Tips for the Best Stay at Noumea hotels

These tips for choosing and staying at Noumea hotels will add quality and fun to your vacation in New
Caledonia.

Splurge on a lagoon view

It's worth paying extra to have a lagoon view at Noumea hotels! Most of us only get a holiday once a year. So, for years we've urged travelers planning a Bora Bora vacation to choose their hotel for it's beach. Now, after checking out a variety of hotels in Noumea, we suggest choosing a Noumea hotel for the view from your room.

If you want a lagoon view be aware that there are very few rooms with lovely aspects at budget hotels. But the best Noumea hotels have water views from every room. After experiencing their panoramic vistas, we suggest  paying more to wake up to the largest lagoon in the world and watch the awe-inspiring water sunsets.

The view from our Noumea hotel room was the most memorable aspect of our vacation.

Consider proximity to eating choices

We were within walking distance of two very good bakeries which opened at 6.30am.

Your choice of accommodation may be influenced by whether you hire a car or not. Noumea is a large island, with lots to see, so a car is an asset. If you don't have a vehicle you'll probably want to stroll to a variety of restaurants and cafes - unless you are happy eating at your hotel restaurant most of the time. Before booking one of the Noumea hotels, explore nearby eating options and find out about getting around Noumea.

Have a kitchen

For Christmas lunch, we made Tahitian Poisson Cru in our hotel room kitchen and partied on the balcony.

The French have a way with food. So it's not surprising to find Noumea hotels offering kitchens. Even if you're not planning to cook main meals, you will appreciate having a full sized fridge and ample utensils. Buy fresh crispy French bread, cheeses, etc. and prepare some breakfasts and lunches yourself: especially if you have a balcony to sit on. The savings, from shopping as the locals do, will really offset the cost of booking a lovely hotel room.

Add an over water bungalow experience

One of the Noumea hotels, L'Escapade, offers overwater bungalows. If you haven't experienced sleeping over water, have a couple of nights in an overwater bungalow on Mater Island to add variety to your vacation.

Pack your booking confirmation

Always take a print-out of your booking confirmation in case there's a hitch with dates or room type. This can happen anywhere in the world, including the best Noumea hotels.

Relax into “island time”

As in Bora Bora, islanders do the room cleaning and re-stocking, and they have a different way of thinking, which means that their attention to detail varies. Staying at “better” Noumea hotels doesn't come with any guarantees in this department. Don't expect that your room will be cleaned when you think it should be as there seems to be no plan that is logical to those accustomed to western service. If you find that you haven't been given sufficient clean towels or some dish-washing liquid, don't take it personally and create a fuss. Simply ring front desk and request some. They will arrive fairly promptly.

It's unusual to find a room service person who speaks good English in Noumea hotels. If you don't speak French, requests need to go through front desk staff for whom English is a necessary requirement for the job. At the Hilton, there was also a Japanese speaking concierge on duty some of the time. As we stayed two weeks we had maids teach us words like poivre and bonnet de douche (with the right pronunciation to be understood).

For help with choosing accommodation go to the info on individual hotels in Noumea.

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