#81561 - 07/17/09 08:10 PM
Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
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DiverJenn
Junior Member
Registered: 07/15/09
Posts: 9
Loc: Washington DC
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Hi folks,
First time post here. My husband and I just returned from our 13 day honeymoon in French Polynesia. Although I have never posted before, we stalked this site religiously prior to our trip to find out information about the islands, diving (we're advanced certified scuba divers), hotels, etc. I figured I owed it to everyone to share our experience in paradise and hopefully someone out there might find this information helpful to them!
Our flight to Papeete left LAX on July 1st. We were amazed at the comfort level provided by Air Tahiti Nui! It’s been a long time since we saw a menu on a domestic flight in the USA and we travel quite frequently. We enjoyed our flight, especially the in-flight entertainment of movies, video games, etc. that were at our disposal during the flight. Going through Papeete airport upon arrival was extremely easy and fast. We were whisked away in a van with several other couples and proceeded to drop off everyone at various hotels throughout downtown before heading out to our hotel.
On Tahiti, we were booked for 3 nights at The Radisson. Upon checking in, we were immediately upgraded to an ocean view room with a jacuzzi. The staff at the hotel was amazing, extremely polite, respectful, and went out of their way to make your stay enjoyable. The hotel was decorated beautifully and looked brand new. Everything was clean, ran efficiently, etc. One thing we noted was that the hotel appeared empty! On the first day, we were the only people at the pool for many hours. The hotel appeared to fill up the next day as many people were arriving to depart on the cruise ship that weekend. We ate at the hotel restaurant for several meals, including breakfast on 2 days, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners. The food was very good and the service impeccable. One night was a Polynesian dance show, which was fun to watch.
While on Tahiti, we booked an excursion to take an island tour with Dave. We were able to book this through the travel agency located in the hotel lobby. The tour was fantastic and Dave was quite a knowledgeable guide. He drove us around the entire island over the course of 4 hours in his air conditioned mini-van with about 6 other people and we got to see many different sites around Tahiti, including waterfalls, the coasts, the Paul Gauguin museum, the grottos, the blowhole, and various look-outs. We got some great pictures during the tour.
For our last dinner on Tahiti, we asked the hotel to make us a reservation at Le Belvedere. It seemed like the ride up the mountain was never going to end. We finally arrived and were promptly seated near the railing for a great view. We ordered the beef fondue and greatly enjoyed cooking the beef at our table. It was more than enough food for 2 people and the bill was not too bad for all that we ate and drank. It was nice getting to see the island from that vantage point and the restaurant appeared to be serving a mix of tourists and locals, which was nice to experience.
In the morning, we were picked up and delivered to the Air Moorea counter for our 8 minute flight to Moorea! Since we arrived early, they actually put us on a flight leaving in just a few minutes, so it was great to not have to wait around the airport for any extent of time.
On Moorea, we were booked for 5 nights at the Moorea Pearl. Again, this hotel exceeded our expectations. We were very early for our check-in so they had us sit in the lobby and enjoy some fruit juice and gave us a cold face cloth. We inquired about upgrading to an overwater bungalow since we were booked into a garden view room for the duration of our stay. We were told that it would be $190/night to upgrade to the overwater. We thought that was a great rate, but decided to stick in our garden room and upgrade when we got to Bora Bora. Although our room at the Pearl was certainly not as modern or as nice as the rooms at The Radisson in Tahiti, it was satisfactory. The decor is definitely older, think more 1970s/1980s and they could use some updating, but since we spent little time in the room, it was fine with us. It was nice to have a DVD player in the room, as we used it nightly since the only other channel we could watch in English was CNN International. Upon arrival in our room, we were greeted with a large heart made out of hisbiscus flowers on our bed, which was very sweet. Since it was the 4th of July, the hotel also welcomed us with a free Tahitian DVD of dancing/singing.
The hotel staff very graciously informed us that there was a shopping center just a short walk down the road, so we decided to explore. It was fantastic having this shopping area within walking distance to the hotel and I think all the guests took advantage of having a supermarket, cafes, the post office, shops, and a few restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. We immediately went to the supermarket to buy deli meats, baguettes, snacks, water, and Tahiti drink. We had brought a fold-up cooler with us and it was fantastic to fill with ice and keep some of our own food in the room. We had the breakfast and dinner meal plan at the hotel, but we were on our own for lunch. We took advantage of this shopping center almost daily to run to the supermarket, make purchases like post cards and pareos, etc. We also loved Carmelines for the ice cream and pastries that we tasted there.
