#61362 - 03/21/07 09:14 AM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: jchip]
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NYCchic
Member
Registered: 01/28/06
Posts: 209
Loc: New York, NY, USA
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Hi jchip...
There weren't any barges I don't think but yes they are doing major building/construction on the new Royal Suites but that entire side of the resort is closed down. We did walk over there b/c we heard the best views of sunset were past the last beach villa...it looks like they tore apart 2 existing beach villas to turn them into royal suites. I took a picture of the contstruction and will try to post soon - just been very busy since getting back to work this week so haven't had time to do anything with my photos yet.
I still feel bad that you and Travacarib were considering cancelling just based on my opinions on the place. Everyone is different. I just honestly didn't enjoy the bugs everywhere I went...the large RAT i saw at dinner, the lack of good service which I expected from the high prices you pay to stay and eat there, and the lagoon being so mucked up during my stay. You may not be bothered by bugs and may not care about the service as much as we did. Like i said it was just hard not to compare it to the amazing service we had just received during our stay at Thalasso...we just loved it there so much we wished we had just stayed there. And seriously the rooms at Le Taha'a are nothing to write home about...that is why I am still baffled as to what the hype has been over this place. I thought my room at Moorea Pearl was just as nice as our room at Le Taha'a. I just don't see why it has been held as THE most luxurious resort in FP...that's all. I think I may have just set way too high standards for the place from everything I read about it on these boards. Maybe if you go with not such high standards you will enjoy it just fine. We just really were simply unimpressed...that is all. But like I said - I want to say it again...we didn't have a bad time there. It didn't ruin our trip in any way. We just laughed a lot and kept wondering and asking each other "what are we missing?"...but it was fine. Just not $1k a night fine if you know what I mean.
I am glad to hear you are ending your stay at Thalasso...that is definitely the way to go in my opinion!!! You will love it there. Definitely doesn't have as much of a Polynesian feel as Le Taha'a does...but it doesn't matter - everything is new and clean and just amazing...you will love it I think!
Let us know how your phone call with Le Taha'a goes!
And just FYI...I am not a complainer so I didn't complain about anything while I was there...so they may be surprised to hear about a recent guest having had any complaints.
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#61376 - 03/21/07 11:51 AM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: NYCchic]
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Travcarib
Member
Registered: 03/13/07
Posts: 119
Loc: Washington DC
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Thanks for the information nycc- it is hard trying to figure out what to do... Your comments definitely flagged Taha'a as a concern for me but it wasn't just you.. so don't feel bad at all. I have been going back through lots of reviews from long ago and comparing the issues and concerns that have come about with the resort and that added on with your VERY recent experiences definitely got me (and others too I am sure) very worried. I look forward to seeing your pictures. We have decided to keep Taha'a for now, hoping that some upcoming travelers will have some good experiences there.
I know everyone is different so it definitely makes things tough reading reviews but the main points that stood out to me were the bugs everywhere (more than normal expected on a tropical island) and the water being so gross you didn't want to get in. I also read on several reviews in the past that there is always seaweed and trash coming up on the beach there and sometimes smells even though they put forward their best effort to clean it up... I wonder if the Sunset Views are going to stay closed so as not to see the construction on the beach villa area? Were there bugs inside your OWB or only outside?
Did you do any tours on Taha'a? We are thinking of the Jeep tour half day? Was wondering if you talked to anyone that did that one?
Thanks!
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#61378 - 03/21/07 12:07 PM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: Travcarib]
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jchip
Member
Registered: 12/20/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Michigan
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NYCC - Travacarib beat me to it, so ditto their remarks for me.. no need to apologize for offering your honest opinion, that's what makes this forum so valuable. That way, we all have several, varied personal viewpoints to consider when making decisions for ourselves.. no one makes them for anyone else. I am convinced we will have a wonderful time on both islands, come what may.. and I am excited about spending time at both, and experiencing the different "tastes" of FP resort living. My sweetie (now my fiance', as of 3/10) has never been on such an exotic trip, and I want her to be wowed in various ways. I don't plan on bad-mouthing LeT to their rep (or anyone else, for that matter) but just letting them know what the recent "buzz" is, from another perspective.. hopefully, they can use the feedback to improve wherever it might be needed.
p.s. Did you see my post elsewhere about A/C in your LeT and Thal. units.. did it work well? Also, did you use the spa at LeT, and was it extra buggy? Even J.Prince's travel book mentioned that as a drawback of it being on the banks of a salt lake..
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#61383 - 03/21/07 12:54 PM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: jchip]
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jells
Expert Advisor
Registered: 05/18/03
Posts: 1024
Loc: Buckeye, AZ
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I'm very sad to hear that this place has gone down the tubes. When I went in 2004, Le Taha'a was THE PLACE to go. I stayed there in a beach villa and at the Bora Bora Nui in a horizon OWB- two of the newest and most luxurious resorts FP had to offer- and I preferred Taha'a. I also remember that a ton of people on here and other boards loved Le Taha'a just as much. It sounds like the resort didn't age very gracefully and hopefully the new facilities will help them get their feet back on the ground.
