Reviews - 2018
Everything and More!
Aoredise is everything and more! It could not have been more perfect. Stuart and June communicated and shared tips in advance of our arrival - which was very helpful. Stuart graciously arranged our transfers as well which made it even easier. The house is perfect and very well equipped with your own private beach and a beautiful garden. Everything you need to have a perfect island holiday - drinking the rainwater was a delight with none of the chemicals we find in our “city water”. Stuart provides a mobile phone to make local calls - it helped a lot to order boat taxis (which takes you to Luganville in about 5 minutes).
Aoredise is a perfect base to explore Vanuatu given it’s proximity to Luganville. There is a butcher opposite the market (their beef sausages are fantastic). We bought fresh ingredients at the market and the rest at LCM (baby pork rib racks are recommended for a slow BBQ roast).We rented a car (twice) from the Santo Hotel and spent time at the blueholes, Champagne beach and Port Olry - all very doable in one day. We would recommend Angelique’s restaurant (Sirinity) in Port Olry.
We felt we had our very own peaceful paradise on Aore. We relaxed, swam, cycled, read and just chilled. The sunsets were amazing. The summer storms were also incredible - quick and refreshing. We bbq’ed most evenings - the veranda was our perfect family gathering spot (and the mosquito coils works their magic).
Other tips - cycling to Freshwater Plantation is well worth it. A little bumpy road, but the scenery of huge trees and forests makes it worth it (wear insect repellent!). Maria and Klaas are fantastic hosts at Freshwater and the lunches and freshly made ginger & lemongrass iced tea a must! My husband did the bat-cave tour and I went for a full body massage (such a treat!).
/ Marise - December 2018
Lovely Relaxing Place
Aoredise is a lovely relaxing holiday house with everything in place to make it easy to stay on a tropical island. Nothing was left out - from first-aid kit to ice cubes & paddle boards to hammocks. Thank you for your personal touches, and for making it so convenient. Five stars!
/ Charlotte - December 2018
Your own Private Island Paradise!
.We were looking for a quiet spot in Santo to "get away from it all" and Stuart and June's home was that and so much more! Located in a very quiet spot but still very close to resort facilities and a short trip to town if you need it. The house itself has everything you need to be a home away from home, with all the required creature comforts including well equipped kitchen, great bathroom (with hot water!), and comfortable living spaces. We also made very good use of the paddle boards and bikes during our stay. Stuart and June have supplied everything you need for a comfortable stay and the gardener and cleaning staff keep the place beautiful and tidy. Stuart gave us lots of information and advice (which is particularly handy for those who may not have traveled in the Pacific before) and was always contactable if we needed anything.
The spot is really your own private island paradise - having direct access to the beach for a swim/snorkel/paddle was the highlight of our stay and we are missing it already! Very grateful that they have opened up their holiday home to guests such as us. Hope to be back in the future and will be recommending to others who need an island escape!
/ Melanie & Ben - November 2018
Best Holiday!
Amazing place. Stunning location. Beach at the front door. Bikes to ride around island and explore. Stand up paddle boards and kayak we used every day. Other snorkel equipment was there too, even the shoes (however we did bring our own). Lots of things to do nearby on Aore and across in Santo. Go to the Millennium Caves if you can!! Amazing! (Need to be pretty fit though, it's strenuous). Eddie the taxi guy was great and Sandy the boat guy picked us up on time every time we called him and got us safely across the ocean .. even in the dark! Stuart and June are excellent hosts and communicated really well, very thoughtful and helpful. Best holiday myself and my 4 kids have had and our first overseas trip all together. We will be back! Love Aore, love Vanuatu.
/ Judy - October 2018
Absolutely Loved it!
We have just spent 8 nights at Aoredise and absolutely loved it. The beach is nice and we were able to snorkel at any time and see interesting things. The house has everything you would need and all the comforts. We loved sitting on the front deck in the morning to have our coffee, beautiful way to start the day. There are lovely gardens and plenty of room for kids. Really can’t fault anything, thank you for the opportunity to stay in your home and look forward to staying again.
/ Terry - October 2018
Pure Bliss
I loved Aoredise - it had everything I needed. I traveled alone as my daughter had to pull out, but I met the most beautiful people. Jimmy the gardener was a treat with his big beautiful smile, Mason at the resort was always helpful, Wendy and Janet who helped me celebrate my birthday! Horse riding was amazing. Thank you Aoredise, a life time of memories!
/ Tracey, NT - August 2018
Lovely Relaxing Time
We had a lovely relaxing time at Aoredise. The house was comfortable and very well equipped.
The water is beautiful and the weather was perfect.
A great stay, thank you.
/ Karen & Graham, NSW - August 2018
Paradise
Beautiful light and airy home with gorgeous water views. Our family of 4 stayed for 3 nights and had a great time snorkeling and swimming. The kitchen is well equipped with everything for self- catering or it’s only a short walk to Aore Resort for eating out. There is snorkeling gear and a kayak & SUP board for fun on the water. There are movies and books for the afternoon downtime. The gardens are beautiful and the private beach is sandy and great for kids. Bring your water shoes as there is coral close to the shore. Fabulous coral and fish!
/ Kelly, NSW - July 2018
The perfect place to end our trip to Santo!
Lovely, comfortable, well appointed holiday house in a beautiful location. We really appreciated the comfort of Aoredise after the more rustic experience of the bungalows at Lonnoc Beach and Port Olry. It was everything we could have wanted for the end of our trip. The owners were very helpful with advice and prior arrangements. Getting to and from Luganville by water taxi is quick and easy. The beach in front of the house was wonderful for swimming. We enjoyed using the bikes provided to explore the island.
