We arrived for a 3 day stay just after New Years after having been in another nearby hotel resort for the previous 5 days. Our first impressions were very rollercoaster. The trip into Poppys resort is surrounded passes near to some quite run-down shanty-towns, and the access road is in an appalling state as well. Our first impressions were ones of worry that the place would not be up to scratch. How wrong we were, because as soon as you get into Poppys you change your mind. It is extremely well kept- the gardens are well manicured, the pool is clean, and the village-like layout of the apartments gives this place a real Vanuatu feel.
The day we arrived, unfortunately the weather turned extremely hot, still and humid. It was a nice relief to get a complementary glass of lime drink while we signed in. The Australian expat Gary was extremely welcoming and had some very good information for us, far more than we ever got from the previous hotel. He recommended a restaurant (Vila Chaumieres) to go to that evening, and even booked us a table. We were not disappointed, it was great.
We had booked a garden view bungalow, room 18. The room was great, with flowers everywhere, neatly rolled towels, and the general presentation was lovely. To our dismay, it did not have any air conditioning. This was an oversight on our part, we had assumed a fan would be enough. The bungalow had high ceilings with 2 fans- 1 over the kitchen area and 1 over the bed. Unfortunately, the fans are so high up, and so underpowered, they cannot overcome the intense dead heat in the bungalow. All the windows have fly screens and big venetian blinds style louvres, but in order to have any privacy, you need to close them over, which limits any airflow in the place. It would not matter in our case, because there was not a puff of wind. The room also had a welcome brochure which we must say was the most informative booklet we have ever seen in a hotel. It was really great, and explained lots of things to us such as tipping, towels, transport, security of your belongings, internet etc.
On day 2 we reported this to reception and to their credit, they bought a tower fan for the 2nd and 3rd nights and left it in our room. This made a huge difference but alas it wasnt quite enough for us- we are used to a much more temperate climate! Such a speedy response to a request like that is really something to remark about, you would not get that in many other places.
The resort has great food for breakfast and/or lunch. Apart from quite undercooked fried eggs (just ask them to cook them a little longer if you dont like them runny), the food was really good and very reasonably priced. They also have a good selection of DVDs for 200Vatu a night which we availed of on all nights after we came back from town. We did a day tour on day 2 and thankfully they had a safety deposit box in the office which gave us peace of mind.
A few other minor negative points:
** While not at all the fault of Poppys, there were packs of local dogs barking/fighting nearby in the dead of night on 2 of the nights. This was not at all pleasant.
** Also, a cockerel lives nearby and seems to think that its dawn at 2:30am- very annoying
** We got back from dinner quite late on the first night and turned on the porch light to see the key in the lock. To our shock, something big ruffled in the bushes next to us, it gave us a real fright. It was the night security man who had decided to have a sleep in the bushes next to our bungalow porch. He did not instill much confidence in us after that, especially considering there are people living in poverty only 5 minutes away. We hope we don't lose him his job by mentioning this but its important that night security men can be relied upon.
** When we went to pay for our room service on debit card, they wouldnt put it through on debit, only on credit. They also wanted to whack a percentage fee on top of that which isnt really fair. Apparently the banks charge them a fee for transactions but so do our Aussie banks, essentially forcing us to pay double fees. Not good.
** We both got eaten alive by mosquitoes while sitting by the adult pool, though this happens anywhere in Port Vila really. Not Poppys fault at all, just remember to bring repellent!
** The mattress was not all that great. Our previous hotel had pocket springs and latex layer, which is SO comfortable. This one was quite a firm, old style mattress which meant you feel every jolt if your partner moves at all. Not a big deal, but hey its nice to have high hopes!
Overall, if you can handle dead heat and humidity, and despite the negatives listed, we would recommend this place. If you rely heavily on air conditioning to get a decent nights sleep, then this place is definitely not for you, which is a shame, as they make a really good effort to make your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
Room Tip: There appears to be no air conditioning, and the fans are not great.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
