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Reviews of Waterfront Lodge

3 out of 5
Waterfront Lodge
Vuna Road, Ma’ufanga, Tongatapu Island, Nuku'alofa

Reviews

8.4

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 14 out of 29 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 10 out of 29 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 2 out of 29 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 29 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 29 reviews" "

9.0/10

Cleanliness

9.0/10

Staff & service

9.0/10

Amenities

8.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Jessica

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2020
Response from j on 20 Sept 2020
Thank you Jessica :)

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Great little place
Clean, good-sized rooms, decent food, friendly, helpful service. The only slight downsides are that it's a little further out of town than most and that the wifi is a pain.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2020
Response from j on 13 Jan 2020
thank you for your review, glad you enjoyed a little with us. We sincerely apologize about the internet. We are currently trying to set up a new program on how we can reduce the connection problems. Thank you.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff was very friendly and helpful. I loved the whole experience. Especially the baby chickens, and the car hire they organized for me so convenient no hassles loved my stay
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019
Response from j on 21 Nov 2019
thank you and glad you have landed back safely. i hope you do come around again in future. Thank you for taking your time to review us. much ofas from waterfront staff & management.

8/10 Good

Kelly

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019
Response from j on 15 Sept 2019
Thank you for taking the time to review us. Appreciate your kind ratings. Malo 'aupito.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff were all very helpful and friendly. Always asked about my day etc. The breakfast was good and large and the food in the restaurant was really delicious and fresh !
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2019
Response from j on 7 Aug 2019
Thank you for your kind words, hope you will visit again Malo lahi, Waterfront Staff

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2019
Response from J on 29 July 2019
THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TO REVIEW US. HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

10/10 Excellent

Beauty

Travelled with family, Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Felt home away from home. Staff very friendly and helpful. Loved our room, our breakfast. Have own restaurant, great food and atmosphere. Unfortunate for us extended our stay for another 5 days but fully booked right through. Highly recommend, will go back next time but will book way ahead.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2019
Response from j on 12 July 2019
Thank you so much for your review.Hope to see you again Beauty Malo lahi, Waterfront Staff

10/10 Excellent

Lorna&Jim, Howick, Auckland

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
From the time we arrived at Waterfront Lodge until checkout, we felt very welcomed by the super friendly staff. The property is well appointed and the location is superb! A great starting location for our Tonga adventure. The meals were excellent as well. Thanks to all the team at Waterfront. We will be back.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2019
Response from JT on 1 July 2019
Hi Lorna and Jim. Thank you for your kind words and we are super glad you enjoyed your time with us. we hope the resort island was the same also. We hope to see you again soon. Thank you and have a great year ahead.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2019
Response from j on 23 June 2019
Thank you hope you had a safe journey back home.

8/10 Good

Caroline

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Waerfront, the good and the not so.
Hotel and staff were very nice, clean, staff super helpful above and beyond. The location was difficult...noisy traffic and local clubs.
Stayed 5 nights in Jun 2019
Response from JT on 11 June 2019
Hi Caroline, thank you for your review and glad you enjoyed our staff and hotel. Due to the Saturday night noise we sincerely apologize for this and hope the rest of your nights were good. Glad you and your sister had a great time here and in Fafa Isl. we wish you both the best . Thank you .

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Staff were very helpful and friendly, property was clean, location was good (close to ferry services and a short walk into town). Take mosquito repellent.
Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2019
Response from j on 6 May 2019
Thank you for your kind words, Malo lahi and hope to see you again.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
I had stayed here before and it was amazing so of course I picked the Waterfront Lodge again. But this time The Waterfront Lodge is only good for an overnight stay don't make the mistake I did and book more than a night stay. The place itself needs renovating. The loud A/C needs to be thrown in the bin it took 1 hour for us to feel the A/C working. Television waste of time having that in the room only one channel and it's not clear it's static. The bed is fine if you like sleeping on a hard mattress and that is the same with the pillows. The toilet doesn't flush properly you need to flush 3 -5 times to clear it. The water pressure for the shower feels like your using the hose on full blast the water stinging your body I tried turning the shower handle down I got rain drops. The room itself is fine if you like sharing it with cockroaches I've come across 2 so far and this was just the first night. Great times at the Waterfront Lodge(not). This is what i had wrote on the first night there. The response i got back from the owner Elizabeth Cowly is appalling
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2019
Response from J on 30 Apr 2019
Hi there, It is a shame what you have experienced at Waterfront with us. We had recieved your feedback on the 2nd day you were here and we kindly asked if you could talk to us so we can take action towards what you had experienced in your room,but you ignored our gesture. There was always someone downstairs (duty manager) that would have helped and reported this matter. Your room was fine with no complaints with guest before you so we thought the room was good to go (even after checking that all was good) usually we do have technical problem here in the islands with static tv but we can quickly try get this fixed for our guests. We pay much attention and repect towards our guests when/if they do talk with us about complaints and problems. We sincerely apologize about this and with that said, we have taken action with all rooms to be checked so this does not happen again. Kindly sorry about this,and hope you do consider our apology for you stay. Regards, Waterfront Staff & Management.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2019
Response from j on 1 May 2019
Thank you for your review. hoping you can tell us what the problem was so we can get action to this asap. Malo lahi

