Scenic Matavai Resort Niue

Fantastic location comfortable rooms, great food with friendly people. A place where you can chill out and watch the view or spend time by the pools. I really enjoyed my time here I am sure you will as well, looking forward to coming back soon.

This is a really awesome place to stay! The best views from all rooms and grounds are great. We even were one of the few to try out the brand new car park! (It has the only pedestrian crossing on the island) All staff are really friendly and has an awesome pool bar.

We stayed in the 3bedroom Villa 2km down the road from the resort. We were able to use the resort facilities. The villa is very big and has a full kitchen which is the reason we stayed there so as to reduce eating out all the time. A few things were missing like cooking trays (but they did go down to the shop to purchase them after we hounded them for some, otherwise they suggested we go get them). There is aircon newly installed larger unit in the lounge which is to cool the whole house as they took away the existing ones in the bedrooms and smaller one in the lounge. But i feel it doesn't quite get into the smaller rooms down the hall enough and we asked for a pedestal fan, which helped a bit. Enough utensils and cutlery but mismatched. Huge deck to dry things over the rail and a clothesline but brings pegs. Laundy inside house and dryer but may have to purchase own powder $2.00 a wash but they sometimes supply hand cleaning powder. Heaps of towels are supplied in the laundry room. Outside furniture we took inside to have more seating options. Towels and linin supplied as well as coffee, tea, sugar and mini milks,( one per person on a daily basis but you do need to keep asking, it's a bit hit and miss and some days nothing.) Large new TV in lounge with usb ports. We were there for two weeks, and they did come change the sheets maybe twice otherwise beds were just made up in between. Would have liked to have a once over clean in the bathrooms e.g. did not see any cleaning products used. Kitchen dishwasher was supplied with dish tablets which was good. Access to the pool for the villa and adjoining apar**ents was a life saver. Pretty much we had it to ourselves and never busy. The pathway to it from the 3bedroom is a bit rocky and the gardens really can be made spectacular if they put some effort into it. Daybeds and tables at the pool side one umbrella that was useful if fixed up better for shade. A shade sail would be great over the pool so it can be used in midday time. There is a bbq available by the pool to use under a shade sail. Close by is a "reception" unit you can store food in their freezers, if need be, washing machines for the apar**ents and a phone to call the resort. I think a phone in the Villa/apar**ents would suit better. A daily newsletter is also here to pickup to see what's on which is quit useful, sometimes its not there. The Actual resort up the road we used a couple of times in the lovely pools and a cocktail. Beautiful location we ate once there on the first day as we had not done any shopping and we were all hungry. A few pizzas and a fish and chip dish. Pizzas were pretty crunchy and basic small pieces of fish for $30.00. The power did cut out due to a lightning strike back in December on the generator and we were told parts were on its way, but the backup generation failed. Lost aircon for couple of days which was hard to deal with kids. We weren't informed on what was going on which was frustrating. Maybe q

Absolutely lovely. From the moment we landed, to the time we flew out, the resort staff looked after us. We stayed in a cliff-top room with a stunning view. The sound of waves crashing below was so good and the restaurant & pool were a 1 minute walk. The staff were all friendly and it was nice to meet Aaron the manager. Housekeeping did such a great friendly job, I felt spoiled. Breakfast is great unless you like the heavier stuff, which you can easily order and pay for. Coffee too. I won’t mention that, bc I’m a coffee snob. All other meals can be served restaurant or poolside and the drinks selection was fine. The resort cats were so cute and the roosters at 6am didn’t bother us; just roll over and go back to sleep, you’re on holidays. Mike was so friendly and the airport transfers fast. Thanks guys, had a great time.

We had dinner at the restaurant, it was a $70 buffet on Thursday. $10 corkage fee. The food was nice however they had no provision to keep the flies away. The restaurant needs fans inside and out and the staff could do much better to welcome guests and demonstrate hospitality. There was a fan used by staff in the bar however there were none around the restaurant which made it difficult to enjoy the dinner and entertainment. The staff ignored us as we entered the restaurant and walked away as we tried to speak to them. 1 of them was helpful. We asked how much the drinks were at happy hour and they didnt know. There are no baby changing facilities and I was told to change baby in the toilet, on floor.

