Ramada Hotel & Suites Noumea, New Caledonia, Review

I selected the Ramada Hotel & Suites Noumea for this review during my time in New Caledonia's Noumea for two simple reasons - a good location and great value at 3,000 Wyndham Rewards points and EUR 60 per night.

The hotel is just behind the beach promenade (which isn't at all busy) and in the same city block as the Nouvata and Hilton Noumea hotels. The driveway and entrance are hard to find and it took me a long time to find them at night. The lobby is also inside the building, making it extra hard to find.









Check-in was friendly, though a little confused. The biggest shock - the free WiFi is limited to 250MB downloads within a 24-hour period. However, you can buy an unlimited package for $20 for a whole week. Sounds a good deal but the WiFi would disconnect and simply be unavailable for most of our time that it just seemed a bad investment.

The 'studio' room that my cash and points booking mapped into was old but maintained decently. There was a kitchenette with a big refrigerator and the room was rather large. The beds had very soft mattresses but I felt better in the morning than I'd feared.



The bathroom was clean but old and the amenities there were basic.



The room had a good view and the AC was rather quiet and powerful. Nevertheless, in the morning we realized that we were basically on top of the major entrance driveway and the many delivery trucks and buses would make sleeping impossible come 8AM.

The hotel features a gorgeous pool that looks more like a tropical beach. It is very shaded, though, and given the temperatures in the low 70s, it was too cold to hang out in the area. Noumea has a strong sun that makes it hot during the day but the pool area never really warmed up.





We complained about the state of the room and the noise and the front desk simply replied that all rooms were full. We did not stop inquiring, though, and to our surprise, on day two, management promised to upgrade us to a one-bedroom apartment the next day. They fulfilled their promise and the new apartment was much nicer. It featured 180-degree ocean views from the 11th floor and was equipped with a full kitchen, including washer and dryer.











There was a huge living room, including a sleeper sofa, as well as a bedroom, but a similarly old bathroom.











We were happy to use the washer but realized it was leaking badly while running - drowning the apartment with water. There was also a foul smell whenever we entered the apartment - likely originating from the same issue. We called the front desk, which promised maintenance but that never happened and we eventually just stopped asking.

The hotel has free parking for your rental car in the car park. However, it is very tight, full of rather random columns and just in a bad shape. It's better to have your car out on the street but only just.

In sum, this could be a great hotel but it suffers from creaky hardware. The Internet is a complete failure. The staff are either hit or miss, with knowledgeable front desk staff one day and completely forgetful ones the next. The pool area is well-designed but does not get enough sun. The rooms are big but need better maintenance.

At 3,000 points and EUR 60 this is still a good deal but at the regular rate of $285 it is a ripoff.

You can book the Ramada Hotel & Suites Noumea here.