Emerald Hotel & Restaurant in Tonga

SD › Tonga Hotels › Emerald Hotel & Restaurant Review
Updated: January 5, 2021
By Santorini Dave

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Review of Emerald Hotel & Restaurant in Tonga

Emerald Hotel & Restaurant – Convenient, popular, spacious, and seaside.

Offering a prime esplanade setting, the Emerald is the closest to the town center – barely ten minutes – of the several hotels along the eastern esplanade. Although it doesn’t seem much from the outside, all rooms are pleasingly spacious. The suites feature rather plush and oversized sofas that are comfortable in a typically unstated Tongan way. The Deluxe Rooms face the side of the building, though the views are still decent. Other benefits are the Chinese restaurant downstairs and proximity to a bus terminal just across the road for services to the eastern part of the island.

Emerald Hotel & Restaurant – The Basics

  • Location: Along the eastern end of Vuna Road, the esplanade in the capital Nuku’alofa on the main island. About 500m from downtown and 40 minutes from the airport.
  • Guests: Focuses on business people, but all are welcome and catered to.
  • Beach: There is no beach in or around Nuku’alofa. The closest serviceable beach is at Ha’atafu on the far western tip, about 20 km away.
  • Views: Rooms facing the front have uninterrupted sea views, but also overlook the main road which is fairly quiet. However, most have views of neighboring buildings and gardens to the side.
  • Wi-Fi: Ask management about free access when booking.
  • Parking: Plenty of free parking.
  • How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
  • Phone: (676) 22888
  • Email: gm@emeraldhoteltonga.to
  • Website: emerald-tonga.com

Emerald Hotel & Restaurant – Amenities

  • Pool, Spa & Fitness Center: Not expected or provided at this range of hotel in Tonga.
  • Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Not expected or provided.

Emerald Hotel & Restaurant – Food and Drink

  • Restaurant & Bar: The Emerald Chinese restaurant is on the ground floor. Typically cavernous, its authentic cuisine attracts large groups of Chinese (always a good sign). Importantly, it’s open on Sundays, when most of Tonga closes down. Takeaway also available.
  • Breakfast: A modest continental breakfast is included in the rates.
  • Room Service: Available during normal restaurant hours – 12 pm to 9 pm.

Emerald Hotel & Restaurant – Rooms

  • Room Types: Standard Room • Deluxe Room • Suite
  • Smoking Rooms: Smoking is permitted in a selected number of rooms, although this is not generally advertised or known.
  • Best Room: Facing the front and offering direct sea views from the balcony, the Suites are very spacious and feature inviting leather sofas.

Emerald Hotel & Restaurant – What’s Nearby?

Best Nearby Restaurants & Bars

  • Fresh Bar and Grill – Decent restaurant with a bar specializing in seafood and imported steaks. At the Tanoa International Dateline Hotel, almost next to the Emerald.
  • Friends Café – Very popular, if only for the free and reliable Wi-Fi. Claims to have the ‘best coffee in town’, but also offers delicious meals, gifts, and tours. Easy to find at a corner on the main street, Taufa’ahau Road in downtown, about 600m away.
  • Marco’s Pizza Pasta – Only 650m away, but hard to find in a side street (Unga Road) 2 blocks southeast of Friends. Relaxed, with garden seats and live music on weekends. Also, fish, grills, salads, and tasty desserts.
  • Ngutulei Bar & Restaurant – Always popular with expats for its fascinating port-side setting, steaks, seafood, and gossip. About 1.5 km along the esplanade away from town.
  • Billfish Bar & Restaurant – Expat hangout, with live music, endless rugby on TV, and pub meals. Also popular for draft beer, quiz nights, and happy hours. Nearly 2 km further along the esplanade from the Emerald. Take a taxi.

Nearby Market or Grocery

  • There are a couple of basic supermarkets along the esplanade, but a better selection along with the produce and handicraft markets, are in the town center about 500m away.

Local Transport

    Walkable to the town center. The bus terminal across the road has services to places of little interest to tourists in the eastern part of the island.

Emerald Hotel & Restaurant – The Hotel

Emerald Hotel looks bland from outside but is much better inside.

The Emerald Hotel doesn’t look much from the road, but is far better than the outside suggests.

Onsite Chinese restaurant is huge and popular.

Downstairs is the popular and rather cavernous Chinese restaurant.

Hotel is located on the eastern end of the esplanade.

The hotel is located along the eastern end of the esplanade, in the capital, Nuku’alofa.

Front-facing Suites have plush leather sofas.

The suites facing the front of the hotel feature plush leather sofas.

Spacious Deluxe Rooms are motel-style.

The Deluxe Rooms are a little like a motel, but spacious enough.

Deluxe Rooms offer street views from small windows.

The Deluxe Rooms face the side of the building, without sea views.

Suites have sea views with just the esplanade in between.

The Suites at the front face the sea, with the esplanade in between, although the road is fairly quiet.

Opposite the hotel is a park by the sea.

Directly opposite the hotel is an extended park alongside the sea.

Pigs roam freely in the park opposite the hotel.

Don’t be surprised if some pigs share the seaside park across the road from the hotel.

The Port nearby has a fish market every morning.

About 1 km further along the esplanade, away from town, is the port area with a fish market every morning.

Bus terminal across the hotel provides good connectivity.

Directly across the road is a bus terminal for services to the east of the island.

Downtown Nuku’alofa is within walking distance.

The hotel is only 500m from downtown Nuku’alofa.

The city centre has modern building and lots of greenery.

There are some colorful buildings and patches of greenery in the center of the capital.

Small capital of Nuku’alofa has limited shops and eateries.

Nuku’alofa offers a limited supply of places to eat, drink, and shop.

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua is on the main street.

One of the many places of worship in this deeply religious country is the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua along the main street, Taufa’ahua Road.

Talamahu Market is popular for fresh produce and souvenirs.

Worth visiting is the extended Talamahu Market in the capital, about 500m from the hotel.

Langafonua Handicrafts Centre next to Friends Cafe is good for souvenir shopping.

The Langafonua Handicrafts Centre is the best place to check out and buy local souvenirs. It’s along the main street in the town center, next to the Friends Café.

Billfish Bar & Restaurant is very popular with foreigners.

The Billfish Bar & Restaurant is a real pub and popular with expats. Take a taxi because it’s about 2 km away, but worthwhile.

Friends Cafe nearby offers good food and free Wi-Fi.

Friends Café, along the main street in the town centre about 500m from the hotel, is popular for tasty food and free Wi-Fi.

Ngutulei restaurant facing the harbour is very popular with foreigners.

About 1.5 km along the esplanade away from town, Ngutulei is a very popular expat hangout that faces the harbor.

Restaurant in the hotel next door serves good range of meals.

Next to the Emerald, the restaurant in the Tanoa International Dateline Hotel looks simple, but offers a good range of meals.

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About Santorini Dave

Santorini Dave Author Bio. Santorini Dave was started in 2011 by a guy who loved Greece, travel, and great hotels. We're now a small team of writers and researchers on a mission to deliver the most helpful travel content on the internet. We specialize in Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, and Greece and recommend the best hotels, best neighborhoods, and best family hotels in top destinations around the world. We also make hotel maps and travel videos. I can be contacted at dave@santorinidave.com.