Mangoes Resort — Hotel in Efate

Had a nice enough stay at Mangoes during our week in Vanuatu. The resort itself is well located and faces east looking over the lagoon area (for those with a lagoon view villa which we had - for everyone else the views are limited at best).

It's a short walk into the main shopping area (bit uphill but not too bad) and the locals are all very friendly. We found dining options pretty limited but the casino does a great meal as does the waterfront restaurant a little further south. Meal prices are largely in line with what you'd pay in Australia for example. We did not need a car during our stay.

Back to the resort, staff are very friendly and the restaurant is amazing. Every meal we had was delicious and would certainly recommend it. We chose to eat there most of the time.

The villa we had was clean and tidy, altho they are a bit dated. Furniture has definitely seen better days and there's no sofa or anything much to sit on. Couple of large wooden chairs with a cushion base and a small dining table as well but that's it. There's some toiletries in the bathroom but no hand soap. The water pressure in the shower is ordinary at best, and this is when you can actually get hot water (which was most of the time but it runs out quite quickly).

We had one incident with a bedside lamp literally blowing up in my hand when going to turn it on. Tripped all the switches and was very lucky not to be severely injured or worse (got burnt a little only). The disappointing part was after notifying staff that evening, on returning to our room the next day after a tour, the lamp had been 'repaired' and back in its same spot. Safe to say it was unplugged for the remainder of our stay.

Outside are a couple of chairs and table as well as lounges next to the pool. There's no umbrella or anything tho so shade is limited to a small veranda until the afternoon when the sun drops below the roofline. The pool was lovely (not heated) altho could do with being skimmed more often as it collects a lot of bugs / leaves. Remember your bug repellent as there's plenty of them and they love to bite.

In terms of activities, we went to the distillery (highly recommended) and a half day tour to a beach, the blue lagoon, a waterfall, and the turtle sanctuary. Would definitely recommend the turtle sanctuary where Daisy the goat will try multiple times to steal your lunch!

A pleasant stay overall. Unsure if we'd return however as given the price per night and being well travelled enough to know what else is out there, we probably expected a...

We could not have asked for a better stay at Mangoes!|The rooms were immaculately clean, and the grounds were exceptionally well-kept, including the stunning pools, professional tennis courts, and well-equipped gym. The attention to detail throughout the property was truly impressive.|The food at the restaurant was consistently amazing. We appreciated being able to pre-order our meals, which made it especially convenient when we had early starts planned. Every dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was bursting with flavor, served in generous portions, and prepared with obvious care and expertise.|The staff truly went above and beyond for all of us, cheerfully assisting with booking buses, arranging tours, and securing restaurant reservations. Their warm hospitality and genuine desire to make our stay perfect was evident in every interaction.|As a larger group booking everything was still seamless and nothing was an issue when ordering or being at the resort. Mangoes is also a great spot for couples or singles wanting a child free experience. |I would enthusiastically recommend anyone visiting Vanuatu to stay here. As an Australian who hasn't traveled extensively, I found Mangoes to be a perfect blend of safety, comfort, and relaxation. The resort created an atmosphere that felt both luxurious and homely—a true paradise where we could completely unwind and enjoy everything this beautiful destination...

We stayed six nights at Mangoes Resort in Port Vila — three nights in a villa with a private pool and three nights in one without. Both were great, but surprisingly the non-pool villa actually had the better view — an incredible outlook over the lagoon.

The gardens are just stunning, with so many tropical flowers. Even though our second villa didn’t have its own pool, it didn’t matter at all — there are pools everywhere around the resort, and plenty of spots to relax and unwind.

The restaurant was a real highlight. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner there most days, and even tried the “trust the chef” degustation menu, which was absolutely worth it. The service was spot on — attentive but never pushy, with just the right timing between drinks and meals. Big shout-out to Chichi (manager) and Taku (executive chef), who both went above and beyond to make our stay special.

The gym was much better equipped than I expected for a resort in Vanuatu — definitely better than many hotels back home in Australia — so I was able to keep up (mostly!) with my weight training.

The reception team were also really helpful with organising taxis for dinners out and day trips. And the island massage in an open villa was just magic — tropical breeze, coconut oil, and total relaxation.

All up, Mangoes Resort made our holiday a fantastic one....