#87229 - 10/08/10 07:51 PM
Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
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SabineLiebling
Junior Member
Registered: 05/04/10
Posts: 31
Loc: Portland, OR
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I can't believe the trip I planned for 5 months was over so fast, and I am left with memories and pictures. It was simply amazing, and I think my husband and I are new sufferers of the Polynesian Flu. We are already dreaming about our next trip to new islands! But let me start at the beginning...
We left on a Wednesday and were slated to arrive in Papeete around 6:30pm. Our Air Tahiti Nui flight was long and uneventful, and we were greeted by a very nice woman named Lily who gave us the most beautiful and fragrant leis and whisked us off to the Sofitel on Tahiti. While in line to check in at the Sofitel we noticed that our leis were full and lush, with many different colored flowers, while the other people's in line were the Tiare buds, tightly closed. We were immediately very pleased with our transport company for that one! While standing in line at the Sofitel we received a glass of pineapple juice, which we thought was nice. My first impression of the Sofitel was good, I thought the lobby was very spacious and nicely decorated.
We received a pleasant surprise upon checking in - we were upgraded to a lagoon view room! Our reservation had been for a mountain view room (which upon arriving I realized meant a street/town view room). However ours was on the first floor, with a screening of bushes for privacy and a view of the pool and beach. How pleasant! The Sofitel has had some really poor reviews, but it was fine for us. A few people mentioned a moldy smell, and when we descended the stairs to the bottom level we did notice it smelled a little musty, like a basement. However, this was only close in, probably where the building is built right up against the hillside. At the end of the hallway near our room the smell was gone, and our room had no smell at all. We were pleased with the bright decor and nice enough bathroom.
This was the only hotel that did not have breakfast included so we skipped over the sumptuous breakfast buffet in the very nice outdoor restaurant by the pool and walked down to the Carrefour shopping center. It was less than a 10 minute walk for us, and not too bad at all. We ate at Cote Jardin, a cute little restaurant inside the shopping center and picked up some water and snacks at the Carrefour. Then it was back to the Sofitel to catch a shuttle downtown, where we spent lots of time and money at the Marche, buying souveneirs and grabbing some lunch. We were able to make it back to the Sofitel before we had to check out and our transfer arrived, so I spent time on their nice beach taking pictures of Moorea in the background. It was stunningly beautiful to me, and I definitely felt like I was in a lovely tropical destination with the pool, thatched roof restaurant and bar, and the beach and the lagoon. Everyone at the Sofitel we interacted with was very pleasant and I have no complaints at all about the hotel.
Our next stop was Huahine, and we loved the little Air Tahiti plane we flew on, especially the pineapple juice we were served. We were enchanted with the tiny Huahine airport, and were greeted by a representative of the Te Tiare resort, who took us to their land base to catch the shuttle, which was waiting for us.
We LOVED the Te Tiare and Huahine. We could have spent all 12 nights of our vacation there and been perfectly happy. We were greeted with more fresh juice, with flowers in it, and seated in the lounge, where we filled out our check-in paperwork. Well, I thought the Sofitel treated us well during check-in, now I realize that was nothing compared to this! After that we were shown to our garden bungalow, and received our second nice surprise - we were upgraded to a premium garden bungalow, #13, right behind the beach bunaglows with a great view of the lagoon! Our reservation again was for a regular garden bungalow, which we were fine with, but knew it would be more towards the back of the property without a view. We really liked our room, and I think the Te Tiare has updated their linens recently. Every picture I've seen of the rooms has had a very vivid quilted looking floral print bedspread and curtains, but all our linens were neutral, the only decoration being a simple tan leaf design on a cream background for the curtains. I liked the decor and room layout a lot, it was by far the biggest room we had. And the deck was great, especially with that view!
We spent our first afternoon there lounging around on the beach and then had dinner at their restaurant, which was good. The next day we signed up for the Island Eco Tour with Paul which we had really wanted to do as we are both interested in archaeology. It was a great tour - it was half French and half English speakers and Paul handed the dual languages flawlessly. He gave us more than just information on the history and maraes, he gave us his opinions on the current cultural and political situations, and let us know it was just his opinion too, which was really interesting to hear from someone who lives there. The island is so beautiful, we loved the tour all the way around it. I was kind of in awe at how pretty it was, since I had read so much about how stunning Moorea and Bora Bora were, but not as much on Huahine. I didn't realize it would have mountains with dramatic cliffs and rocks jutting out of them - I thought that was just a Moorea thing and had envisioned Huahine as more like rolling green hills. There were so many trees, flowers and bushes, and huge areas that weren't inhabited by people. And the lagoon had a beautiful strip of pure turquoise out the the reef that was enchanting.