/ Andrew & Karen, NZ - July 2018
Thankyou for the wonderful holiday!
What a wonderful time we had at Aoredise - the perfect mixture of things to do, along with time to relax and enjoy the house and the location. Aoredise was just lovely. Apart from doing the Millenium cave tour on the Monday, the rest of the time was spent on Aore. We went to Aore Coffee for Saturday breakfast, and ate at Freshwater Plantation, Two Canoes and the Aore Resort. It was great having the bikes. We loved the peace and quiet of Aoredise, snorkelling straight off the beach, and my son floating on one of the inflatable rings. The house had everything we needed and would have loved to spend more time there. Alas, we have to return to school, work and real life! Already there is talk of "next time we come....". Thank you for the wonderful holiday!
/ Felicity, Vic - July 2018
Fabulous Ten Days at Aoredise!
Stuart and June are outstanding hosts and the details and level of communication were greatly appreciated.We loved our visit to Aoredise and after a fabulous 10 days we were very sad to leave today. The house was fantastic, beautifully set up for a comfortable restful holiday. The bikes were brilliant for getting around the island and the snorkeling was a great treat. We managed to see lots of fish, starfish and a sneaky little seahorse. We used the resort restaurants and the plantations quite a few times ,but the ease of the water taxi across to town was really easy to access Luganville for shopping, markets and tours of Santo.
/ Jan, Paul & Kate - June 2018
Relaxing Stress Free Break from Every Day Life!
Thank you for a much needed stress free break, we had a ball! Such beautiful ni-van locals, exceptional food and company, and the boat drivers were lovely. Beautiful gardens and private beachfront, front balcony was so relaxing just looking out over the water. Fans inside and out made the house temperature really comfortable. Absolute relaxation in paradise, owners have thought of everything. Highly recommended.
/ Greg & Lisa - May 2018
The best of Vanuatu
This is the real Vanuatu. Aoredise is a very special part of the world. Stuart and June have created paradise on Aore Island. They really have thought of everything and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.
Aoredise was absolutely perfect for our family of six. The kids loved trading their iPads for hermit crabs. We used the bikes to check out sites on Aore Island. Aore Resort is just a leisurely ten minute stroll, and is excellent for massages, lunch, dinner and hair braiding for the girls. And a little further up the road, Aore Roastery and Freshwater Plantation - bat cave, farm animals, coffee, fish, chocolate ...
A short boat ride across to the mainland and you're off exploring the beautiful Santo including Million Dollar Point for blue starfish and Port Olry for the best view in Santo - highly recommend the lobster mornay (an absolute must).
We can't recommend Aoredise highly enough, we miss it already. Such an awesome experience, thank you.
/ Tim & family - April 2018
Fantastic Family Holiday
Paradise on Aore Island is the perfect description! We spent six nights at Aoredise with our two two young kids and had a fantastic family holiday.
Aoredise had everything we needed including kayak, SUP and snorkeling gear. When the kids had worn themselves out there were a stack of DVDs available to help manage some "down time".
There are bikes available to explore the island, or simply use the supplied phone to organize a lift to Freshwater Plantation for lunch. The Aore Resort restaurant is within easy walking distance, where we enjoyed some local entertainment on the Friday night.
Stuart and June were most accommodating and even organised our taxi from the airport and boat ride across to Aoredise on the first night.
We can't recommend the place and experience highly enough - we will be back!
/ Michael - April 2018
From WA and USA
Aoredise was a wonderful house for our family holiday - Mum & Dad from America, Jill & Zac from Port Headland WA. Sunny days snorkeling, paddling, swimming, biking. Rainy day hanging out, watching movies.
We had lunch on the rainy day at Freshwater Plantation. They picked us up & brought us back, yummy food.
Aoredise is a lovely place - good beach with lots of fish (bring your mask & snorkel).
Paddled down to Aore Resort for sunset cocktails - wow!
The kitchen is so well equipped, we cooked lots of meals together.
We also recommend the Indian Restaurant near the pier in Luganville.
Sandy the taxi boat driver was great!
Thanks!!
/ Zac, Jill, JD & Gail - April 2018
A beautiful haven to unwind and relax in
We had a wonderful seven days at Aoredise. The house was very comfortable for the four of us (Mum, Dad & two teenage boys). The kitchen has everything we needed to cook up our feasts of local produce, beef & fish.
Snorkeling at Two canoes is fantastic - we think the best on the Island but out front of Aoredise and Cindy's Reef are pretty good too.
We had great fun on the bikes & had many adventures - riding through the plantations, meeting & chatting to the locals, lunch at Freshwater Plantation (great food - their cocoa balls are amazing!), dinner at the Resort (the seafood platter was great & well priced).
The boys mastered the stand-up paddle board & the kayak was well used. Lots of fun but also plenty of chillaxing time lazing around with a good book.
/ The Wards, Sunshine Coast - April 2018
Perfect Family Holiday!!!
We stayed at Aoredise over Christmas with our 2 young children and had the most relaxing, fun filled two weeks. The house contained everything you could possibly need (especially appreciated the washing machine for salty, sandy clothes!) and having the flexibility to self-cater if we wanted made it so much easier than taking tired children out to restaurants at night. Incredibly safe for children- our days were filled with snorkeling, kayaking, climbing the big shady tree, sand castles, hermit crab chasing, Santo beef on the BBQ, trips to resort up the road for pool time, Freshwater Plantation (amazing food), Two Canoes (superb snorkeling), babysitters (Lizzy and Rowena were great) and lots of movies and games supplied for entertainment when the rain came (which was not too often). So easy to organize and lots of people to offer local tips along the way - Thank you Stuart and June for a truly amazing family holiday!
/ Troy, Meegan, Bella & Hunter - January 2018