The Pearl Hotel grounds are beautiful. The flowers are amazing and make the entire hotel smell wonderful. We loved sitting by the pool, which had a beautiful view and was quite large. The pool area was quite busy and the activity desk there was great with loaning out snorkeling equipment, kayaks, etc. The hotel had free wifi, which was fantastic and we definitely took advantage of that daily to check our emails quickly and upload some pictures from our trip. They had a great variety of fish living right near the hotel, including lionfish, stonefish, flutes, trumpetfish, puffers, octopus, etc. All the guests loved snorkeling around and fish watching at dusk. Overall, the hotel was run very efficiently. The staff was very courteous and polite. Everything was very clean. The staff at the restaurant got overwhelmed quite easily during dinnertime, but were very apologetic for their slow responses. One evening we did wait over 30 minutes before even receiving water at our table, but enjoyed the view and just waited patiently. Our waitress apologized quite often that it was a “busy night” for them.
We loved having the meal plan at the hotel. It made life very easy for us. Each morning was a great breakfast buffet. In the evenings we either had a sit-down meal where we each ordered a main dish as well as our choice of appetizer or dessert. The food was fantastic. On two nights there were specialty buffet/Polynesian dance shows. We could not get over how much food they had at these buffets! We often felt like we were rolling ourselves back to the room at night.
In terms of excursions on Moorea, we booked our scuba dives with the Moorea Blue Dive Center, which was located right on the Pearl grounds. We did 2 dives with this group on our 2nd day in Moorea. They took us to the Canyons site and then the Coral Wall site. We got to see a variety of aquatic life, including black tip reef sharks, lemon sharks, turtles, eels, clownfish, lionfish, jacks, etc. We also noticed a lot of Crown of Thorn starfish, which was not good. The dive group was small, which was nice. Although we brought a lot of our own equipment with us, they loaned us the other stuff we needed free of charge.
On another day, I called and booked us a 4x4 tour with Alberts Tours. Since I called directly and did not go through the hotel, we were given a discount. Tom was our guide and we toured the island with 2 other American honeymooning couples. The tour was phenomenal! Tom did an amazing job of showing us all the tourist sites and look-outs, as well as giving us a lot of information about the islands. We saw several plantations, Belvedere lookout, the juice distillery, Magic Mountain, the agriculture school, and the marae temples.
Check out at the Pearl was a breeze and a large bus brought us to the airport for our 45 minute flight to Bora Bora. Again, the airport was great and very quick. They did weigh our bags this time, but luckily, they never questioned my carry-on, which was tremendously overweight!
On Bora Bora, we were scheduled to stay 5 nights at the Sofitel Marara Beach Resort. Four nights would be in a luxury garden bungalow and 1 night would be in the deluxe overwater bungalow. Upon check-in, we decided that we wanted to upgrade to all 5 nights overwater. However, check-in at the Sofitel was not as easy as the other hotels. Again, we were greeted promptly and given cold drinks and a face cloth, but the process was slow. The receptionist did not speak very much English, but we were able to piece together much of the information. Another couple was also checking in at the same time and there was a mix up with their room and our room, so we waited for awhile for everything to get straightened out. There was then an issue with a missing key, so we spent a great deal of the afternoon figuring out what was going on. We were told that before we could upgrade, we needed to go to our garden bungalow. We were assigned a great garden bungalow (#21) in a quiet spot right near the beach. The bungalow was very clean and nice. Everything was very modern. We enjoyed our beach view. We then went back to reception to inquire about upgrading. Another American couple from a neighboring property were also there inquiring. So, we toured the bungalows together. They were offered the first bungalow shown to us (#50). We then asked if we could see which bungalow we would get, but were refused. I asked if we could have the bungalow next door (#51) and they said they would check. All the bungalows seemed empty as there were very few people around the hotel grounds. They were not able to upgrade us that day, but could get us #51 for the next 4 nights for an upgrade cost of 15,000 xpf/night. We decided to do it! So, we spent 1 night in the garden bungalow before moving to the overwater bungalows. We LOVED our overwater bungalow!
