Tradewinds Hotel

This hotel deserves a better rating. We were not expecting much when we arrived based on prior reviews and were happy with our stay. Our room was cleaner than most comparable US hotels of this status. The furniture was in fine shape. The bed was comfortable. Bathroom fixtures are a little tarnished (not sure of the right word) but that is a water issue and not cleanliness. There was a repaired crack in the bathroom vanity and the mirror adhesive was showing through, but that did not really detract from our stay. The hotel is air-conditioned. Staff was friendly, knowledgable and helpful. They seemed proud of doing a good job. Previous reviews elsewhere complained about the continental breakfast. It was as was promised, a continental breakfast and was plenty for us. A more substantial breakfast can be ordered a la carte. That breakfast must be good since locals pack this place regularly. I didn't give it 5 stars because it is not high-end, but I can't imagine staying anywhere else in Tutuila.

This hotel is just adequate, despite its efforts to look nicer than it is. Our bathroom had mold and something nasty streaked across the mirror. The restaurant is barely average. The hotel bills itself as “American-style” and caters to tourists, but almost none of the staff speak English. I don’t expect everyone to speak my language when traveling abroad, but it’s nice to be able to ask basic questions about menus, activities, or ordering a coffee and be able to get an answer. The pool area and reliable hot water are the nicest things about staying here. The location is not ideal. Walking around from the hotel is loud with industrial noise. Be careful at crosswalks because unlike other parts of the island, they don’t stop. The locals in this area do not greet you or smile when you pass as on the rest of the island. It just seems less friendly. For a much better experience, if more rustic, get out of Tafuna and stay at Sadie’s by the Sea. The staff are friendlier, the bed is more comfortable, and the area is full of shade, bird calls, and cool breezes. The locals and exceptionally friendly and helpful there as well.

I stayed three nights in a suite and one night in a regular (“deluxe “ room). Rooms are spacious and clean. Smart TV with lots of cable channels and you can get Netflix. Fan and aircon which work well. However the beds are very high and the mattresses soft and saggy. The water pressure in the shower is low and the bathroom fixtures are tired. Continental breakfast is free and consists of cereal, fruit and toast. For three days they were out of bananas! But there is Julia’s, a good Vietnamese right across the street open seven days a week from 9 AM. You can get vegetarian options there and the fresh coconut water to drink which the Tradewinds is usually out of stock of. They have a laundry room at the back of the hotel with washing machines ($2) and dryers ($2). Reception has quarters. Washing powder is $2.75. All must be paid for in cash. WIFI is $5 a day and is very fast. Staff are friendly and helpful. There’s a free airport shuttle but you need to request it in advance. They do respond promptly to messages sent via the ******* App. It’s less than ten minutes in the shuttle to the airport. Since there’s no ATM machine at the airport the shuttle driver will stop at the Cost U Less Supermarket (a local Costco) and let you use the ATM machine there. There’s a mini market next door. I’d recommend doing a tour with Rory (details in photo of flyer at reception). He’s a font of knowledge. I also did a tour with Best Tours which was also good but very pricey.

Terrible customer service! Flights from HNL depart at 11:30 pm - checkout is noon thus I asked for late checkout, reception said come and ask on your last day which I did b4 going to breakfast. I was quoted $61 till 6 pm - since I was going a full day driving tour m, I requested if possible to extend till 8 pm so I gave time to shower and grab dinner at the hotel’s restaurant before leaving. The reception woman asked the manager who agreed for 8 pm - there was never any mention of a different price except the $61usd mentioned earlier. When I checked out I was surprised to see that instead I was charged $131 - the manager states she had told me / except she has sat at her office and never talked to me nor the reception assistant convey anything different than $61 dollars - when I threatened to call the police - they showed me the check in form you sign (well at 1 am!!! Who reads all that small print!!!) and since they had my credit card on file they would charge me directly…. I talked to other people in the airport - thus hotel is well know for over charging customers!!! BEWARE!!!!

Like many others we visited American Samoa to visit the national park. We were happy at the Tradewinds Hotel. The staff was incredibly helpful and hardworking, our room was cleaned everyday. The pool is wonderful, it was so relaxing to take a dip at the end of the day. The Samoans are so kind. They were always willing to give us a tips as to how to spend our day. We brought our pickle ball paddles with us and had a lot of fun playing in the evening at the DYWA in Tafuna. Unfortunately the trail to the top of Mount' Alava was closed. We did most of the hikes suggested by the women who work in the park headquarters. We found many beautiful secluded beaches and were only expected to pay to access one (Fagatele Bay). The beach in Sa'ilele was especially beautiful and clean. Flag Day is April 17, the day their Somoan ancesters first raised the American flag in this homeland. We were there the week before and everyone was busy sprucing up their village. It was fun the see the various ways they decorated with red, white and blue! We watched the the fautasi (long boats) train for the big race held around Flag Day. Tips 1) It is important to rent a car. We drove to all the major roads on the island. 2) Stop at the park headquarters on your first day. Use your phone to take a picture of all the trails and National Naturals Landmark sights. We were constantly using the picture as a reference. 3) Eat at Tisa's Barefoot Bar and watch the Flying Fox bats flying around at the entrance. 4)Take the boat to Aunu'u Island ($5). There is not much to do there but we have never seen water so blue. Make sure you find out when the last boat goes back to the mainland. 5) We enjoyed delicious salads, wraps, soups and treats from Cafe Felila. We also enjoyed poi and Oka (raw fish in coconut milk), which we got at the market in Pago Pago. Breadfruit is delicious. 6) Snorkel where is is safe and enjoy the tide pools. *We never had any problems with the dogs although they do wander around the island. My husband did get stung by the large wasps, be as mindful as you can of them being on the trails. Have your raincoat handy, but we had great sunny days in early April.

