My opinion on Mala Island Resort

Now that I have been, here are my thoughts

Our holiday in Tonga is now over and back to work on Monday so only one more day off.

Thought I would provide an overview of our stay in Tonga as all the responses I have had are quite mixed.

We flew into Nuku'alofa in the evening and were picked up to be taken to Heilala Holiday Lodge for one night. The gardens at Heilala Holiday Lodge are lovely and nice to walk round, although we didn't have much time before we got another taxi to the airport for our transfer to Vavau.

We arrived at the airport in the morning to be told that the flights had been delayed and they would go at 3pm in the afternoon. We arrived later in the day and still further delays. We finally got our flight at 5pm and arrived at Mala Island Resort late in the evening.

On arrival (although dark) the place looked lovely and welcoming. We were both starving so we ordered local fish for our dinner which was really nice and a good portion and cost 30 TOP each.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast whilst we enjoyed the beautiful views and looked forward to some snorkelling and just putting our feet up and relaxing.

The place is truly beautiful and peaceful, so would suit anyone looking for relaxation.....so this all sounds like paradise...part of it is and another part isn't.

Although Mala is a beautiful resort and offers the paradise that most people want, there are some major issues with the day to day running of the resort.

Lack of Options / Information - My partner and I wanted to go Whale watching but were told that there were issues with the boat so we would need to see. No options were given, no alternative companies who could take us on this trip were provied. So its a case of we can't take you so you can't go. I was very disappointed that no information, or help is offered to ensure guests gets the experience they came to Tonga for. The result of this is my partner and I didn't get to see the Whales

Inconsistent costs and quality of food - during our stay the quality of food went downhill, and the price of our food went up. On day one the price of poached egg and bacon was 15 TOP, later in the week it was 22 TOP and believe me when I say the quality was very poor on this occasion. Prices seemed to jump all over the place. French toast was over 20TOP which is very expensive, Caesar salad cost 26 TOP, Tuna costs over 40TOP

The quality of the fish from the first night went downhill and the portion reduced dramatically, which is a shame.

But I suppose the biggest shock was the change in the cost of wine. The cost of the first bottle of wine was 24TOP, the second bottle was 60 TOP and the third bottle was 70 TOP. However, I was never told that the brand of wine was changing so the price would reflect this, I just assumed it was the same wine. And to be honest I wouldn't pay 60, or 70 for a bottle of quality wine in NZ, London, or Paris for that matter.

Dishonesty - late one afternoon my partner and I were sitting in the restaurant and David (the owner) said hey we are just going over the Portmoral for a few beers and a swim if you want to join us. So we thoughts hey why not its almost dinner time and a quick trip out would be good. Jo and Kimberly joined us, who were also staying at the resort. Well guess what, I get my bill and we have been charged 80 TOP for this little trip. This is very sneakly of the resort and not very honest.

Duplicating Costs - when we booked our stay at Mala Island resort we pre paid for transfers. I have now seen on our bill that a cost of 50TOP was included, which is a duplication

Overall, as I said earlier the place is beautiful, but there is a lot to improve. Marnie isn't the best customer facing person I have met and on a few occasions a few of us said morning and got no reply what so ever, so in some cases it does feel that the whole business is a bit of a hobby for the pair of them and they aren't taking it seriously.

David...hmmm what can you say has the best imagination in the world...and as the lonely planet suggests, take every thing with a pinch of salt.

If you are wondering, I have sent an email (two to be precise) to Mala to query our bill but I have had nothing back and I expect I won't get anything back either!

Would I go back to Tonga....definitely, would I go back to Mala Island Resort....sadly no.

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my holiday, the location and views are perfect, but the management let it down.

Yes, I had heard bad comments about the guy at Mala when I was on Vavau, but never had any specifics. It was just that people did not like him.

But when you talk about the rising food prices when you are in a capture situation (no other choices, you're on a tiny islet), and added:

"Dishonesty - late one afternoon my partner and I were sitting in the restaurant and David (the owner) said hey we are just going over the Portmoral for a few beers and a swim if you want to join us. So we thoughts hey why not its almost dinner time and a quick trip out would be good. Jo and Kimberly joined us, who were also staying at the resort. Well guess what, I get my bill and we have been charged 80 TOP for this little trip. This is very sneakly of the resort and not very honest."

then I have to agree that this is one place to be avoided at all costs!!

This is just palin misrepresentation, bordering on fraud. It is certainly not guest-friendly if they are trying to rip you off and any and every opportunity.

You might write a complaint to the Tonga Tourist Board, or whatever it is called, and the Chamber of Commerce there, if they are a member.

I'd also suggest you do a long post as above on www.tripadvisor.com to let others know of this treatment.

Very good advice Raro.

Trip reports on here and Tripadvisor are very important and informative for other travellers - thanks Ericapea.

I'd like to say the following: we were having all what we dreamed of and much more. We stayed (as several times mentioned) at Matafonua lodge/Foa island/Ha'apai. Happy Ha'apai divers made our boat trips interesting, possible and worth every price. Sadly it hasn't been the whale season yet. But the way Glenn (the owner of Happy Ha'apai divers) explained us about sea life, whales, sharks etc., educated us (while we were not completely ignorant ourselves) and provided good stories about whale sightings - we will definitely return there. The staff at Matafonua was awesome. Food was spectacular, treatment as well, Sally and Dave (the owners) were all what you expect from perfect host. The place I can highly recommend. You get more what you paid for. Though it's not cheap and we are also not backpackers any more. Snorkelling was fantastic as all the above mentioned.

Back to Nuku Alofa. We stayed at Nerima lodge between transfers (Tony did all 9 of them - the best and most honest of all), but definitely at least for 5/6 days. The hostess was ever so helpful with everything and is a living enciclopedia about the life and habbits of Tongans. She had no hesitation about taking us somewhere, caring for us and charging no extra for such. We really respect that and surely know what to do and where to go next time. Cause it'll be next time. For sure. But we will choose the humpback whales season. We visited 'Eua and were again extremely satisfied with our guide Peter. We "kidnapped" him for 2 days and we got more of what we paid.

I repeat myself but it's been awhile since I wrote anything. They all were such lovely people, treating us like we would treat a guest. Sure there were some minor incidents, but they all generally disappear due to other people's effort. It's been 4 months since we returned and we still dream of what happened and when to return A.S.A.P.

Thanks to all lovely people which made our month comfortable. Much appreciated.

We spent 8 nights on Mala and had a fantastic time. I could not believe how beautiful the island and surrounds are ( the colours in the brouchures really exist!).

Food was fantastic, staff were unbelievably friendly - just don't be in a hurry, this is Tonga. If you want to slow down and relax this is the place to go.

I was surprised at the quality of the accomodation as the room rates are a bargain, especially off season. The rooms are very comfortable with ocean and island views from the balconies.

If you want to snorkle the lagoon is great, coral straight off the beach, no need to be a strong swimmer. Tropical fish and coral at it's best.

This is a small resort so you won't have to put up with hustle and bustle, but Mala has a great party atmosphere.

Vava'u does not have much cultural tourism but there was a great floor show with fire dancing.

Thanks Dave and Marnie along with Arnie, Nancy, Toa and Elone (spelling may be wrong) for the best holiday we have had.

again what planet are you from ?