We booked via email.

Reception closes at 7pm, so make sure you ask for the door entry code if you are arriving after that time. We arrived at la Tontouta at 5:30 and had intended arriving at the Anse Vata Motel before 7pm but it quickly became clear that was impossible. The owner's directions of "just follow the bus" turned out to be a bit useless. It probably helps if you actually see a bus. It might also have helped if the motel had a sign that was visible from a car approaching in the road rather than only when standing directly in front of the door. However, we later found that to be quite normal with NC hotels.

It seemed a bit odd calling the place a “motel” when there was no on-site parking; we eventually found a free street parking spot in the next block.

The actual room wasn’t bad for a basic New Caledonian hotel; plenty of space, a double bed and a single with a TV that had only French-language channels, a basic kitchenette with a working... more