That night we decided to stay in Fare instead of immediately taking the shuttle back, so we did a little souveneir shopping, picked up Hinanos and drinks at the Super Fare Nui market, and ate at Restaurant Bar New Temarara. We loved this little restaurant/bar, and we got there in time for happy hour. The food was excellent - we liked it better than the Te Tiare. We watched the sunset from their shore and drank our Hinanos. We liked that the crowd was a mix of low-key tourists and locals, it felt very authentic.
We wanted to do a lagoon motu picnic tour with Huahine Nautique, but we had quite a bit of rain there and our tour was cancelled in the following days. It was a shame, really, because the rain would only last about an hour during the day and then it was followed by lots of sunshine and some puffy white clouds. It was really windy while we were there, but that kept the humidity down. The only downside to the rain is that it was LOUD at night. The Te Tiare uses imitation plastic thatch for their roof, which didn't bother us aesthetically, but rain slamming down on plastic is not quiet, and since it rained mostly at night, it would wake us up. It was kind of a neat sound though, nothing we'd ever hear at home, and I'd lie awake for awhile listening to the tropical storm and then drift off back to sleep.
Since we missed our motu picnic tour we decided to have our own, as best we could. We stocked up again in town and then wandered down past the overwater bungalows where we found some locals homes and a dirt road. We followed this and found a nice stretch where there were no houses and some really nice beach, with lots of coral in the water. It was extremely windy here though, as Te Tiare is protected in it's own bay, and this area is kind of going around a corner towards Bourayne Bay. We found the perfect spot though - someone before us had made a windbreak of palm fronds propped up against some low growing brushy trees, which worked perfectly and seemed like a shelter you'd build if you were shipwrecked there. So we pretended we were and ate our picnic, drank our hinanos, and snorkeled in the beautiful lagoon. We ate at the hotel another night, and then spent our last evening downtown in Fare eating some pizza from the Pizzamobile roulotte, which was good, and a lively scene. We were SO sad to leave after our 4 nights, but knew we still had 7 nights left, and were going to another beautiful island. We both agreed we'd love to come back to the Te Tiare and Huahine. The feeling there is magical, it's so small and intimate, and the staff are extremely friendly, always smiling. Everyone gets around by well-equipped grown up tricycles, which we thought were fun. Their are some cosmetic imperfections in the room, yes, but we don't care about stuff like that, like if part of the woven wall is coming unravelled in a tiny spot, or that there were gaps where the roof hit the walls - we never felt any wind or rain so who cares?
Our next stop was Moorea, at the Intercontinental, for another 4 nights. I have to be honest, my first impression of Moorea was not very favorable, and I was unfairly comparing it to Huahine. Huahine is just so much lusher and less populated that at first all I could see were the hills without as much vegetation and the many many more houses and business. Our impression changed over our time there, however, and I think Moorea is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. We loved the lagoon and it's little motus, the bays and their dramatic peaks and color changes, and the interior of the Oponuhu valley and the lushness we found there. We also came to really appreciate Moorea's diversity of things to do, especially when it came to shopping and restaurants as we are kind of foodies.
We passed the Pearl and the Hilton on the way to the IC, and I wasn't horribly impressed with either since they were both really close the to road. I was happy then when we turned down a fairly long lane, where the IC is well set back from the road. We were again given fruity welcome drinks and seated in the bar to fill out our paperwork. We were kind of overwhelmed with the IC - it was SO big, and kind of opulent, and just seemed a lot less our style than the Te Tiare. Our overwater bungalow was really nice though, and we liked the new decks at the IC a lot - touring around the island we realized they are much bigger than the other resorts now.
Our first dinner that night was at Aito's, which we really enjoyed. The food was great, the atmosphere was nice, with a guy playing guitar, and I really liked the little dog that came out and sat on the roof over our heads while we ate on the beach. It was a little awkward waiting around after we'd finished and the other two couples from our resort weren't yet, as we couldn't really leave without them. Finally our waiter just walked over and asked them if they were ready to go and turns out they were, they were just waiting for everyone else to go first!