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#61384 - 03/21/07 01:17 PM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: jchip]
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NYCchic
Member
Registered: 01/28/06
Posts: 209
Loc: New York, NY, USA
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Hi guys...ok glad you are both still going! If things are better when you are there I hope you don't think I'm some nut case for having these complaints! I do hope and think it may have just been the timing - they often reminded us that they just re-opened that week we were there...so maybe that really did have something to do with things.
As for the bugs...nope didn't encounter a problem with them inside our bungalow. But out on our deck we did the one morning we had breakfast brought to us by canoe (this was fun!!!). And then every day at lunch...we ate at the restaurant by the pool and I seriously had to fight with the flies over my food. It just got annoying....and after the 1st day we knew to pack our Off when we headed to the pool so we could spray it on at lunch but it seemed to do nothing. Bugs is just one thing that is a major annoyance to me...some people don't mind them as much. And in the book in your room about the hotel - there is a section on bugs and how it is nature and there is nothing they can do about them but spray - which they said they do. So they are very well aware they have a bug problem.
We didn't do any tours on Tahaa. We thought about it but then just got lazy and enjoyed going in the pool and relaxing every day. Being it was our last few days we just wanted to soak up the sun and relax. I didn't speak to anyone there who even went to the main island but if we had more days there we definitely would have ventured out.
As for the spa....I met a woman who had a massage there in the lagoon and she didn't love it. She didn't say why but she just felt it wasn't worth the money. She also had a pedicure that she was very upset about b/c it was $95 and they did nothing (file or rub her feet like you'd get here in the states) but polish her toes...for $95. In June the new spa is supposed to be open...so that may be nice. They were still working on that while we were there. But honestly I went in and looked around and just felt I had all the best spa services I could indulge in at Thalasso - I didn't feel the need to spend the money there on any more spa experiences.
Jchip...my advice is to just save up the spa time for Thalasso. I only did one treatment there b/c they were somewhat pricey and I am not a huge spa goer to begin with so one was enough for me...but they have almost like a mini water park out back behind their spa. And you get free use of it before and after your spa services at Thalasso. It's wonderful. Really enjoyed it. Lots of cool showers and tubs to go in...very fun. Be sure to bring your bathing suit to the spa!
I answered the A/C post...we used it everywhere. Worked great at Thalasso...froze us out! Felt cooler at night at Le Taha'a but was very hot in the room during the day with the sun beating in thru the windows...but we weren't in the room much during the day so it really was ok.
Hope this helps!
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#61385 - 03/21/07 01:18 PM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: carrieg]
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jchip
Member
Registered: 12/20/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Michigan
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Jells - I doubt it's all that bad, it's just that they may have hit a rough patch as their attention and resources were focused on growth - happens in every industry. Or it's possible we may all be speculating for nothing, based upon a few bad reports, which all resorts are subject to now and then. I'm not ready to condemn them, but I am curious to see for myself in April.
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#61386 - 03/21/07 01:21 PM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: jchip]
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jchip
Member
Registered: 12/20/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Michigan
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NYCC - Great info, as always.. thanks again!
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#61390 - 03/21/07 02:57 PM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: jchip]
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Justine2
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/12/07
Posts: 1911
Loc: Minneapolis, MN
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Here's my two cents. Any time a resort is coming off of a renovation there will be service issues, and with FP and how much they stir up the water during construction there will be huge amounts of sediment in the water. The other thing about Ta'haa with hasn't been discussed lately is that the lagoon tends to have a large population of dark gray/blackish sea cucumbers. If any were disturbed or squished, it would look like floating black sludge. Not pretty by any means.
While I completely understand about the rat, and it's yucky but it's the tropics and there are rats worldwide. There is nothing any resort can do about flies. I'm sure they do spray, but that is not one of the insects which keeps to a small area and would be killed by regular spraying.
Price does not equal service, so expectation management is in order.
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#61394 - 03/21/07 03:23 PM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: Justine2]
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Travcarib
Member
Registered: 03/13/07
Posts: 119
Loc: Washington DC
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Are these sea cucumber all over the place at Taha'a. In the pictures the water looks so crystal clear and I have read reports that you can jump in and it is nice soft white sand on the bottom. Just curious since we like to bring floats and hang around in the water and don't want there to be weird things floating around. Do they usually try to clean that out if has been dredged to the top?
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#61408 - 03/21/07 07:57 PM
Re: A Little Worried about Le Taha'a
[Re: Travcarib]
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Zoe
Senior Advisor
Registered: 12/14/03
Posts: 801
Loc: Walnut Creek, CA
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Wow... I hadn't realized that they were building a whole new set of overwaters. Yikes! That does change things. Do you know when the new bungalows are supposed to be done? Or, more accurately, when they are accepting rezzies for them? (which is probably a better indicator of when they think they'll be done)
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