Stay Report: Lamana Hotel, Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea - October 2013)

Stay Report: Lamana Hotel, Port Moresby
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photo courtesy of PapuaNewGuinea.Travel

As it was the preferred hotel for the company I was working for, I stayed at the Lamana Hotel in Port Morseby many times while travelling for business in Papua New Guinea.  Overall, the hotel had a good standard, decent service, and was in walking distance to a major supermarket, mall, and cinema.  One key aspect was that the hotel provided a complimentary shuttle to/from the airport, and staff were usually at the airport around flight times.  I used the airport pickup/dropoff many times, have left baggage to be picked up later, and basically used the hotel as a base in Port Moresby; throughout it all, the staff have always been pleasant and courteous.  

photo courtesy of Booking.com

The hotel is located up on a hill, and the drive up is not that great, but once you enter into the hotel property the view changes.  You pull up into the lobby of the hotel, with the check-in desks and the business center on the left, and straight ahead is the restaurant.  I never made the reservation myself so I am not sure of the booking process (the company always did the booking), but I never had an issues when checking-in.  After you receive your key, you head outside the main door and turn to the right to head to the rooms.  It is an open-air property so access to the rooms is outside.

photo courtesy of Expedia.com

There are two sets of rooms available – the first set are updated and while the second set have not been updated.  The layout for the rooms were generally the same though, but the updated rooms are nicer and have a standard comparable to Western-style hotels.  As you enter the room, on right is the bathroom while on the left is the closet.  The close was standard and provided space for storage and hanging clothes.  Each bathroom had a sink, a toilet, and a shower; the updated rooms had an open tub with a ‘rain-shower’ showerhead.  Further inside the room, on right was the bed with side table.  Some rooms have two beds (bigger than a single but smaller than a double) while other rooms have one bed (bigger than a double but smaller than a king).  The beds are comfortable and you get a decent night sleep.  Across from the beds, against the left side of the room, was TV (mounted on the wall), and a luggage space underneath the TV that connected to the desk.  While both rooms were laid out the same way, the main difference between the two is the decor and feel of the room - the older wing looks very well for 1980's while the updated wing is very modern and nice.  For that reason, the older wing rooms are not as comfortable.   

photo courtesy of Booking.com

There are many facilities at the hotel for the guests to enjoy.  There is an outdoor pool, a gym, a restaurant, a business center, the complimentary shuttle, and a nightclub.  The gym is nice, with good equipment and a trainer; you can get a good workout there.  The pool is outdoor so the operation is dependent on the weather.  The restaurant is very good, especially for lunch, with the Indian buffet, and the moussaka my personal favorites but beware the service is a bit slow at the restaurant.  The hotel does not provide free wifi but you can purchase wifi cards which can access the internet throughout the hotel.  You can also access the internet through the business center, which houses two computers in a room near the front desk and provides 30mins of free internet time to the guests.   

photo courtesy of Booking.com

There is also a very popular nightclub (the Gold Club) on premise and this place is very packed on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The music can go on until 2am so if noise bother you, ask for a room away from the night club.

Overall, it was a pleasant stay and a nice relaxing time at the Lamana.  The updated rooms are nice, the access to the internet is appreciated, the restaurant provides good food, and it is within walking distance to a big mall/grocery store.  The hotel is also well-known in the area so many locals know of the hotel (and the club) so it’s a good meeting place.  The only negative is that is far from downtown, there are cabs available; however, the hotel is close to embassies and Parliament.