Warwick Le Lagon - Vanuatu — Hotel in Efate

I am writing to convey my immense disappointment stemming from our recent vacation at The Warwick in Vanuatu. This reservation, made through Luxury Escapes, has culminated in an experience that falls far short of the advertised luxury and satisfaction associated with your esteemed platform.

Our stay at The Warwick was marred by a plethora of issues that collectively resulted in an underwhelming and distressing holiday. I would like to provide a comprehensive account of the grievances we encountered:

Accommodation and Maintenance Shortcomings: The state of the buildings left much to be desired. Numerous instances of lack of maintenance were evident: the toilet in my room was not securely fastened to the floor, guttering around the main buildings was corroded and deteriorating, and exposed wiring was visible in a common bathroom with tape haphazardly applied to its ends. Paint in my room was peeling, and pathways were riddled with holes. Remarkably, an entire block of rooms endured a lack of hot water during their stay, despite communication about the issue not reaching higher management. Our room had a smoke alarm ripped off the ceiling and bare wires sticking out.  Please refer to the photos.  We also had mould in all 3 rooms on the walls of the bathrooms.

Aged and Outdated Facilities: The resort itself is in dire need of renovation. The overall appearance, coupled with outdated furniture in the rooms and antiquated bathrooms, reflected a state of neglect. A tap in the basin continuously dispensed hot water, causing an unnecessary mess. Moreover, the shower experience was far from satisfactory. Even tiles coming off the walls.

Poor Housekeeping: The level of cleanliness in our room was deeply unsatisfactory. While the bed was made daily, other surfaces remained untouched. Dust and grime covered various surfaces, and the bathroom was particularly distressing, with the toilet visibly unclean throughout our stay. Even when we first got let into our rooms my daughters bed had sand in it.

Maintenance Issues: Numerous maintenance issues plagued our experience. The light in our room malfunctioned, necessitating the removal of the bulb at night. The door sensor was broken, emitting an incessant clicking noise throughout the night, and the key malfunctioned, causing entry difficulties 4 times which we were locked out of our room.

Dining Dissatisfaction: Our dining experiences at The Warwick were far from satisfactory. The Wild Ginger Restaurant provided mediocre food at exorbitant prices. A mistaken order led to overcharging, reflecting a lack of attention to detail.  The dining options presented to us were below par and did not offer good value for the money. Notably, the Wild Ginger Asian Fusion Restaurant failed to meet expectations. The promised intimate dining experience was belied by a plastic-laminated menu reminiscent of a take-away shop. Even the teppanyaki experience offered more value elsewhere. The Buffet restaurant was even worse with limited variety and food that's suppose to be hot was cold.   The buffet breakfast offered tasteless, low-quality food and undrinkable coffee.

False Advertisement: The room amenities and features did not align with the advertised standards. The bed, promoted as a queen bed, was, in fact, a small double bed, contributing to our overall discomfort. Also states there are vending machines onsite which there isn't.  My wife was hungry and went to the bar to get some crisps and was told that she had to get a taxi to the casino if she wanted anything.  This was at 9pm which is a joke.  The rooms have no information in regards to if there is room service or how to get in Contact and what's available.

Facility Shortages: The resort suffered from a lack of essential amenities. Pool towels were consistently scarce, and obtaining bath towels required daily reminders. The promised "Kids Corner" was devoid of any amenities, failing to cater to its intended purpose. The Day Spa was absolutely disgusting with brown water and the rooms stinking...