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
I emailed to confirm that hotel transfer was $30 TOP total (as this was cheaper than everywhere else), this is why we booked to stay here. A taxi driver came then demanded $50, I said he'll have to speak to the hotel. The manager came out and despite her email specifically confirming $30, she said it was actually per person and so she called a texi for us instead as this was cheaper. She didn't make any effort to fix the situation or offer to pay the difference. Unfortunately this really coloured stay as we didn't feel welcome and also didn't want to approach the manager for anything else as I knew she wasn't going to fix anything. Our room was good, all the basics there, except air conditioner wasn't working (told staff but never came back to fix it). And on my email confirmation it said 500MB per stay however we were only given 200 and it could only be used on one device. I also thought I read sky was available however the tv only had one working channel. All other facilities we working and adequate. Other reviews are correct saying staff tend to sit outside (just under your room window and be very loud) but this didn't bother us as much as I booked it already knowing it wasn't a quiet place. Redeeming feature - the restaurant was AMAZING. When I come back, I won't stay at the hotel but I'll come back for the service and food at the restaurant.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019
Response from Waterfront on 17 Jan 2019
Hi, I m truly sorry about the situation that was caused during your stay. On our Waterfront page on Expedia, we do mention that our airport shuttle is a one way fare, which is TOP30.00 per person one way the reason I confirmed for TOP30. So sorry about the air con- as no one had reported this to the office, and if reported this would have been fixed asap. We are sadden by the outcome of your stay, and as Manager of Waterfront, I truly apologize about your visit and I would be always available to help out if asked. if you do visit again, please, do let us know and we would make your visit at the restaurant more comfortable with a personal apology. Have a great year & hope to see you again soon for another great food service. Once again, I sincerely apologize. Kind Regards, Waterfront Lodge

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Business traveller, Travelled with partner
Beautiful colonial style boutique hotel with deep verandah on the restaurant and comfortable balconies in the rooms. Wonderful, helpful staff. Excellent food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2018
Response from Waterfront on 30 Dec 2018
Thank you for your review, we do hope you visit again in future. Malo lahi

8/10 Good

Daisy, Singapore

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The hotel staff are very professional and super friendly ! The hotel is nice than I expected ! Lovely ,big clean room and a very pretty restaurant.The location was great for my boat and ferry transfer which is right across the street .
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018
Response from J on 19 Nov 2018
Thank you Daisy for your review. we hope you do come by again for another visit. Have a joyous season coming up. Regards, Waterfront Lodge

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place to stay, cosy room and staff were super friendly.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2018
Response from Waterfront Lodge on 19 Nov 2018
Thank you Wotif. Have a lovely Christmas & New Year

8/10 Good

Edvardas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Local Guesthouse
If you don't like big hotel chains this is the place for you. Small locally run guest house with great veranda. Across the road from the harbour - be sure to have a beer at the local fishing club or at billfish after your whaleswim
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2018
Response from J on 26 Sept 2018
Thank you for your review Edvardas, hope you are well and safely back home. Glad you enjoyed our hotel and hope to have you both here again in near future. Malo lahi, Waterfront Staff & Management

10/10 Excellent

wei, singapore

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Quaint and nice
Friendly staff, Close to the water, but noisy at night due to the proximity to the clubs.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018
Response from Waterfront lodge on 1 Oct 2018
Thank you Wei for your review. we are still working on the noise control from the bar and hoping this will be settled soonest for the sake of our business also. Thank you.

