My wife and I stayed here at the start of our honeymoon. I think if you want big luxury hotels you might as well pop out to one of the more suited islands, like Mo’orea which is just a hop away. For Tahiti, we thought somewhere like Vanira lodge (which had been highly recommended in a guidebook) would be ideal.

It is very isolated – you absolutely need a car to stay here, if for no other reason than the extremely steep hill up to the grounds. The climb is rewarded with beautiful views over the coast however, and the grounds themselves are lush and immaculately kept. Our bungalow was the biggest one with a mezzanine bed area and was quite stunning.

There is a definite lack of places to eat or do anything in the area. (hence the need for a car, although even with it is quite a drive to reach anywhere with anything other than a small eatery and beach). The mosquitos also caused me a lot of bother, but I may be more susceptible to this than others. My wife was luckier although did not escape unharmed.

For a few days of relaxation and doing nothing, however, I certainly recommend this place.

The list of good things about Viana lodge are short
Fantastic, beautiful property and view

The bad list is endless
It is so dirty, there is mould growing on everything, chicken poo all over your outside deck, and the kitchen is filthy. Check out my photo of the blankets provided.
The service is terrible.
Our Electricity went out and had to go searching for answers, they said 2 hours but ended up being 5. I was Unable to cook our breakfast or lunch and I was paying more for a room with a kitchen. No apologies, no coming to mop our big puddle under defrosted fridge, no enquries about our the food in our fridge.
I also Asked for a bungalow that closes up so no mice, bugs, geckos etc but roof is not closed in and there are big gab under door for mice.

The Owner karine is nice but keeps herself and house separate and she is only available 8-10am this would be ok if the lady left to help spoke any English. In a tourist destination that would really help so you have no way of asking for help or enquries during the day. When you do go to her office be prepared for the two barking dogs that coming running strait at you. Very scary and I refused to walk there without my husband beside me.
Lunch is supposed to be available during certain hours in the gazebo but I sat there for 2 hours waiting one day and never saw a soul. I ate breakfast there the first morning, it wasn't very nice and after I saw how dirty the kitchen was I wouldn't eat there again anyway.
All the places to eat are a good 20 mins walk away and we went out for dinner one night and had to walk back up the long drive way and hill in the pitch black. The property does not have any lighting to light the way.
Our bungalow was near a pond that had a terribly Noisy pump and was sucking dry water. You couldn't hear anything else all day and night. Since the owner never comes up to the bungalows she wouldnt notice and eventually My husband went and played around with it and got it fixed himself.

This property and accommodation could be something really special if the owner took more interest in it and her workers. Until that time I would not recommend staying there.

Vanira lodge was in a beautiful area and the bungalows were exactly like the pictures. We were lucky enough to have almost perfect weather our whole trip, though it does seem to rain much more down in Tahiti-iti.

The downside to this place is that the owners are almost non-existent. We would have liked some tips on what to do in the area (e.g. we would have loved a horse trek) but were forced to walk up and down the road until we found a shop or something to do because we could not find the owners anywhere around the lodge. We had no idea if they even knew we were there which was slightly disconcerting. The office hours are 8 a.m. - 10 a.m which seemed rather lazy to us.

However, the groundskeeper, Amelliano was one of the friendliest people we met on our entire stay in Tahiti. He gave us coconut and fruit and will give you a ride to the shop if you need one. He was also able to help us with a boat ride to our next destination (Pension Bonjouir) and his presence made the whole stay much more pleasant.

All bungalows have an incridible natural architecture, surrounded by beatiful graden and ocean view!!!!
Is the perfect place to stay with friends, family or couple.
Have a nice trip......
Greetings....mariano.-