We did have some difficulties communicating with the staff here (besides the day #1 difficulties with checking in). On one bizarre occasion, the front desk called us to ask if we would exchange American dollars with some German travelers who were departing for Hawaii. We had several small issues throughout the week, including missing towels, missing chairs from our sundeck, etc. All the issues were resolved, but not without phone calls, visits to the front desk, etc. Every little issue took time to resolve and we always were made to feel that it was our fault that something was missing or not right. All the ice machines on the property were broken, which meant that you had to go to the bar and ask for ice. However, no one seemed to notify the bartender about this and she was not happy about it. In fact, one day, I was told that there was not enough ice for me to have any. When I went to the front desk since I wasn’t sure if the bartender understood what I was inquiring about, they were able to bring us ice from the restaurant on the property. This same scenario also occurred later in the week. It truly was the small details that made our stay at this hotel seem a lot different from the other hotels on our trip, which we loved. All the little things kept adding up and each day we wondered what new twist would be thrown at us. Again, we had the meal plan for breakfast and dinner at the hotel. We enjoyed the convenience of this, but in the end, we wished that we had not gotten the plan. Breakfast was a buffet and simple enough. However, every dinner was a theme buffet. Most of the food was cold and the same items were repeated night after night and just reheated or presentd in a slightly different way. We most looked forward to the dessert buffet each evening. Service was very slow and on several mornings, we were not greeted or even asked if we needed anything. Again, communication appeared to be an issue. We waited for over 30 minutes one day at the bar in order to receive a scoop of ice cream. On another day, I was brought a cold sandwich when I had ordered a hamburger. Minimal apologies were given and no discount applied even though my husbands food got cold as we waited for 15 or so minutes for my new meal to be cooked. One day my husband approached the bar where 3 staff members were standing and no other customers. Upon his greeting the workers, all three turned away and he waited a good deal of time before anyone offered to help him. On the last day of our stay, we were informed that if we wanted to stay in our bungalow until the afternoon (when we were scheduled to leave), it would cost us an additional 15,000 xpf. For an additional 4 hours, that seemed mighty pricey! We completely understand island time and we travel quite frequently, so little things do not tend to throw us. But it was the quantity of the little things that added up at the Sofitel. I think we tried our best to communicate with the staff and were extremely patient during all the delays, as well as very accommodating when things didn’t quite go smoothly. We mostly chalked it up to communication difficulties and life on the islands and got a good giggle out of most of the stuff. It is easy not to worry too much about it when you are surrounded by the absolute beauty of Bora Bora.
On Bora Bora we scheduled our scuba dives with two different dive shops. Our first dive shop was the Nemo World, which was on the Sofitel property. We did two dives with them at Tapu and then Anau. The dive shop was very friendly and had nice equipment. The staff was very pleasant and fun to hang out with on the boat. Unfortunately, we did not see any manta rays, which is what we hoped for at Anau. However, the scuba diving was fantastic at Tapu and we loved diving in Bora Bora! The staff also took us on a mini dolphin watch on the way to one dive site, which was fantastic. We saw a large pod of dolphins with baby dolphins. Absolutely amazing! On another day, we scheduled dives with TopDive. They definitely had the more modern equipment and nicer boat, but the staff was a little cold and seemed very business-like on the dives. They kept offering us Nitrox, even though we were not certified to dive Nitrox and those divers who were using the Nitrox kept having issues with the different mix levels. Also, my husband complained that one of his tanks was low and they had to refill it prior to us leaving their dock. We dove the Haapiti and Tapu dive sites with them. Again, great diving, but I think we preferred the smaller dive operation. It definitely had a completely different feel and felt much more personable.
One day we decided to rent a buggster from the Avis across the street from the hotel. We got a great rate since the woman gave us 3 hours and we only paid the 2 hour rate. It was fantastic to drive around the island and see the sites. We also visited Bloody Mary’s for lunch (we were the only people in the entire restaurant, which was great) and checked out several stores.
The Sofitel location was very convenient for being able to walk to the grocery store. Again, we filled up on snacks and lunch goods so that we were able to save money, since the lunch prices at the Sofitel were out of this world. We were able to use the kayaks at the beach to go out to the private island which housed the Sofitel Motu Resort. In fact, it seemed that most of our hotel did that and used the beach over there to sunbathe and relax. Thle island was beautiful and had amazing views of Bora Bora. In the end we did miss not being on a motu and having those great views of the main land and having sunset each evening.
After paying 15,000 xpf to keep our bungalow until our afternoon transfer to the airport on our last night, we departed Bora Bora. Again, the boat ride to the airport was great and we got back to Tahiti very quickly. However, once we arrived in Tahiti, we were informed that we were on the latter flight to LAX that did not leave until 11:30pm. Seeing as it was only 7:30pm and an earlier flight was departing for LAX at 10:00pm, we inquired as to whether or not we could switch flights. We certainly did not want to hang around the Tahiti airport for 4 hours on an already very long journey back to Washington, DC. However, switching flights did cost us as we had to pay Air Tahiti Nui an extra fee to switch our tickets. It appeared that we were not alone as the Air Tahiti Nui office was packed with people attempting to change flights. Once we got onboard the earlier flight, we were much happier! Although so sad to leave.
What a phenomenal place to visit! We're already talking about when we can get back. We'd love to visit some of the other islands and do some diving out in the atolls. If anyone would link to view our pictures, we took hundreds! We have plenty of pictures from Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora, as well as underwater pictures from Moorea and Bora Bora. Please do not hesitate and I will email you the link.