We booked a lagoon tour for the next day through our transport company, and it was only 5000 per person which seemed really low compared to the prices published in our Jan Prince guide. It was with Hiro's tours, and we were picked up and taken to the Pearl resort and met by Hiro himself. We had about a half an hour to wait at the resort while the rest of the customers showed up, so we strolled around and checked it out. Their pool was pretty, and we liked how the resort was much smaller and more intimate than the IC. They also had really nice garden bungalows with private "backyards." A downside in my opinion though is that their beach and pool only look out onto the overwater bungalows, so it kinda ruins the view for everyone else. But otherwise a really pretty resort.
Our tour was so much fun, with stops in both bays, a stop to feed sharks and stingrays, which was exciting, and then a picnic on a motu. Our picnic was a bbq, and while the group a little way down for us had more organized activities, like a coconut and pareu show, we liked ours better. They fed us yummy food, we could drink and eat as much as we wanted, and then we just hung out on the beach and swam and snorkeled and took pictures of the amazing place we were in.
That afternoon we decided to be intrepid so we walked from the IC to Petit Village, which took about 20 minutes each way. We liked the area a lot, with all the little shops and restaurants. We grabbed some Hinanos at the Iguane Rock Cafe and then strolled back to the IC, stopping at a random little place called Chez Vina for dinner. We had browsed their menu on the way to Petit Village and liked the look of it. There's not much to the place, and it wasn't in any guidebooks but the food was really good and reasonably priced. We were the only customers, besides the kittens playing at our feet, which we thought was kinda sad. The owner/waiter guy was very friendly and brought us free fried breadfruit chips. The bathroom here is kind of like one you'd find in a dirty subway, but other than that we liked it. Reminded of us of some great little hole in the wall places back home.
The next day we rented a car and drove around the island, stopping in at Tiki Village for a look around and to reserve dinner and the show for that night. I am glad we took the drive around the island, because the sparsely populated lush scenery that I loved about Huahine is definitely on Moorea, pretty much anywhere that isn't the Sofitel resort to Tiki village, so most of the west, south, and east sides. We stopped at a little market set up on the side of the road all decorated with flowers and had fresh squeezed pineapple juice and bought some dried pineapple too. The people here spoke barely any English but we got along fine with our two Tahitian words, Ia Orana and Mauruuru, and smiles. We loved the people all over Moorea, anywhere we were they would wave and smile at us and we'd wave and smile back. It created such a good feeling in us and just made us smile all the more. We spent some time at Temae beach, which we liked. The view of Tahiti was really pretty, and the water was so clear here I could look at coral and fish without my snorkel goggles on. After some brief stops in Maharepa for souvenir shopping we headed back to the IC, and then Tiki Village for dinner and the show. We decided to do the dinner just for the whole experience there, even though we'd read it wasn't amazing, especially for the price. We liked it, it was our first experience with Tahitian food, and I really enjoyed the spinach chicken dish. We did notice that the honeymooning couples at our table only ate about two bites and then went to get more fruit and grilled meat only, but oh well! We liked the audience interaction with the coconut show and the opening of the Tahitian ground oven too. The only bummer about Tiki Village though is that the "tour" around the village is pretty much just a "buy our stuff!" tour, where they take you by different stalls so you can look at necklaces and soaps. The dance show was great though, we were totally thrilled by it! I loved the drums and all the costume changes and the story they played out throughout it. At the end we got some great pictures with the dancers.
Our last full day on Moorea we took Albert's 4x4 safari tour and we LOVED it! Our guide was great, and we think they organize tours by language, as everyone on our vehicle was American and one had come by 10 minutes before ours where they only spoke French. This makes it convenient for everyone. We loved the views from the Belvedere, the maraes half hidden in the jungle, the agricultural school (and coconut ice cream) and pineapple fields, and the distillery with the free tastings. I'm sure the distillery appreciates the stop on the tour since we spent oodles on yummy stuff in their store. After the tour, which was first thing in the morning, we spent the afternoon lounging around the IC's beautiful pool and beach area, and I got a fruity drink at their swim up bar. It was nice laying around feeling like a posh resort person for an afternoon, even though that's not really who we are. But wow the IC's beach and pool are beautiful. That specific day was our anniversary so we wanted a nice dinner out, but nothing super duper fancy like Te Honu Itu. We wanted to try Le Mayflower but it was closed because the owner was on holiday! We were bummed out, but the concierge suggested Les Tipaniers, and we were really pleased with his suggestion. My pasta was delicious and the decor and ambience there are really pretty.
