Loloata Island Resort
My adult daughter spent three days here while waiting to board the Golden Dawn for a trip to the Eastern Fields. I have known several who have stayed here and it came with high recommendation.
We were somewhat limited by weather that limited the diving to one day instead of 2 or 3. The one site that we wanted to get to was Suzy’s Bommie which didn’t happen because of weather. We did have one nice day out and some some decent sites that I enjoyed and we saw some good content underwater.
The dive guiding was good and they guides worked to point out things that were interesting to us. I would rate the diving to be a 6 or 7 on a 10 point scale. For a stopover spot, it was quite good and I would recommend anyone that is leaving on a trip out of PM to spend 3 or 4 days here. My daughter went on the flashlight fish night dive which is very unique and enjoyable.
The resort experience starts when you clear customs at the airport. The hotel was there with a sign waiting for us, so I rate them highly on this important point. The trip is a 45 minute car ride and a 15 boat ride and your arrive at a long dock in a stand alone island.
The rooms were OK, but maybe a touch below what I was expecting. Each room was in a stand alone bungalow with a bed and a hideaway bed that was not so great. Similar to Lembeh Resort, but a notch below.
The resort is very informal with everyone eating at one common table including the owner who chatted with us each night. Nice touch. The food was good, but lacked variety. I like the breakfast and lunch and dinner were buffet style. The resort has a pretty good sized meeting going on which I think pushed the quality of service a bit.
The resort has plenty of animals which are kind of fun. PNG wallabies are in abundance as are a few kinds of decorative birds. I got to breakfast early on my first day and found a wallaby huddled under a dining table. We startled each other when I pulled out my chair.
I would recommend anyone who is coming to PNG to stay here for 2 to 5 days. Some of the diving is quite good. Suzie’s Bommie and some of the other open ocean bombes are very good which I know from earlier dive trips. You will enjoy a unique little island with a lot of personal charm, but very little pretense.
