Sanalae Apartments

I stayed here for a week and found it excellent accommodation. Modern, secure self-contained apartment in nice surroundings. Helpful staff. The big drawback is that it is about 6 km out of Honiara town and there is no restaurant and absolutely nowhere nearby to buy any food. For a person on their own, who has been working all day, it is a drawback to have to get a taxi back into town and find a restaurant in the evening. There is no breakfast available either. I was in Honiara recently and would have liked to stay at Sanalae but the logistics of getting food meant I had to stay elsewhere.

Sanalae is a sanctuary from a hot and dusty city. The owners live between New Georgia, Honiara, and New Zealand, and therefore have a very good idea of what foreigners like, and they do all they can to provide it. The rooms are clean, and kept that way by housekeeping, even when I created a major mess - I have never washed dishes with paste in my life; but they took it all in their stride! They also took very good care of me when I became sick (mild delirium from dehydration). The staff looked after me themselves, saving me a visit to the hospital, and keeping an eye on me until I knew where I was again. These things are even more important than the usual comfortable bed and clean room that foreigners desire, you are treated as if you are part of the staff's family, and that they will take care of you while you are there. The room is well decorated, has everything you need to cook - rice cooker, pots and pans, hot plates, electric kettle, fridge, and various utensils. No oven, and the first task of the day is to boil the day's drinking water for five minutes - as anywhere in Honiara, but Sanalae provide a generator for the inevitable power cuts. They provide an armchair, a desk, and a television. The TV doesn't always work, but that is more to do with the television provider, I think. You need to provide your own 'phone - fixed lines are very expensive in the Solomons, but the Telekom down at Panatina Plaza should be able to provide you with a local SIM card. I would really recommend a stay here - I was so well looked after, and it is very good value for the money. As others have said, there is a little store a block away for bread and tinned goods, the Panatina Plaza - ten minutes walk - has a very expensive supermarket of imported goods, and ten minutes on from that is the fish market at Kukum, which also carries a range of freshly grown fruit and vegetables. No bargaining required - but you do have to buy the entire pile of five aubergines, whether you can eat them or not ;) About 8km from downtown, and a similar distance to the airport. If you don't want to use taxis all the time (they add up in Honiara, as anywhere), catch a bus on the highway for SI$3 into town. Hot showers are a luxury in Honiara, and the water is always hot at Sanalae. Cold water only taps for the sinks though. If you are happy to do your own washing, there is no charge for that, and they keep a stash of cold drinks at the reception if you are too worn out in the tropical heat to go and buy things. They also have several friendly taxi drivers on call - and on occasion, they transferred me themselves. Stay here when in Honiara. The apartments are neat, clean, and well equipped, and the staff are kind, gentle, and charming people. You will not be disappointed.

I spent 10 days at Sanalae Apartments and was very pleased with my stay. The apartments are well furnished with nice wooden furniture. The rooms are air conditioned which is a must in Honiara especially close to summer. The small kitchen is excellent as it allows you to prepare your own meals and relax after a day in the city. The rooms are keep very clean and the office is staffed throughout the day. The hotel also has 24 hour security guards. The staff are friendly and helpful. The only issue I had was with accessing the internet after arriving on a Saturday the staff left shortly after my arrival and I was unable to set up internet access until the next day which was a bit inconvenient. It is also a bit far from the center of Honiara but that is not a big issue as taxi are cheap and arrive promptly after being called. Overall a great stay and I would recommend Sanalae to anyone staying in Honiara.

We searched high and low to find a clean and comfortable place to stay in Honiara. At last we found the Sanalae (The options: the HP is OK but extremely pricey and the KM is old with a handful of nice but expensive rooms. The rest of the hotels look and smell like pet hotels) The price is very reasonable, but it's the kind staff and the little extras that make it perfect for your stay in Honiara. (They will book a taxi for you, carry your luggage, grab some milk from the fridge or corner store, and smile 24/7) Airport transfers are included. True it's a little out of town but only a short walk down to the buses into town if you want to enjoy a local experince, or a few Aussie dollars ($5-10) for a taxi into town The smaller downstairs rooms are very clean and have everything you need to make a simple meal (microwave, toaster, kettle, stove plates, etc). Comfy bed, big TV, small lounge, and a few outdoor chairs to soak up the evening breezes. The Sanalae is nice and quiet, and 24/7 the staff look after your every need. Can't beat it!