WARWICK LE LAGON RESORT & SPA||PORT VILA, VANUATU||||“All in all - Five out of five STARS”||||Firstly, this resort is top notch. Absolutely beautiful. Just about everything is perfect. I started my enquiries around October 2024 for a trip in July 2025 as it was my very first overseas trip and it was for my family of seven so I was quite anxious about some things. The back-and-forth emails (a multitude) between myself and the Manager of the resort, Ramzy, were full of questions from me and full of answers from Ramzy. I cannot thank him enough for all the help, information and advice he gave me. Thank you Ramzy.||||It’s for everyone. Families (child friendly), couples, different age groups, etc.||||My family of seven adults (ranging from 27yrs to 73yrs) had the four Overwater Suites and one Lagoon Bungalow, we felt like royalty. The photos of the suites, villas, etc, on their website are true pictures of where you’ll stay. You will not be disappointed. Very luxurious. My brother has his own business and works 6 days a week then does the admin and paperwork, etc, on Sundays (so really 7 days a week) and I’ve never seen him so relaxed as he was at the Warwick. We were there for 7 days/nights.||||We generally ate our meals at the Lagoon Terrace Restaurant because there was such a diverse buffet menu and à la carte menu. There is another restaurant (Wild Ginger Restaurant) but we didn’t try it as there’s a surcharge per person and we felt all of our different tastes were catered for in the Lagoon Terrace. I’d like to give a special shout out to Lifan & Inneth who made all of our meals so pleasurable.||||All of our suites were beautiful and so comfortable. Daily cleaning and general housekeeping. The beds were gorgeous to sleep on. There’s so much more I can’t list everything.||||Secondly, the whole staff of the resort……what can I say about the staff??????||||Absolutely beautiful people......that’s what I say about the staff!!!!!!||||You know when you go somewhere and there’s always one staff member that really ticks you off? Not at the Warwick!!!! Perfect across the board……manners, helpfulness, politeness, friendly, fun……an absolute pleasure and a joy to be around. (I’m saying absolutely a lot but that’s how I feel).||||Two small concerns for me;||||A) the multitude of steps all over the place. With osteoarthritis in||both knees, neck and lower back I found it a bit hard to negotiate the steps. There are also a couple of ramps for easier access but I still found these a little steep (good exercise though, lost 1kg while we were there LOL).||||B) the outside lighting at night is not adequate. It’s a bit difficult if|| you’re not familiar with the layout of the grounds.||||I totally and wholeheartedly recommend this resort and will definitely be going back (and I don’t usually visit anywhere twice! So that’s really saying something).||||Pamela...

So the hotel looked good from the approach, but sadly went a bit downhill from there. It's rated as 4 to 5 star across various websites but I think it's more like a 3 star hotel. Unfortunately the cyclone in March 2023 devastated the island and ruined all their crops, there is very little fresh fruit anywhere on the island. The buffet breakfast was reasonably extensive but the hot food was only lukewarm at best and cold in most cases - every day. The bain marie's appeared to be turned off most of the time. We had the restaurant buffet (2 buffets, 2 beers VTU8000 / A$111) the first night but then ate at Umaiya just outside the hotel grounds most nights, both for value and quality. Hotel buffet dinner was 6pm-9pm but one night we dined there, they ran out of several items by 7.15pm. The pool bar food menu available over lunchtime is extensive. Our room was spacious but needs a serious refurb. We had broken light fittings, the aircon was set at a very cold 20 degrees which was OK during the day but too cold at night. The aircon remote wasn't remotely connected to the unit. The beds were reasonably comfortable. Most of the fly screens were broken, not fitted properly. The pool area was great, ample sunbeds, most with shade. The hotel grounds were a bit unkempt, weeds growing everywhere but there was a big crew of gardeners came in 2 days before we left as they gear up for the Australian school holidays and main summer season and it did look a lot better. The staff were lovely, very helpful and smiling all the time. There are several activities each day but you have to go and check the noticeboard for these. Would be better if a flyer listing following days activities could be placed in each room when cleaned. Snorkelling is better at high tide so be aware of tide times. We heard at the end of our holiday the water sports crew ran snorkelling tours out to the reef but we hadn't seen anything anywhere in the hotel about that so were a bit disappointed not to have known. I'm not sure how much impact the March cyclone is still having, trying to give benefit of the doubt for all my grumbles. We spoke to a few people that stayed in other hotels on the island last year and they said the standard was similar so I don't think the state of Warwick Le Lagon is specific to that hotel. Tips and summary - visit after the school holidays (if holiday time is flexible) to see the hotel grounds at their best. Buy local currency at Port Vila airport, better exchange rate than at hotel. Buy duty free in Port Vila as it's much cheaper than Australian duty free. Duty free at Port Vila airport has less choice than in the duty free shops in Port Vila. Buy a SIM card for internet at Port Vila airport, the hotel wifi is very expensive ($130 for 1 week, 3 devices). Get local buses into Port Vila (VTU150 / $2 each) rather than taxis...