We had the pleasure of seven days at this beautifully and relaxing resort. 'Resort' perhaps conjures up something that may make one think 'large and commercial'. This is definitely not the case. It is a small place with just four separate fales, so a max of about eight guests. It is a tropical paradise where we were treated like guests in the home of Josef and Renate. They had taken over about four weeks before we arrived after many years of running another Tongan resort. The food is a highlight. There is no menu. Josef a professional chef, chats with guests about what they would like and sources it fresh that day. This is the most wonderful spot to do little except relax. Thank you Renate and Josef for a wonderful experience. You are both superb hosts.

The hospitality of Renata and Josef is beyond this world. I don’t think in all my years of travel that I have ever been so well looked after and made to feel so comfortable. Right from being met when we arrived at the dock until 7 days later when we were farewelled again at the dock.
We arrived at Reef after 5 nights at Mounu and I confess to feeling a little disappointed when I first saw the beach (Mounu is pretty hard to beat for that!), and then discovered that our Fale was not beach front. Boy, how silly was I.
Our Fale which was on a slight rise had the bed placed so that each morning I could look out the window to see the sun rising, it was just glorious. Lovely private, great sun, just bliss, and when we return I would ask for the exact same Fale. A quick 10-12 minute walk away is a fabulous sheltered beach Port Maurelle, no matter which way the wind was blowing this was a little bit of paradise also.
Reef is very close to the Japanese Coral Gardens which we swam to and had a great snorkel around. If you didn’t want to swim you could paddle a kayak or Josef or one of the team would happily take you for a short boat ride and drop you off.
It is hard to know what we liked and enjoyed most about our stay at Reef; the hospitality, the peace, the quiet, the fabulous food or the great location.
Nothing was too much trouble; breakfast at any time of the day and anything you wanted, yummy lunches, a different cake for afternoon tea every day, to spectacular 3 course dinners each night. Always something different, always fresh, everything home made. Josef and Renata are miracle workers. How they could turn out such fabulous, fresh and tasty food with the limited ingredients found in the supermarkets and markets is beyond me. Josef’s years as a chef have obviously stood him in good stead to create miracles!
The rooms were excellent, fabulous bathrooms, double sinks, huge shower, and it was lovely to have a fridge and tea and coffee making facilities in the room. Fresh flowers were a wonderful touch in the bathroom.
The team from the local village that work at Reef are fabulous, friendly, warm and incredibly helpful. They happily respect your desire for privacy and solitude when wanted and share their warmth, happiness and culture with you when you want as well. We were lucky enough to have Salome who was our waitress each night perform 3 traditional dances for us on our last night. It was very special.
We left wondering how quickly before we could return and knowing that we would, and that our new found friends Renata and Josef would be there.

Spent 10 nights for relaxation and wildlife photography in Vavu'a in September 2011. Tonga is world-renowned for underwater humpback whale encounters.

Bottom line, the Reef Resort was the most enjoyable remote resort we have ever stayed in. The managers, Josef and Renate, are absolutely fantastic -- the best we have encountered in 20 years of travel. They genuinely wish for their guests to have a terrific vacation and will do whatever necessary to ensure this.

Accomodations: Four nice bungalows - 2 beachside, 2 hillside with beatiful views. Constructed in past several years -- solid -- very few entry points for wind or bugs. Comfortable and clean. Good size - 20 foot square living space footprint. Queen and full beds. Fans and AC. Lots of windows for fresh ocean breeze. Refrigerator. Hot pot and tea / coffee available in room. Speaker system for iPod. Large bathroom with relatively new fixtures. Plenty of hot water for showers. Daily towel change including beach towels -- a welcome bonus as we were snorkeling with whales daily and would not have had enough time for towels to dry. Limited storage space. Private deck with table and lounge chairs. Currently, power off during part of the night -- several battery-powered lamps and flashlight in room for use while generator off. If go to sleep early, good idea to leave windows open (screens in place) for the ocean breeze when fan turns off. We slept very well every night -- was not too hot during our stay. WiFi available in room for a fee fixed by single internet vendor in Vavu'a -- convenient and worth the price for us to keep in contact with family at home.

Very relaxing and quiet environment -- only sounds were waves on beach and occasional church bells in the distance. Several kayaks (including a glass bottom one) available for use. Nice snorkeling site (Japanese Gardens) just offshore.

Meals: Breakfast started every day with huge plate of prepared fresh fruits. Then, either delicious eggs/bacon or (one of the highlights of the trip) banana pancakes -- these are not to be missed ! (Josef was kind enough to bring us into the kitchen to share his technique in making this delight.) Afternoons brought fresh-baked cake -- Renate often delivered them to our bungalow as we returned from our whale watching -- the recurrent theme of personal touch by these managers. Dinners were beautifully prepared & presented -- fresh fish, lobster, prawns, beef, etc. These 3 course meals are absolutely luxurious especially when one considers the very limited items available in the market. The dining area is open and comfortable with beautiful view of ocean. There is a small lounge area for guests to have drinks in the evening. Notably, I am a picky eater and Josef would often discuss meal options to find a preparation that I would enjoy -- can't say enough about how hard this couple works to make sure your visit is special.

Regarding the whales, they are challenging to photograph. The region can be plagued by persistent strong winds -- seas can be quite rough and visibility reduced. Water cooler than expected. Lots of patience is often necessary. Nevertheless, swimming with these gentle leviathans is an experience of a lifetime. (For several reasons, we would avoid the Australian operator we used for the trip -- Scott Portelli. Other guests also had issues with him.) There was a Australian couple at the resort with significant scuba experience who raved about the fantastic, undisturbed reefs -- another reason to visit this archipelago.

As with everything for tourists in Tonga, staying at Reef Resort is expensive, but for the remote luxury that we experienced, we would absolutely recommend it to anyone visiting Vava'u !!

We stayed for 4 nights in August 2011. This place is extraordinary. The new hosts are very helpful and the food is absolutely world class, a real treat in the pacific. It's very private with only 4 fales. Snorkeling is fantastic, and if it's windy at Reef, walk 15 minutes to Port Maurelle on the other side of the island and you will also have great snorkeling in flat calm waters. Fales are beautiful and spacious, we stayed at one right on the beach. The only downside is cost, it was a splurge for us, but well worth it.