The worst experience I’ve ever had the staff was so lazy and rude the rooms were not cleaned properly and breakfast was the same rehashed meal every morning to the point that the fruit went slimy. we had a blocked sink in our room from the first day that was never fixed even though we asked to the point that we tried to unblock ourselves and then had black slimy stuff in the sink for the rest of the week no one cared. My mum got a terrible injury on the coral and tried to sit in a chair that was apparently for the dinner time they insist that she moved. they quoted us wrong for a rental car and then tried to charge us for extra days that we didn’t have and for more than what they quoted they argued themselves in front of us and even when told to move into a room and not to argue in front of customers they continued. They seem to genuinely dislike their job. The room was never cleaned properly the floors were never done we had our bed changed once and even then they left their dirty cleaning cloth in the room. It definitely was not the standard of a four star resort. I will never return to Niue because of the experience and I would not advise. Besides the resort the Niuen people were beautiful caring and lovely people that couldn’t do enough for us. It’s such a shame that the staff of the resort were not as they represent Niue for thousands of holiday makers that the country desperately needs for their economy. The doctors and staff at the hospital were in complete contrast to the resort and were fantastic beautiful and caring people with such warm hospitality and did a fantastic job regarding my mums care. Getting a house or self catering motel would be my recommendation.

A week here was a delight. We stayed in the clifftop rooms which had an amazing view to the ocean - we could watch dolphins (and even a few late whales!) from our deck. The room was well serviced and was fresh and clean, with a comfy bed and beautiful bathroom. The coffee pod machine was appreciated along with the bathroom products etc. The food at the resort was surprisingly good - reasonably priced and available all day - and the breakfast included lots of choice including cooked options. Reception was happy to recommend and book you into other restaurants if you wanted to venture out. The staff here are exceptional - friendly and helpful. Richard, the manager greeted us on arrival and made himself available throughout, to ensure our stay was the best it could be (including special screening of the RWC semis!) To arrive 'home' after a long day exploring to such luxury was wonderful. And with the softest pillows and the sound of the sea, I slept like a log.

Buffet terrible - literally nothing to eat 20min after opening!!! Buffet opened at 6:30pm for Friday cultural evening at $70pp & we sat down at 6:50pm to find that they only had salads left & taro - no meats or fish at all left & nothing more coming!! When asked their ‘Italian’ chef if they had any more meats coming he stated “no, my kitchen is closed” we asked again if he could at least prepare some fish for us, but he stated then advised had fresh fish in the fridge but my kitchen is closed & I am not cooking anything else”. So crazy given the buffet was meant to go until 9pm & no food at 6:50pm - 20min after opening.

Our wedding week at the Matavai was superb, couldn’t fault it. The hotel is definitely underselling itself as a 3*, our deluxe clifftop room was very clean, roomy and well air conditioned with a good king size bed a nice fully tiled bathroom and decent hot shower. They could perhaps use slightly firmer pillows, so perhaps consider taking your own if that’s important to you. The pools are great, the water wasn’t as cold as we’d been led to believe, and a lovely spot for whale watching and for sundowners. The breakfast buffet shifted from just being continental to including a cooked option on our second day, which I think was new, and well received by the guests, definitely look to keep that going! The meals at the resort were far better than we had anticipated and had we known, we wouldn’t have brought as many snacks with us from NZ! Prices for food and drinks were very reasonable, the staff were lovely. Siwa did a great job with the wedding organisation, she put on a great event at the resort with lots of extra touches and kudos to the chef for an amazing wedding banquet! Richard the temporary hotel manager was very friendly, always available and on hand to help out. Niue is a remarkable place, quite unique in tourism. You absolutely have to hire a car here, it’s almost impossible to holiday here without one, and the resort organised this for us as well. Niue won’t be for everyone, don’t come here if you want sandy beaches or luxury, but if you want to escape from it all and have some authentic adventures, this is the place! A truly magical & very fun week made possible by the team at the Matavai, thanks guys, we’ll definitely be back!