Again, thanks for all the advice! We learned so much from this site and all your posts!!
- Jenn
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#81562 - 07/17/09 11:48 PM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: DiverJenn]
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holte
Expert Advisor
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 2365
Loc: Duluth, Minnesota
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Great report!
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#81564 - 07/18/09 06:20 AM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: holte]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2302
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Great report. It sounds like you've got French Polynesian flu!
We stayed at the Sofitel Motu years ago and signed up for their (whatever-it's-called) free membership and a late checkout time was included so if anyone is reading this & thinking of going to a Sofitel, it's worth it to sign up.
That was funny (but a good idea if you were interested) about exchanging your US$ with the Germans going to Hawaii.
We found it was hit or miss with the amount of English that was spoken by the staff at the Motu. It wasn't a big deal to us since I speak enough French to get by (thank you, Canadian school system!). On our way to Bloody Mary's by van, we visited with the driver in French & then picked up an American couple who envied our ability to speak French. I don't remember which resort they were at, but they were frustrated with not being able to communicate with everyone.
One funny story we tell is, while we were talking to the receptionist at the Sofitel Motu, the phone rang and she answered it and spoke to the guests. After awhile, she turned to us and asked (in English) if we knew how to say yes in Japanese. Strangely enough, my husband did (it's hai) so she spent the rest of the phone conversation saying "Hai!"...I've no idea if she actually understood a word of what the guest was saying!
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#81565 - 07/18/09 06:21 AM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: holte]
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DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1849
Loc: Denver, Co.
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DiverJenn, great report. I'm suprised about the Sofitel Marara though. I have stayed there 3 times so far and never experienced the problems you had. I know they have recently changed general managers, so that might be the reason for the less than stellar service. Still, glad you enjoyed FP. The Tahitian flu should take hold shortly.
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
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#81567 - 07/18/09 11:42 AM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: DenverJoe]
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2376
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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Great trip report! Thanks. Did you say you have a link to your pictures? Would love to see them!
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#81572 - 07/18/09 09:35 PM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: Patti.]
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DiverJenn
Junior Member
Registered: 07/15/09
Posts: 9
Loc: Washington DC
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Sure, Patti. Do you have an email address I can forward the link to? We had three different cameras going, as well as our underwater photos, so there are tons of pictures! Tahitian fever was definitely caught...
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#81580 - 07/19/09 06:29 PM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: DiverJenn]
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rodjune
Expert Advisor
Registered: 07/08/03
Posts: 1726
Loc: Kalama Valley, HI
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Like Old Wife, we stayed at the Sofitel Motu. I'm not sure exactly how much more it is than staying at the main island property, but it is worth it for the views of Mt. Otemanu, the proximity to the coral gardens, and the sunset gatherings at the top of the motu each day.
Also, Old Wife's comment about the "hai" for "yes" in Japanese reminded me of when I was in the Air Tahiti ticket office at Faaa Airport. A nice Tahitian women carried on a 10 minute conversation with me, and all I said to keep the conversation going was "oui" during her pauses. It was a priceless moment since I understood and spoke only a few words of French at the time.
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#81654 - 07/22/09 04:27 PM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: rodjune]
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Lorio
Junior Member
Registered: 09/06/08
Posts: 19
Loc: Edmonton, Canada
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Diverjenn - great report and very detailed :) thank you. I would love your link for the pictures. please email to thieman2 at telus dot net - thank you so much and I'm glad you had a great time.
Lorio
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#81662 - 07/22/09 08:51 PM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: Lorio]
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Gary & Cath
Expert Advisor
Registered: 04/01/06
Posts: 1243
Loc: Wollongong, Australia
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Great report, Jenn. Thanks for sharing. Can you post the link to your photos? I am VERY keen to see them, especially the underwater shots. Shame you didn't get to dive Muri Muri (next to the airport). It's a great dive.
_________________________
Is there anything better than a sipping a Tahitian Mai Tai on an Overwater Bungalow in FP?
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#81678 - 07/23/09 07:38 PM
Re: Honeymoon Report (7/1/09-7/14/09) --- LONG!!
[Re: Gary & Cath]
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DiverJenn
Junior Member
Registered: 07/15/09
Posts: 9
Loc: Washington DC
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Hope this link works:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=huqzgs3.7erkh6kj&x=0&y=4fe8m7&localeid=en_US
The first shots are from 4 dives that we did in Bora Bora (2 trips to Tapu, 1 to Haapiti, and 1 to Anau). The later shots are from 2 dives that we did in Moorea (1 dive at The Canyons and 1 dive at Coral Wall).
Enjoy!
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