Early the next morning we left the IC and were on our way to Bora Bora, via Huahine. We both decided we would absolutely love to return to Moorea, but probably would not stay at the IC again. While we did enjoy it, and would recommend it to "resort" people, it just wasn't our style, too big, and next time we think we'll look into a smaller place like Les Tipaniers. We got to the airport before the rest of the hordes flying to Bora Bora so we got seats on the left side of the plane and I got great shots of Moorea, Huahine, Taha'a and Bora Bora on the way there. The Bora Bora airport was the most ramshackle one we'd seen yet, but I guess maybe it has some damage still from Cyclone Oli, since some roof tiles were missing. We were met with some men playing ukuklele and singing and a pretty Vahine passing out tiare buds, which was great! The only small airport to welcome us this way. We went to our hotel's desk and got our delicious smelling Tiare and tipaniers leis. There was only one Sofitel boat and more people going to the Marara than the Motu, so the boat took them there first and then came back for us. It was a little weird being "ditched" at the airport when everyone else left on their shuttles but it wasn't a big deal. Our first impression of Bora Bora was great - Mt. Otemanu was clouded over a fair bit, but the colors and hugeness of the lagoon made up for it. We were so excited to pull up to the Sofitel Motu, and super impressed by our check-in lady, who spoke French, English, and Italian to the different couples gathered there! She showed us the basket that holds the bread to feed to the ravenously bread-hungry fish, which was fun. Then again we got our fruity drink, were seated in the bar and checked in. Here comes the first negative of the whole trip - when she started taking us to our bungalow she led us down the stairs away from Mt. Otemanu! We had chosen an Island Luxury Lagoon View bungalow, which is basically any bungalow (besides the 1 deluxe beach) that isn't an overwater bungalow. I had been assuming the whole time that I'd end up with one of the treehouse hillside bungalows that looks over the overwater bungalows and towards Mt. Otemanu, but instead we got one of the three half-over-water bungalows that face Matira point. I have to admit, I was incredibly disappointed, and my husband couldn't understand why! I admitted to myself that it was silly, and that I felt like a spoiled brat, but I was still bummed that I didn't have the view of the mountain that I'd been dreaming of for 5 months. Upon walking around the motu though, the treehouse hillside bungalows have a lot of foliage blocking their views, so there's no guarantee I'd have got a good view from up there either. My recommendation is that if you book the Sofitel Motu specifically for a room with that view, make sure you book an overwater bungalow and request the view! We checked into upgrading to that, since I was so bummed out, but they only had 1 available for our last night and I just decided, screw it. I could walk to the beack, go to the top of the motu, or stare at the mountain from pretty much anywhere else BUT my deck so I just got over it. The view of Matira point and the lagoon stretching out to the reef was nice, and the water was beautiful. Besides, my husband pointed out that they probably consider the ones half-over water as a kind of upgrade to the hillside ones, and I think he's probably right. I think it would have been stuffier and buggier up in the trees, and we got to see and hear the water right off our deck.
We loved our room there, and I thought decor-wise it was the most beautiful of all of our rooms so far. We loved the dark woods, the panels in the bed and bathroom door with the tahitian motifs, and the big glass panel above the sliding glass door that let so much light into the room. The grounds of both the Sofitel Motu and the Marara resort are both lovely, with lily ponds, waterfalls and lots of lush flowers and plants. The beach and pool at the Marara were also really nice and we enjoyed using them.
That first night we met up with some friends we'd made on Trip Advisor before we left for happy hour drinks at the hurricane bar at the Marara. We were glad we liked them in person and all got along really well since we were planning on going on Maohi Nui's private safari/lagoon combo tour the next day. It was great making that connection on TA and getting a chance to take the amazing tour at half the price. After drinks we wandered down the road and ate at La Bounty, which was good with the typically slow but not a problem island service. We noticed right off the bat that people don't meet your eyes in Bora Bora or smile and say hello like they did in other islands. We figure they're probably weary of hordes of jerk privileged snobby tourists who are rude to them or ignore them. That's too bad.
The next day was our amazing tour with our guide, Matane and Patricia, who accompanied us on our land tour. The safari tour was really really bumpy, on crazy "roads" that looked like muddy tire tracks, but it was worth it for the views at the top. Patricia dropped us and Matane off on Matira Beach and we boarded the decorated motorized outrigger for our lagoon tour. It was a nice relaxing ride to our motu picnic, with all the hinano we wanted!