4/10 Poor

Sarah, Auckland, New Zealand

I wish I could let you know about my stay in the Waterfront lodge. However, having booked well in advanced in May through Wotif we turned up in September to the Waterfront after a long day of taxies/flights and traveling to be told "we couldn't stay there."Simply asked if our name was 'Smith' with a affirmative we were told "we couldn't stay there" They had double booked and therefore we were out of luck. This was the first we had heard of this, as we stood in their reception with all our luggage - no email or phone contact prior. They sent us off to stay at the Tanoa Dateline Hotel (a large corporate hotel opposite to what we had wanted during our stay). Our room configuration request was not passed on between accommodation. Also, payment had not been transferred to the Tanoa and they attempted to charge us - even though the Waterfront/Wotif had already been paid in May. The experience was extra stress to what was a well planned trip - stress that could on easily been avoided with more effective communication.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

8/10 Good

Maryke, Brisbane, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Location, Location!!
Nuku'alofa was a great experience. Though Tonga it is not exactly the best tourist place to visit the people are extremely friendly and helpful. It is inexpensive and a safe and clean country to visit. We managed to fill our days and it was always nice to return to comfortable accommodation at the end of the day. We were a little disappointed that Tonga's main island does not have any safe beaches for swimming because of the strong currents, but it was pleasant to take a boat to a couple of other islands for lunch, swimming and snorkelling. July was perfect weather for the whole 12 days we were there. Be aware on Sunday the country stops, nothing is open including most restaurants. It was then a perfect day to take a boat to an island. Plenty of taxis and not expensive. Hotel and restaurants happy to call them for you.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Josephine on 27 July 2018
Thank you Maryke for your review. We will keep your review for staff and management to view and update on things needed as mentioned. We are glad that you enjoyed staying with us and that you had some great days going out to the outer islands. We have Beach resorts that maybe you have not been too on the main island that you could have used for swimming with your group. All in all Thank you for your review and we were happy to have you lot stay with us for that couple of days. Kindest Regards, Waterfront Team.

6/10 Okay

PAT, nz

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Excellent chef. Cooked fish and omelette to perfection BUT Room noisy at night, dogs and roosters Also manager/ owner very uncompromising, wouldn’t listen to any complaints or suggestions The continental breakfast was the worst I have ever experienced and i had to have an expensive omelette to provide any nourishment
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2018
Response from Liz on 20 June 2018
Hi Pat, Sorry you felt this way and as the owner I do take all complaints very seriously. We do explain to customers our Continental Breakfast as this included with the room, cooked breakfasts' is extra. Continental Breakfast Offer: Whole toast/white bread - jam, butter, fruits, cereal, tea and coffee, juice and water. Had I known about the Omelette I would have gladly given this to you Free of Charge, also when you convert this to NZ dollars its $9 dollars. Once again Pat I do make it a point to listen to my customers as they are the CORE of our business. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, as I said I would have gladly given you the OMELETTE free of charge. With regards to the rosters and dogs they are out of my control as they belong to neighbours. Glad to see you got back safely to NZ. Regards Liz

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Colonial hotel vibe. Great meal.
Although still no power on after cyclone Gita the staff offered great friendly service with candles and water jug to flush with. After surviving a cyclone they did a great job looking after us.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018
Response from Josephine on 5 Mar 2018
Thank you. We were glad all our guests and staff were all safe. Thank you again for the patience of no power and water while accommodating with us after Cyclone Gita. Malo 'aupito

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely residence, great food
Mixed experience - restaurant food wonderful, beds super comfy, nice bathrooms and some very friendly and professional staff, but some noise issues. I was aware of nightclubs nearby and I don't mind that, but some staff rather too loud not realizing shouting and car repairs a bit intrusive for tourists- could not hear people knocking on my door! Overall though, I would absolutely recommend especially for business or mature people due to 'usually quiet' ambiance and old style music.
Stayed 5 nights in Nov 2017
Response from Josephine on 1 Dec 2017
Thank you very much for your kind review, will look into the noise accordingly. Sincerely apologize for the noise caused, it has been a celebration for the last 2 months towards the rugby event & the staff have been overly enjoying it. Will manage on that concern MORE with respecting others also on the property staying with us thank you sincerely for bringing that up! We are glad on the other hand, that you enjoyed your stay with good food downstairs in our restaurant. hope you come again. Malo Aupito, Josephine

8/10 Good

Kim

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great
Was great thank you
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2017
Thank you Kim for our first review on Expedia, glad you enjoyed as we are new to Expedia. malo lahi & hope to have you stay with us again if you do come back to Tonga. Regards, Josephine

8/10 Good

Petri

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
WiFi yhteys välillä erittäin heikko tai sitä ei ollut ollenkaan. Ravintolan taso vaihteli, henkilökunta mukava.
Stayed 11 nights in Jan 2020
Response from j on 17 Feb 2020
Thank you for taking your time to review us. We hope you had a great time here at waterfront. Malo lahi

10/10 Excellent

Patrick

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Große und saubere Zimmer, sehr nettes Personal, Hafen um's Eck, feines Essen im Restaurant.
Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2019
Response from j on 15 Sept 2019
Malo 'aupito, we hope you had a safe journey back home and hope to see you again.

10/10 Excellent

RUPERTO

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

Mats

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017
Thank you Mats for the Kind review. hope to see you both again soon!