My wife and I had a week at Paradise Cove on our honeymoon and absolutely loved it.

All the rooms are separate cabins with plenty of personal space, an airy bedroom and living room, private courtyard with hammock and lounger and a kitchenette. The site is very green and peaceful. There is fantastic snorkeling off the jetty (where the boat also picked us up from for our dive trips).

It is a little out of Vila (a 15 or so minute trip on a really rough road) so if you are planning to go into town every night it may not be the right place, we went in a couple of times in our week and it was no problem.

Everything is managed out of the big open air covered bar lounge and dining area looking out over the water (with a second dining area 10m down the hill on the absolute waterfront) which is a nice communal environment.

The staff are fantastic, relaxed and friendly and ever helpful. They took the time to recommend different trips depending on what we were looking for, and followed up with the operators to make sure it all went smoothly. The maintenance staff and housekeeping staff all know you a little and add personality to the stay.

When we were there we noticed that a lot of the options in this price range were a hotel type building so you didn't get the island feeling we did, and Paradise Cove faces west so it is the only place we found where the sun sets over the water.

We'd definitely go back.

My wife and I just soaked up six most peaceful days in Vanuatu at Paradise Cove Resort. We were looking for comfort, quiet, privacy, warmth, good food, good snorkelling and friendly but not intrusive staff. We got the lot and more. The resort has just 10 bungalows and caters to a maximum of 30 guests. It is about a15-20 minute ride from Port Vila, the main town which I found unimpressive and a little third worldish but the resort itself was embedded in lush jungle foliage and fronts onto a huge bay which itself opens to the ocean. The snorkelling right in front of the resort is great and if you need a change of scenery just walk for 15 minutes to Honeymoon Bay for an alternative experience on a long sandy beach. Ask any of the staff and they'll clue you in to what is good.
The managers, Belinda and Andrew, hinted that Vanuatan beef was the great and it was. I had some of the best steak I can remember. The fish was superb too. For my vegetarian wife the choices were a little more limited but their salads were excellent and the pizza pastry had a uniqueness to it. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

If you are looking for a beautiful setting, peace and quiet just to do nothing, then this is an amazing place.
Set 25 minutes drive from Port Vila only 10 bungalows are nestled in stunning grounds.
The staff are outstanding and nothing is too much trouble. We spend an "exhausting" morning snorkelling, lazying and reading in the shady beach area, so I walked up to the restaurant (20m away) to order lunch, only to be asked if we would like it served down where we were already lying on the lounge chairs.
The Bar and Restaurant is on site, overlooking the water, while not cheap, has an extensive menu of delicious food making it possible to dine each night for a week long stay. Bungalows are clean and comfortable with ceiling fans but perhaps just a little tired.
The Jetty makes access to snorkelling so easy - no current or tide, with so much to see and so close - Yes, we actually did find Nemo!
The road to the resort makes this not recommended as a place to base yourself to see other areas of the island or frequent trips into Port Vila - 20 minutes of under 10km/h trying navigate around many and sometimes large potholes - but having visited the Port Vila town once seemed enough for us. Having said this, there are lots of day trips available to be booked at the resort. The Waterfalls are lovely but for us the Blue Pools was OK. There is a sandy beach about 15 minutes walk from the resort ... well worth the visit.

The hosts and staff at this small resort can't be faulted, and the setting is excellent too. I had read about the good snorkelling prior to our visit, and the easy access to the reef and variety of fish species were as expected, including a small white tip reef shark. For novice snorkellers there would not be a better place to experience the underwater world for the first time, with no stong currents or large tides.
The road from Port Vila however is a challenge to cyclists and drivers with many large potholes: this deterred is from making the short journey into town more than once a day.
The room was spotlessly clean but was obviously a liitle "tired" with a small bathroom and ill-fitting patio doors'
My wife described Paradise Cove a s a "home from home". No higher praise........