Our motu picnic was amazing, so beautiful on this tiny private island with a great view of the lagoon and Mt. Otemanu. It was close to the Four Seasons but still felt isolated. Matane and all the staff people were great, and we loved the palm frond tablecloths, leaf plates, and our table set in the shallow warm lagoon. The food was excellent, much better than the Tiki Village ground oven, probably because it was fresher and hot. After our picnic we went outside the reef to feed sharks, back inside to feed stingrays, and then over to a spot in between Matira beach and Motu Toopua for the best snorkeling of our trip. We finished off our most perfect day at Bloody Mary's, on the recommendation of our friends who had already been. I was kind of wary of it as a tourist trap, but we liked the decor, and loved the "menu" of the fresh food on ice when you enter. My cheap bloody marys were really good and the food was great.
The next day I was a little sick, and chalked it up to overindulgence the night before. It was swiftly gone with a little rest and lots of water. We spent the day snorkeling around the motu, which was great, layiing on the beach, and hanging out at the pool at the Marara. We met up with our friends again for dinner at a little place only called "Pizza Crepes." This place was tiny and excellent with a very jolly owner.
Unfortunately, the next day I woke up VERY sick at 2 in the morning. It was awful, shakes, chills, stomach problems, body aches, fatigue - the works. My husband got me supplies and medicine in town and I was in bed the entire day. Luckily we'd upgraded to late check out so we didn't have to be out until 4pm, and we got picked up for our flight around 4:45. It was so bad I didn't know if I'd be able to make our flight home that night, which left at 10, got into LA at 9am and then we had to wait around the airport til our flight to Portland left at 1pm. We were concerned we might have to book another night and reschedule all of our flights, and then try and get reimbursed for part of it through our trip insurance, which required that I see an actual doctor. By early afternoon I was keeping food down and had gotten maybe an hour of interrupted sleep, so we decided to try the flight to Papeete since it was only 50 minutes, and if I still felt horrible we would just get a room there. I made the flight to Papeete okay but still felt yucky. However, I thought that I could make the flights as long as I got some decent sleep, which I was really apprehensive about in coach, as I can never sleep on planes, not even with sleeping pills. My body was already so uncomfortable from the body aches and fatigue I knew those cramped little seats would keep me up all night. So, at the last minute, we upgraded to business class. It was totally worth it, because I was able to sleep and was in LAX recuperated. But wow, I don't think I will ever drop that much money in 8 hours ever again. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and it was really really nice, but I just can't justify that cost! The benefits of it were really great though, and I got the sleep I needed. I still felt a little off the next day at LAX, but nothing like the previous day.
It was a bummer to end our trip that day, and I kind of "lost" my last day in Bora Bora, but on the other hand, at that point I was SO looking forward to just going home and sleeping in my own bed that I wasn't really as bummed about leaving as I think I would have been if we'd had a fantastic last day.
All in all, it was a great trip, and yup, we caught the flu and want to go back! This was kind of our "last hurrah before kids" trip (maybe we made a baby on the trip??), so who knows when/if we'll ever get back, but we really want to! Next on the agenda is Vahine Island on Taha'a, an atoll, maybe Tikehau, Te Tiare again, and somewhere small, well located, but still pretty on Moorea - any suggestions?
Thank you all for your advice and help, it really helped make our trip!
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#87230 - 10/08/10 08:13 PM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: SabineLiebling]
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2460
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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Glad you enjoyed it so much....and yep...it sure sounds like you have the FP flu.
There are so many neat islands and places to stay. It doesn't have to be so expensive on your subsequent trips. There are many fantastic smaller hotels and pensions to stay at for a fraction of the price of the big resorts. I'd suggest you check out Raimiti on Fakarava sometime....I have a feeling it's right up your ally!
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#87231 - 10/08/10 09:04 PM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: Patti.]
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holte
Expert Advisor
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 2417
Loc: Duluth, Minnesota
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Thanks for the report. You really did have the FP flu!
Huahine is our favorite so far.
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#87233 - 10/08/10 10:19 PM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: holte]
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Gary & Cath
Expert Advisor
Registered: 04/01/06
Posts: 1284
Loc: Wollongong, Australia
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Sabine, thank you so much for your very detailed trip report - you definitely have the FP flu - and go with Patti's suggestion, there are so many different places to stay at a fraction of the price:)
_________________________
Is there anything better than a sipping a Tahitian Mai Tai on an Overwater Bungalow in FP?
