Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Black Pearl Suites

Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea

Will be in Tonga on a brief 2-day layover. Have heard the Black Pearl Suites are about the best hotel on the island. Any opinions?

That's not what I heard.

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What is the best hotel?

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Not sure what's left after "the troubles".

I know the restaurant at "Black Pearl Suites" was great when I was there in July 2006. It was all pretty classy, but I didn't see into any of the rooms.

The "new" wing at International Dateline looked OK (I was in one of the old rooms - really crap!!!), but the food there (except for the Tongan Banquet with the Cultural Show) is really awful, and the service is unbelievably bad!

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Unfortunately, bendigo, the bitch that was running the hotel in July is still running it, so don't expect any uplifts in service. The Tongan staff get treated like dirt. The GM has them on a starting wage of TOP$1.25 per hour, and if they are good guys for 3 months they will get TOP$1.50, so they don't bust a gut to help you.

I heard that the new wing suffered under the riots and things ain't up to scratch.

I hear the Nerima is great for TOP$48 per night.

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<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Tongan Banquet with the Cultural Show<hr></blockquote>
Island night is good, I reckon. TOP$25 gets you a banquet meal and a great show. The fire eater was unbelievable!

I had one guest complain that they weren't real. Jeez, what do you want for $25 bucks? (AUD$17)

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