We loved it! The hotel is nicer than we expected. If you like 5-star everything, skip Samoa. It is very laid back. The prices on the island were surprisingly low--as in, just like the Midwest. No sales tax. Picked up a couple lavalavas at Manu'a in Pago Pago for 6 bucks each! If you sew, check out the large selection at the many fabric shops. Really nice fabric, really nice prices. We rode the aiga (privately run buses). Open air, a little rickety, good view of the populace, barefoot driver! You pay for the ride when you get off, not when you get on. Car horns are used for communication in Samoa. They aren't expressing road rage, just saying Howdy. Lots of pickups there, most with a couple people in the front and a few sitting in the bed. Most vehicles there are relatively new. There is surprisingly a slight language barrier. Most people speak English, some better than others. The hotel AC was great. It was hot outside, 85-95 Fahrenheit most days. Loved the solar heated, well-maintained pool! I like warm water for swimming. The room came with continental breakfast which suited us fine. You can also order from the breakfast menu. We found the food selections in the restaurant to be varied, tasty, and reasonably priced. We were told not to drink the tap water (after we'd been there a couple days--no ill effects that we could determine) and not to go out walking because of all the loose dogs. We did walk; the dogs barked at us, but none took chase. Most Samoans are very friendly. We went to Mass at the Cathedral and were treated like royalty! Check-out is noon; our flight didn't leave until 11 pm. You can pay $100 to stay in the room for the afternoon or hang out in the lobby. The airport TSA did NOT open until 8:30 pm for our 11 pm flight. No one at the hotel seemed to know that. We arrived at the airport around 6:30 pm and sat outdoors until TSA opened. Most businesses shut down on Sunday. The National Park Visitor Center is closed Saturday and Sunday. Pago Pago is pronounced to rhyme with Bongo Bongo.

After Hawaiian Airlines delayed my flight to Honolulu until the next morning, I was sent here (I stayed at an AirBNB the rest of the trip). Check in took forever, due to Hawaiian’s incompetence in not contacting the hotel. The lobby looks nice, I hear it’s the nicest hotel on the island. Room itself was basic, but I was only there about six hours so didn’t go over it with a fine toothed comb. Shower was OK. The hotel wanted $5 a day for internet! That’s not something I am used to, anywhere I stay! Since I was only going to use it for ten minutes tops, I declined.

The Tradewinds Hotel is the nicest hotel on the island of American Samoa. If we were to translate that into a hotel on the mainland, it would be a mid-grade Best Western. The lobby and pool area were lovely, and the fresh flowers were a nice touch. There are also some things that bear improvement: -The rooms are very tired and dated. The bathrooms need remodeling - get the grime and mold out of the grout, redo the bathtubs, have adequate water pressure. The bed was so soft, that we just sank into it and had no support. Very difficult to sleep. And also the room was so musty smelling, that us and all of our clothes just smelled like mold at the end of our stay. I'm still trying to get the smell out of my hair. -We killed 2 cockroaches during our stay -There is music constantly playing in the hallways. Yes, at 3am you can still hear it. -The fitness center equipment was falling apart, and the room was so moldy smelling that you couldn't exercise there -The Equator restaurant had similar food quality to the rest of the island. That is, highly processed, ultra-high salt content, smothered in gravy, etc. All we wanted after that was to detox on vegetables. -We had a massage at the spa and it was probably the most unusual massage we've ever had. The room had no ventilation, for starters. There were 4 women crammed in that room for 12hrs/day with horrific nail polish fumes. I don't know how they didn't pass out. The massage is in the adjacent room with an open door. The weird part about the massage is, they washed our hair as part of it.... THREE TIMES. The girl scrubbed my scalp raw with her nails each time, and it was so painful. Completely bizarre. Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the island itself, since it was so hard to find info about this beforehand. -Be prepared to not swim in the ocean the entire time. There is one public beach on the whole island, and I can tell you that you will not want to swim there. For every other beach, you need to ask permission from the landowner to park there and go to the beach. As in, you need to approach one of the shacks where the locals live in squalor, hope to not get attacked by one of the thousands of aggressive, stray dogs on the island, and hope the person is home and will speak to you. I'm not joking. -You also need to ask permission to take pictures on the island. Same deal as above. Wth? -There is zero concept of hospitality or customer service on this island. They do not cater to tourists, they do not like tourists. If you ask "can we do...xyz?" the answer is usually "we don't do that here." There is no concept of how to accommodate a guest's request - even if they're paying. Be prepared for everyone to be as unhelpful as possible. -Want to try to visit the Manu'a Islands? Sorry, good luck getting them to sell you a ticket unless you're a local. -Much of the islanders live in complete squalor. They do not take care of the island at all, and there is abundant trash around the be

Not many options for lodging on the island and Tradewinds is your best option. Good location near airport and staff is outstanding. Rooms are adequate and recommend you get a Suite for more room. Found mattresses were overdue to be replaced. Get room service everyday. Restaurant is good albeit portions are large. Free continental breakfast is limited. You can order breakfast off the menu and food was good. Nice pool although had only 3 loungers .