I stopped here for 4 days on my way from Vancouver Canada to visit friends & Sydney & tour Australia & New Zealand & stopped in Fiji & Hawaii on the way back.

I figured Australia was such a long flight & expensive anyway I may as well make a grand tour of it & shorten the plane rides a bit.

I was always curious about Tahiti. I was born in Montreal, so although Anglo/Irish by birth I love Montreal and love the French way of doing things. You get this here. The food was good. The people were polite, if a bit offstandish at first, but if you beam a really wide smile at them they return it gladly.

I ended up here because I wanted a black sand beach. I live in Vancouver. We have a beach. I've seen other beaches in France & Spain & a red one in PEI. I wanted to see a black one. The sand is more dark grey. It's not the best beach in the world, but it's still nice & I saw one of the nicest sunsets I've ever seen there, while sipping a tropical cocktail after a decent dinner cooked in their own restaurant.

I have to say I loved the people that ran this resort. It was obvious there was a family involved. My first impression was scary. I arrived in the airport (a woman travelling alone) With a red -haired French woman holding a sign with my name on it. She picked me up as well as 5 other people. Another couple & a family of 3. They got off at other hotels closer to the airport & I was left alone with her, which was okay, because she was really nice & easy to talk to. She dropped me off at the entrance to this resort though & left me with this huge man with a taciturn demeanor. He took my suitcase, grunted as he transferred it to another van & motioned for me to get aboard. No English- No French, just "grunt" & a motion at a smile ...he reminded me of a Bond henchman. The trip from the entrance of the resort to the check in desk is LONG & at the time it was very dark & I wondered where this henchman was taking me.They are not taking you for a ride & this guy is actually very nice & he's just a bit reserved. The family that owns this place are very warm & welcoming & it does seem to be family run.

The rooms are unremarkable, but comfortable & the gardens & grounds are beautiful and the ocean view setting from the restaurant is idyllic. It was May when I was there & the other customers were a lovely ecclectic mix of French, British & Australian. I don't think it was full to capacity or even near that, so it was quiet. Suited me fine.

Wonderful memories. I took the local bus into town to the market in Papeete and walked back. It's a LONG walk, but I was young with good leather sandals. Walked past some sort of compound with barbed wire. Army Base I think. Back at the resort I watched the family, children included picking mangoes off the trees on the grounds of the resort. They were packing them in boxes for the market. The kids were laughing as they worked.

I also remember having a fruit salad for breakfast which included some of the most beautiful juicy fresh tropical fruit I`ve ever had. I`m not usually an early riser, but the sun had just risen on a beautiful day. I recommend this place to people who are wanting to connect with the more citified Tahitian people.. (that said the city is small) and people who like markets.

I also now want to go back-to this same resort, but I also want to see some of the pristine clear waters & whiter sand beaches of Moorea or Bora Bora.

If you`re looking for an exceptional beach, wide & expansive, this isn`t the place. If you want a marina with golf course & tennis course, this isn`t your place. If you want a quiet uncrowded place with good food and a REALLY relaxed atmosphere, with good sunrises & sunsets this mayb just be the ticket.... also go to the Gaugin Mueum if you like art