Tungi Colonnade Hotel in Tonga

SD › Tonga Hotels › Tungi Colonnade Review
Updated: January 6, 2021
By Santorini Dave

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Review of Tungi Colonnade Hotel in Tonga

Tungi Colonnade Hotel – Simple but comfortable, affordable, and central.

Most hotels in the rather scruffy capital are along the scenic waterfront, but they are away from the town center, which offers a better (albeit still limited) range of places to eat, drink, and shop. Set back a little to ensure distance from any traffic noise, the Tungi is the best of a poor choice in downtown. All rooms, each with a sizable balcony, face the main street or overlook the cyclone-ravaged church to the back. They are spacious and feature sofas, sinks, fridges, and overhead fans, which add to the appeal. The staff is amiable and the position is unbeatable: halfway down the main street and only meters from the waterfront.

Tungi Colonnade Hotel – The Basics

  • Location: In the town center, halfway along the main street, Taufa’ahau Road in the capital Nuku’alofa on the main island. About 40 minutes from the airport.
  • Guests: Caters for budget-minded business people, but ideal for anyone searching for something central and affordable.
  • Beach: There is no beach anywhere in or around Nuku’alofa. The closest serviceable beach is at Ha’atafu on the far western tip, about 20 km away.
  • Views: Rooms to the front face the carpark along the main street, which is a lot less noisy at night. Those at the back overlook local homes and gardens which are more interesting.
  • Wi-Fi: Not free, but charges are a lot less than other hotels.
  • Parking: Free parking in the courtyard at the front, but it’s really a public space and not that secure.
  • Nice Perks: Free laundry if staying a few days.
  • How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
  • Phone: (676) 23528
  • Email: N/A
  • Website: N/A

Tungi Colonnade Hotel – Amenities

  • Pool, Spa, & Fitness Center: Not expected or provided in this low-key city hotel.
  • Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Not expected or provided.

Tungi Colonnade Hotel – Food and Drink

  • Restaurant & Bar: None, but there are several decent places to eat around town (see below).
  • Breakfast: A basic do-it-yourself continental breakfast in the common room.
  • Room Service: Not available.

Tungi Colonnade Hotel – Rooms

  • Room Types: Double Room • Standard Room
  • Smoking Rooms: No smoking allowed anywhere in the hotel building.
  • Best Room: The Double Rooms are larger and more modern, with space for a family of 4. The sofa faces the TV and the full-length windows face the street-front balcony.

Tungi Colonnade Hotel – What’s Nearby?

Best Nearby Restaurants & Bars

  • Friends Café – Very popular, if only for the Wi-Fi. Claims to have the ‘best coffee in town’, but also serves delicious meals. About 300m up the main street.
  • Reload Bar Tonga – Virtually the only bar in town, with happy hours, locally-brewed beers, DJs, and adequate meals. Opposite Friends Café.
  • Coffee Post – Popular for coffee, muffins, and light meals, and perfect for people-watching. In the post office building at the top of the main street, 300m away.
  • Enjoy Café – Friendly, with street-side tables. Offers cakes, coffee, all-day breakfast, and substantial meals. On Railway Road, one block south of the main street.
  • Seaview Lodge Restaurant – A delightful 1 km walk along the eastern esplanade for sea views, a romantic setting, and haute cuisine with a Polynesian flare. Also open for breakfast, and reservations recommended in the evenings.

Nearby Market or Grocery

    The streets around town are sprinkled with minimarts and supermarkets.

Local Transport

    Walkable to anything in or around Nuku’alofa. Private unmetered taxis can be arranged through the hotel lobby.

Tungi Colonnade Hotel – The Hotel

The hotel is located on the main street.

The hotel is located along the main street through the Tongan capital.

The hotel is located within a government building.

The hotel is almost lost among government buildings in the town center.

Hotel is located in the 3rd floor of the building facing the main street.

Rooms are on the third (top) floor of the building, with those at the front facing the carpark along the main street.

A long corridor connects the rooms.

Corridors lead to rooms that face the main street to the front or the town streets and houses to the back.

All rooms feature a small kitchenette.

Each room contains a small kitchen area, with a sink and fridge.

Rooms are very spacious and comfortable.

Rooms are surprisingly spacious and more comfortable than the hotel exterior would suggest.

All rooms feature a small comfortable sofa.

All rooms also feature small sofas.

All rooms have a balcony with city views.

Rooms feature balconies that overlook the main street, or the gardens, homes, and backstreets.

Coffee Post nearby is popular for coffee and light meals.

Perfect for drinks and light meals, Coffee Post, just up the main street from the hotel, is also great for people-watching.

Coffee Post is popular for its delicious light meals.

The Coffee Post serves tasty shakes, sandwiches, and other light meals.

Enjoy Cafe downtown is best know for its coffees, cakes and meals.

Arguably the best place in downtown is Enjoy Café, one block from the main street. It serves full meals as well as coffee and cakes all day and evening.

Friends Cafe nearby is delightful and extremely popular.

A few minutes up the main street from the hotel is Friends Café, a delightful and popular place in a colonial-era building.

The town center has a very limited choice of eateries.

The advantage of staying in the town center is the range (albeit limited) of places to eat and drink.

Reload Bar is the best bar in the capital.

Claiming to be ‘probably the best bar in Tonga’, Reload is certainly the best in the capital.

Reload Bar is extremely popular with foreigners.

Only 300m up the main street, and opposite Friends Café, Reload is always popular with tourists and expats.

The hotel is located in the center of the small capital city.

The hotel is in the dead center of the Tongan capital, which is surprisingly small.

Langafonua Handicraft Centre is popular for souvenir shopping.

Alongside Friends Café, the Langafonua Handicraft Centre is the best place to buy souvenirs.

Langafonua Handicraft Centre has a good collection of arts and carvings.

The range of carvings and art in the Handicraft Centre is impressive.

The hotel has shops right outside its entrance.

Staying somewhere so central means there are shops just outside the hotel entrance.

The city's largest church is Basilica of Saint Antony of Padua.

Just 100m down the main street is the Basilica of Saint Antony of Padua, the largest of several religious buildings in the town center.

Talamahu Market nearby is popular for souvenirs and fresh produce.

The Talamahu Market is a huge complex selling fresh produce as well as souvenirs, one block back from the main street.

Walking down the esplanade is always a pleasant experience.

The hotel is only 300m from the esplanade, a pleasant place for walking.

The beach is too narrow and patchy for swimming or walking.

The beach in and around the capital is not good for swimming or even walking.

Nuku’alofa has colorful buildings and some greenery.

The scruffy capital, Nuku’alofa, has a few patches of greenery and some colorful buildings.

Cyclone preparedness is the norm in Tonga.

Tongans are always well prepared for possible damage from cyclones.

There is a severely damaged church behind the hotel.

This church behind the hotel was severely damaged by a cyclone and remains unrepaired.

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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.