At the capital's Heritage Park Hotel along the waterfront, awakened guests came out of their rooms to assess what was happening, said Richard Konari, a receptionist there. Things appeared to be returning to normal, he said.
"I have not seen any damage, but the feeling was like nothing I've experienced," Konari said. "It was a more powerful feeling than I've felt in the past."
A guest at the hotel, Sita Leota, told she went to higher ground -- a hill by the Parliament -- after reading about the tsunami alert online.
"Up on (the hotel's) third floor where I was, the whole building swayed -- like riding a wave," said Leota, who was visiting from Samoa.