Aore Island Resort

“Stay here! you won’t regret it.”

This is without a doubt the best holiday I’ve been on. It felt like I had stepped in to a postcard, this resort is so incredibly beautiful I couldn’t believe what I was seeing was real! Our room was right on the beach with sun lounges. The food was incredible, I loved everything that I ordered and … more

This is without a doubt the best holiday I’ve been on. It felt like I had stepped in to a postcard, this resort is so incredibly beautiful I couldn’t believe what I was seeing was real! Our room was right on the beach with sun lounges. The food was incredible, I loved everything that I ordered and I’m very picky. The staff were genuinely friendly and were so helpful. The fish under the jetty were spectacular! The was even an angel fish and a rainbow fish! The water ladies were amazing I’m still not sure how they made music with water. I made a basket out of a palm fronds with Alice in one of the daily classes and the cocktails were so delicious! Our kids loved the whole trip it was one of the best weeks of our lives. I can’t wait to go back.

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“A great family tropical resort holiday”

A fantastic relaxing resort. No fancy clothing needed. Bungalows close to the beach with excellent tropical fish snorkeling. You can get away on the bicycles if you need a break from the resort. Food was excellent for a trpoical resort on an island. Great place for family or couples holiday includi… more

A fantastic relaxing resort. No fancy clothing needed. Bungalows close to the beach with excellent tropical fish snorkeling. You can get away on the bicycles if you need a break from the resort. Food was excellent for a trpoical resort on an island. Great place for family or couples holiday including younger kids which we had. Staff were friendly and professional and house keeping was excellent. We would come back.

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“An honest family review”

Like many people, I spent hours reading reviews before booking Aore Island Resort, and to be honest, I arrived feeling a little nervous. I'm really glad I didn't let some of those reviews stop us because, overall, we had a wonderful family holiday. We are a family of four with two children under 1… more

Like many people, I spent hours reading reviews before booking Aore Island Resort, and to be honest, I arrived feeling a little nervous. I'm really glad I didn't let some of those reviews stop us because, overall, we had a wonderful family holiday. We are a family of four with two children under 10, and we stayed in one of the beachfront bures. The location was absolutely spectacular. Waking up to those views every morning was something really special, and the room itself was comfortable, well maintained and exactly what we needed. The daily housekeeping was fantastic and the ladies did a beautiful job each day. The only surprise was that housekeeping was charged separately at checkout, which wasn't something we were aware of beforehand. The local staff are genuinely beautiful people. They are warm, kind and always willing to help. Things definitely run on "island time", but that's part of the charm of visiting Vanuatu and something we really embraced. The food was generally delicious, however this was probably where we felt the resort could improve the most. Portions were quite small, particularly for children. Our kids' meals were around AUD $17 and consisted of two chicken nugget-sized pieces of chicken and around 10 chips. Both of our children regularly ordered two meals because they were still hungry afterwards. We also found it surprising that there wasn't any seafood or fresh fish on the menu for our entire stay—not even a simple fish and chips option for the kids. Given you're surrounded by the ocean, this felt like a real missed opportunity and was something our children had been looking forward to. The meals themselves were tasty, although ours were often served barely warm rather than hot. We also noticed several other guests sending meals back during the week for the same reason. The final couple of days of our stay were a little disappointing after a larger group arrived on a Tuesday flight. The kitchen repeatedly ran out of menu items, including desserts. On our children's final night of holidays they were so excited to have dessert, only to be told there was none left. It was only chocolate mousse, so it felt like something that could have been anticipated and prepared for. It wasn't a huge issue in the scheme of things, but when you're travelling with young kids, it's the little moments they remember. If you're a coffee lover, I'd probably lower your expectations. The espresso pod coffees were around AUD $5 and tasted more like hot milk than coffee. One thing that genuinely made us laugh was that we couldn't get a fresh coconut for five days... on an island full of coconut trees! When we asked why, we were told the staff didn't want to climb the trees. It became a bit of an ongoing family joke by the end of the trip. A few reviews mention the paddleboards, bikes and equipment being quite old, and that's true. They are definitely well loved, but they were still perfectly usable and our family enjoyed using them. One practical tip: bring cash where you can. The resort's exchange rate isn't particularly favourable and card payments are converted using their own exchange rate rather than the official daily rate, so you'll generally get better value exchanging money elsewhere. Overall, we genuinely had a lovely stay and would absolutely recommend Aore Island Resort, particularly to families looking for a relaxed island escape. The setting is breathtaking, the local staff are wonderful and there were so many special moments that we'll remember for years. At the same time, I do think there are a handful of operational things that could make a significant difference to the guest experience—better meal planning, larger children's portions, keeping menu items available and offering fresh local produce like seafood and coconuts. None of these are huge issues, but they're the sort of details that could easily turn a great stay into an exceptional one. We're really glad we went, and we leave with some wonderful memories of a beautiful little island.

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