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#87239 - 10/09/10 04:54 AM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: Gary & Cath]
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DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1878
Loc: Denver, Co.
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Great trip report. Very detailed. We've been to all those places also, so welcome to the FP Flu sufferers club.
Try Les Tips on Moorea next time. It's a great little place. Also, see my trip report on Vahine Island. Give you some insight on the place.
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
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#87240 - 10/09/10 07:06 AM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: DenverJoe]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Great report! I always suggest to people that they go from the most populated to least when they go to FP (so Moorea before Huahine). It works for us. I think Joe's suggestion of Les Tips is good because of its location next time. We really love the Pension Motu Iti, but it isn't very walkable to anything (though we did walk to Pao Pao and on to Bali Hai one day).
Too bad you got so sick in Bora Bora. Maybe we're both jinxed by BB? I fell and needed stitches there my last day and it took us 40 hours to get home (which seemed like about 4 days in my condition).
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#87241 - 10/09/10 08:22 AM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: Old Wife]
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SabineLiebling
Junior Member
Registered: 05/04/10
Posts: 31
Loc: Portland, OR
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Thanks guys for the suggestions. Les Tips did look good, we got a close up of the beach when our lagoon tour dropped some people off there, and we wandered in during the day time when we were walking to Le Petit Village and liked the garden area too.
We had never done the resort thing before and wanted to try it on our "once in a lifetime trip", and I really did love the bungalows and how nicely they were decorated, but yeah, IC Moorea was just too big and too much for us! Funny tidbit, once we were checked in we were waiting out front with our luggage for a golf cart to take us to our room. We had our room key already and the map of the property and felt so silly waiting around for a golf cart when our legs work just fine! We almost grabbed our bags and just walked there, but we figured someone would come running out from behind the front desk yelling, "No! Stop! You must be pampered! You can't do it yourself, wait for your golf cart!!!"
Te Tiare was perfect, and Sofitel Motu was really nice and smaller as well. Although honestly after the two previous islands I was really underwhelmed by Bora Bora. With the exception of our one perfect day with Maohi Nui and Bloody Mary's, it was just ok. I agree with people who went there years and years ago, the lagoon seems almost "littered" with all those overwater bungalows, especially on the eastern motus. It was a beautiful island, but I do not think it is more beautiful than Moorea by any means. Of course I fully admit that only having 3 nights there and spending one of them deathly ill has probably jaded me a little bit.
Old Wife, we both stayed on the Motu too, right? Uh oh, I really liked the Sofitel Motu, I hope it's not cursed for us!
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#87244 - 10/09/10 10:11 AM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: SabineLiebling]
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2460
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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It seems for those of us who are not so impressed with staying at a luxurious hotel, our opinion of Bora seems to be lower.
It's not that anything is wrong with wanting the full 5 star experience on Bora....that truly is what some people are looking for in their honeymoon/vacation and it greatly adds to their overall experience on and opinion of Bora. I certainly understand that.
But I need more than a pretty face and a fancy dress to impress me. I enjoy the soul and the personality I find on the other islands that seems so lacking on Bora.
I came away with the same opinion as you Sabine....I rarely saw a person smile on Bora...not just the hotel/restaurant workers...but also the people I passed on the road, in the store, etc. Many Tahitians I have talked to on Moorea hate Bora, and have family and friends who have had to move to Bora for work...and they hate it. But then again....I also know some who have moved to Moorea for work...and can't wait to retire to get get back to their home island of Huahine or Tahaa or Raiatea. :-) It seems our paradise is another mans hell.
Edited by Patti. (10/09/10 10:13 AM)
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#87245 - 10/09/10 10:16 AM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: SabineLiebling]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Yes, we stayed at the Sofitel Motu (and loved it). We also stayed at the IC on Moorea, but we did Moorea first so we didn't have a smaller resort to compare it to and really enjoyed staying there. Having said that, we decided after that trip that we're smaller resort/pension/private rental people. We stayed at Pension Motu Iti (Moorea), Rande's Shack (Huahine) and Raimiti (Fakarava) our last time.
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#87249 - 10/09/10 02:37 PM
Re: Our Dream Trip - Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora
[Re: Old Wife]
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holte
Expert Advisor
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 2417
Loc: Duluth, Minnesota
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the resorts are a great introduction to FP. Then on your next trips you can continue to explore the alternatives.
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