then really!|Domestic Airline, Lulutai, is quirky in that it is totally unreliable. Our flight leaving Ha'apai was scheduled for 1020am. It was delayed more than 2 hours due to 'pilot fatigue' (they don't fly ovenight!?). So unlike me take the resorts recommendation to overnight in Tongatapu there and back. We did make our connection but only just and only thanks to Nina and Peta helping out communicating with airport shuttle and AirNZ for us. Seriously not...

Giving this place 5* does not go far enough to articulate how this magical location is tonic for the soul. It is perched on a small spit of sand in remote islands in the middle of Tonga. You can swim or kayak to the neighbouring island (owned by the King). The famous thing to do here is the whale watching - and that is a mesmerising as everything you read online. You are metres away from giants of the ocean, who trust you to lie silently alongside them in the cold water as they rest and rear their young. The Matafouna whale team are real pros - above all Amy - who is like a whale whisperer, she can anticipate their every move. Waking in a wooden hut right on the beach to the sound of waves puts all your worries in perspective, you just find peace at the outer edge of the world. And above all, I want to mention the owners Darren and Nina. They have created this unique culture where everyone eats together around a table on the oceans edge and you share stories with the most fascinating people from across the world - a dentist in Christchurch who treats the All Black rugby team & a scuba diver from Hawaii and everything else in between. It’s all because Darren and Nina treat you like family, and are delicious cooks. They’re also hilarious - Darren’s stories of running this hotel had be in hysterics. ||This is very remote - there are no bathrooms in the room (my clean-minded Japanese wife took 30 mins to adjust to that before realising we were in paradise). There is not much to see elsewhere on the island (who cares - this is the most beautiful spot ok earth). And Darren puts on the most amazing cultural nights with dances and food which raise money for the local school. It’s hard to think of someone who is putting more back into the local society and having such a positive impact.||It is hard to get a room. Persist. This place will change your life. When I feel sad in my day to day life in London, I think back to sipping on a beer on the deck at Matafouna after a day of whale watching, and I feel...