Paray Lodge

The staff were pleasant and helpful whenever we needed something, and the atmosphere was great. Nice, clean rooms, quiet at night, multiple bathrooms and a shared kitchen to use. It’s a 15-minute walk to the grocery store, 20 minutes to cheifs Namakal, 25 to the local fruit and vegetable market and 30 to downtown. Best rates in Port Vila. I’ll be back in Vanuatu in July and will stay here again. If you need a place in Port Vila, I’d recommend it.

We used Port Vila as our base for island-hopping and spent a week altogether at Paray Lodge. We were happy with our stay and would come back. The lodge is a comfortable spot for backpackers of any age, kept clean and neat, with thoughtful touches like fresh flowers in the room. We had fun evenings in the kitchen house, meeting other guests, and the staff were friendly and helpful. It’s within walking distance of the supermarket, Vanuatu Cultural Centre and downtown. We felt safe in the area, and parking our rental car just inside the gate overnight was fine. It was still there and in one piece in the morning. We first arrived late in the evening. Josephine opened the gate, checked us in and showed us the facilities. We’d booked a campsite and brought our tent, but the next morning Leah kindly offered us a room at the same nightly rate as camping because it was low season. We were grateful, since the tent was quite warm. While we were away, the lodge kept a duffle bag for us for VT400 per night in a locked cupboard inside a locked room.

The kitchen was filthy, with dirty, unwashed dishes, pots and pans, and only one stove burner working. The small fridge was dirty too. Mosquitoes were everywhere because the window screens were broken or missing. The in-house attendant or family was seldom available.

The atmosphere was good, and the terrace was really, really nice. It’s not far from the city and a very good place to stay. The shower water was cold.