Loved everything about Tawali, the people, the sea, the accommodation, the staff and the activities. Gilbert was a great guide and the visit to the village was a highlight for me. I loved talking with Gilbert and finding out heaps about local life.

Alfred was a great Dive Master although I snorkeled only. Alfred knew exactly where to go and what to find. Both Alfred and Gilbert were patient and understanding with us older and inexperienced snorkelers. The Coral Gardens and Lawadi were just beautiful..we met some other great folks who were very happy with the diving.

I enjoyed talking with Edward, the manager, and all the other staff who went out of their way to make us comfortable. My partner John and I had such a good time that when we came back to OZ we straight away booked another holiday in March 2019. It is expensive, but hey, its a privilege to be a part of life there even for such a short time...and folks have to earn a living!

We stayed three nights at Tawali in late August 2018. The staff was friendly. The rooms were clean. The food was not very good.

My husband and I did two dives one afternoon. We rented equipment from the resort and they warned that it was second hand and sometimes not in the best of repair. On my first dive, my regulator leaked throughout the dive and when I tried to switch to my secondary air source, it free flowed, wouldn't stop, and blew my mask off. I had to make an emergency ascent, but fortunately, we were not too deep. The dive master changed the regulator for my second dive and then I was able to enjoy the gorgeous corals and sea life.

After three days visiting local sites and celebrating the beautiful waters near the resort, we were gathered in the dining room with all the other guests for dinner. That's when a band of armed robbers entered the room and proceeded to hold us all hostage for over an hour. They took computers, phones and cash from the guests, the buffet dinner and the liquor from the bar. They also repeatedly tried to break into the hotel safe.

Several guests were singled out to leave the dining room with the robbers and two young women were held at gunpoint while the robbers spoke over a radio trying to find the hotel's manager to gain access to the safe. After they fired two shots over the head of one woman, the other asked for the radio and asked the manager to please bring the key so that no one would be hurt. We found out later that this resort had been robbed in a similar manner the year before and were told that the manager had been hiding to try to keep the robbers from getting the key to the safe.

It was a terrifying experience, especially when I was first pulled out to leave the dining room with the robbers. (They shortly sent me and another woman back to join our group saying we were "too old"--never have I been so glad to be described as such!)

Once we heard their boat(s?) pull away, we went in search of the guests who had been taken away and were very grateful to find that none had been harmed. The hotel called the police, but they never came to take any statements. They claimed instead that they were going to pursue the robbers (in the dark? along a dark coastline?)

Given that the resort is located on a remote peninsula, it is easy to understand that it presents an easy target. This doesn't, though, excuse the resort from not sharing news of the earlier robbery with tour organizers so that they could decide if they wanted to take a risk on sending guests there. It's too bad because all that makes the resort vulnerable is also what makes it an appealing place to stay. Still, I feel future guests should be warned that there are very definite risks in choosing Tawali (or any similar resort on the coasts of Papua New Guinea).