Coral Sea Resort & Casino

Coral Sea Resort brought something Honiara had never had: a genuine leisure resort. Spread along the shore just west of the centre, its white two-storey villas and pavilions face straight across Iron Bottom Sound towards Savo Island, and the whole property is arranged to catch the sunset—which it celebrates nightly from a deck-edge pool and a string of bars that have become the social heart of the capital.

Rooms and villa suites are bright and coastal in style, the best opening a few steps from the water. The dining line-up is the most ambitious in the country, running from wood-fired pizzas and grilled reef fish to a smarter steak-and-seafood room, and the attached casino provides the evening's second act for those inclined.

As a base it works two ways: a comfortable perch for business visitors who prefer sea air to the city centre ten minutes away, and a decompression stop for divers and surfers moving between the Western Province and international flights. Service is cheerful, the generator hums through any city outage, and the sunset over Savo never misses. It is the closest thing Honiara has to a holiday.