Not "Waves" hotel... I suspect you mean the Airways Hotel. Both that and the Gateway Hotel are close to Jacksons Airport, but pretty expensive places to stay. A cheaper place, further off airport, is the Granville Motel. It's run by an expat, I think, but you might want a rental car to get around from there as it's quite a hike to the airport if you aren't accustomed to tropical heat at this time of year.
And, of course, if it happens to be p!ssing pick handles, you'll get a proper drenching that the average umbrella will not prevent.
You might want a rental car anyway, wherever you decide to stay. They, too, are expensive, but at least the Granville Motel rents second-hand cars that might be a bit cheaper. I'm not tying to direct you to the Granville because I don't think I'd stay there myself, but it might work out cheaper for you, if you can rough things a bit.
The South Pacific Aero Club in at the GA end of the airport (south-east end). Always a good place to find local pilots from abut 4PM most days.
I'll be back in town today (11 Jan) but don't yet know what my roster looks like next week, so can't tell if I'll be there while you're in town. In any event, I'm out of touch with the employment scene, so you'll be better off finding out the real story at the Aero Club bar.
Good luck.