MG Cocomo Resort Vanuatu — Local services in Efate

We had a horrible experience. Our trip to Vanuatu was wonderful. The only regret we have is staying at MG Cocomo.||||The hotel is under new management. The new management do not care about guest experience. The staff are wonderful. I have listed the issues with our stay.||||1) The new management, to earn extra bucks, opened the pool to local public. The pool was filled with thrice the capacity. There was no room for hotel guests to enter the pool. Total chaotic scene. Seems as if we had come to stay at a theme park. No spot at the pool bar or restaurant for hotel guests as it is occupied by the local public visiting the pool. We ordered in room dining but we told it was a 2 hour wait as they were busy serving the local visitors. As fee paying hotel guests, we had to be just confined to our room as the hotel property was taken over by the local public. There were more people than should have been allowed in but the Chinese owner did not seem to be bothered. Unfortunately amidst this total chaos a young local boy drowned in the pool in front of our eyes. It was a traumatic experience for us witnessing the event, we were unable to sleep at night.||||2) The sink was clogged and leaking. We raised the issue with the staff. They tried to fix it but it did not work.||||3) Microwave did not work.||||4) Telephone did not work and was disconnected. We had to walk to the reception each time to talk to someone.||||5) The light in the room is very dim. Was very hard to see anything after sunset. We had to use the torch in our mobile phones to search for things in our bags as the room was poorly lit. We raised the issue with the owner but he ignored it.||||7) The room has plantation blinds. There is no glass or fly-screen in the window. If you open the blinds, you cannot use the aircon. Not practical at all. Further, there are lizards, big spiders and other creepy crawlies outside the room. You cannot open the blinds otherwise your room will be full of insects. Two big lizards were in our room and crawled over our toothbrush etc. It was disgusting. A simple fly-screen could have solved this issue. The accommodation is not practical at all. ||||8) The food in the restaurant is horrible. The breakfast was OK.||||Giving two stars because the property is right next to a supermarket and bus stop. The property looks nice but is not practical and is not ready post Covid. ||||Would not recommend staying here....

The service we received is below all criticism. Since we wanted to pay in cash, we called before ordering (!) to make sure that we could arrive and pay on the spot. They said yes but it would be higher price (no logic), so just order on Booking and they will make sure not to charge until we arrive so we can pay in cash instead. We confirmed with them that it is really possible again and we will not just pay on credit. We ordered through Booking, which sometimes sends to "partner companies" like a third party. We arrived at the hotel and from there it was not possible to cancel the reservation but to contact the third party who does not respond or answer (very poor service). We need to report that the hotel does not confirm the reservation and then they will be contacted for confirmation and only then will they cancel. As customers who asked in advance about paying by credit a few times, we were sent to play ping pong between the hotel, Booking and the third party. All the inconveniences and not even offering a cup of coffee for a bit of a good feeling. Beyond all that, we were wondering where to have dinner. We saw great options but a little far (the location of the hotel is far from everything) and decided to check the menu of the hotel restaurant for dinner. Looks nice and reasonable prices. We confirmed with them whether there would be a full menu in the evening and they said it must be from 16:00 to 20:00. We returned at 19:00. They said that in the end the chef didn't come and they only have the option to make pizzas. I mentioned to her that its really not okay and we asked in advance, she said there was nothing to do, only pizzas. This whole conversation is taking place in the restaurant when the three managers of the hotel are sitting behind us and hearing everything (!), eating a huge dinner with meats, salads, desserts and more and simply ignoring what is happening. shame on you. We ended the evening bored and ate noodles from the...

We spent a week here, and overall really enjoyed it. The room we stayed in was well equipped and presented, and the resort itself has potential. The resort has recently undergone an ownership and management change, and so is in a transitional phase. Some evidence of this - The restaurant is tiny and offers an extremely limited choice, but what they do make is fine. However, on two occasions the restaurant ran out of gas and was unable to make our meals. The breakfast offered is also minimal, but is fine except when they run out of something, (which was almost everyday). One morning, no gas so no pancakes. Another morning, no coffee beans, so no coffee. On several mornings no bakery delivery, so no pastries. When dining in the restaurant, the staff were not able to give any of the advertised discounts such as 20% off drinks etc. All discounts had to be "organised" with the front desk on checking out, which meant an extended (40 minute) checkout. The pool is tiny, and the pool furniture has definitely seen better days! The spa was empty of all but a few leaves and a bit of brown water in the bottom as well. BUT... the location is great, being on the lagoon and only a short bus ride from downtown. There is a supermarket next door for all your food/alcohol needs. All the staff are extremely friendly (in typical Vanuatu style) and most importantly, the new management is receptive and I feel will make some positive changes to the running of this resort. We really enjoyed our time here, and would...