Initially I stayed at Pacific Casino which I absolutely hated. Then I read about Sanalae on tripadvisor and checked it out. It is really comfortable, safe, clean with welcoming staff. I was able to buy food items from the nearby market and prepare dinner and breakfast in the room. high recommend it.

I spent 2 weeks at Sanalae Apartments whilst working in Honiara recently, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it wholeheartedly. The apartments are nicely furnished, well equipped and spotlessly clean (thank you, Gillian and Jennifer!). Although the only views are from the upstairs apartments (most let on a long-term basis), a pleasing courtyard effect has been achieved outside the downstairs apartments, with white painted walls, pebbles and shells, wooden carvings and lovely planting - all scrupulously tended by Sanday (spelling?). There were three of us, with two rooms, and it was very pleasant to sit at a table outside with a beer and some nibbles at the end of a hard day - and later to eat a meal prepared in one or other of the perfectly adequate kitchenettes. The choice of places to eat out in Honiara is not great, and it was lovely to be able just to relax 'at home' on occasions. Although a little way out of Honiara, transport is quick and easy (though beware the rush hour; as Guadalcanal has basically only one main road, it gets pretty busy when everyone hits it at the same time!). Taxis (we used Kings) arrive usually within about 3 minutes of having been called, and the fare to the centre of Honiara (wherever that is ...!) was SBD 50. Or there's the excellent and entertaining bus service - SBD 3 anywhere within Honiara limits; get off at Marine School (from bus headed for KG or Discount) for Sanalae. The walk up the hill from the bus stop can be on the warm side, but we enjoyed chatting to the friendly locals as we climbed. The view at the top is splendid - back to the sea one way, or out over mountains and countryside the other. I liked the 'rural' feel, and really appreciated the utter peace and quiet at night. The place is charmingly, and very efficiently, run by Sabrina, who - along with the rest of the staff - goes out of her way to help in any way possible. Arriving home by taxi in the pouring rain one night, the cab had barely come to a stop before Thomas (night watchman) was there by the doors with a big umbrella to shelter us to our rooms. I certainly wouldn't stay anywhere else if I ever get the chance to work in Honiara again (I wish!). Having spent the first night at Iron Bottom Sound before my room at Sanalae became available, and visited colleagues at the Solomon Kitano Mendana, I was very happy indeed that we had chosen Sanalae - which was both cheaper (I think; it's certainly cheaper than Iron Bottom Sound) and nicer than both in my opinion. Thanks to all, and hope to see you again.

I travel every 2 weeks for business and I found accommodation in Honiara is very expensive, compared to what we would pay in Australia. Sanalae offer great value on a number of fronts. For a family of 5, we booked an upstairs unit and a downstairs unit for our week stay. The upstairs unit offers heaps of room for the family to all hang out together during meal times and sleeps 2, so our 3 high school/university aged kids slept in a garden unit. The garden units are about half the size of the upstairs units, but the 3 students fitted comfortably. We lived in the Solomons for 3 years and going back is always special, the Sanalae helps smooth some of the rough edges you don't miss. They have a generator to deal with the power outages that happen every couple of days, If things break, like running out of gas, they are are fixed quick smart. I still remember our previous trip to the Solomons, when we stayed at another major Hotel and our room had no hot water for a week, despite daily questioning. In summary, do yourself a favour, if you are coming to Honiara, stay at the best place in town. I will certainly be staying here in future.

We stayed in the Garden Apartments and were very happy with all aspects of our stay. The room was neat and clean. The fully equipped kitchenette provided options in Honiara. The staff were helpful and friendly. It was a short walk (downhill) to catch local buses into town. Air conditioning was a bonus. Car hire also. We boiled water to drink and had no issues. Laundry service also great and at no cost when detergent purchased for $5sb at local store.