We stayed at this resort for 3 nights before going to the Intercontinental Thalasso Bora Bora Resort . We had originally booked a garden bungalow but somehow got upgraded to an overwater bungalow, which we were thrilled about. The room was great, but what I enjoyed most about the resort was its beach and the snorkeling that's so easily accessible. It was so nice to have a beautiful, uncrowded beach within the resort and to be able to just take a swim and see cute tropical fish at the same time. I came to appreciate this much more after we went to the IC Thalasso in Bora Bora, where the beach appears to be man-made and the water is beautifully turquoise but almost completely empty of fish (other than ugly gray reef fish that seem to be common). We did see one stingray swim by, but that's it.

If we go back to the Sofitel Moorea, we'd stay in a beach bungalow. Again the beach in my opinion is the best thing about this resort, so I'd prefer to be close to it. It's unnecessary to stay in an overwater bungalow here.

One thing that I perhaps naively didn't expect but encountered there were geckos in our overwater bungalows, both in Moorea and in Bora Bora. We had 1 or 2 in our room for 2 of the nights we were Moorea. Some people may not mind this, but I was completely freaked out and could not relax until I knew they were gone. I found out that geckos are valued and honored by the local people. I respect that, and wouldn't mind seeing them around outside, but I can't handle them in my room and bathroom! Just know this ahead of time, although they may not be avoidable if you're staying in any kind of bungalow accommodations.

Also, we did not purchase a meal plan before going, so we paid for breakfast (at the time around $30 pp) and tried to get other meals elsewhere, which is very difficult since there is almost nothing else immediately around the resort. If we go again, in order to better enjoy our stay and relax more, we'd go for the meal plan. Even if it may seem expensive, I think it may be worth it.

The Sofitel Moorea was absolutely gorgeous and exactly what we were hoping for. We flew from LAX to PPT arriving on Sunday night at about 6:00pm. We spent one night at the Sofitel Tahiti, which was fine for one night, but I certainly wouldn't stay any longer. It was great though, because we woke up the next morning and walked to the Carrefour market (about 5 minute walk) prior to taking the ferry over to Moorea. We had purchased some wine and liquor at the LAX duty-free, and I HIGHLY recommend that you do this unless paying $15-20US/drink is in your budget. At the Carrefour, which is sort of like a Super Wal-Mart, we picked up some water, Hinano, Tahiti Drink, and some mixers for our liquor. If you have the time and are staying at the Sofitel Tahiti, I again highly recommend this, as it saved us a lot of money and provided the convenience of having drinks in our room in Moorea (including water)!!

The ferry ride over the Moorea was great - if you get any kind of sea or motion sickness, sit in the back or up on top (wear sunscreen!!). Our arrival to the Sofitel Moorea was smooth and we were soon in our gorgeous overwater bungalow (#215) which had a great view of Tahiti and the beach at the Sofitel. The bungalows are gorgeous, comfortable, clean - no complaints at all there!! FYI, with an audio jack, you can play your ipod through the Bose clock radio. The snorkelling was great right off the bungalow.

We had breakfast and dinner included in our plan. The dinners were actually all a bit confusing - I guess we had to do the buffet every night. Which actually turned out to be fine for us, because the food was pretty good, and having the variety was a must since they prepare the buffet for so many different palates (American, European, Asian, South American) - so, some of the choices may not necessarily be what you would expect as an American, but it was OK because you could go back up and get something else. The hubby was very happy about this since he often "struck out" on his first plate. Also, the desserts were excellent. And breakfast was great - no complaints (and I miss the chocolate croissants!!) Finally, as mentioned by others, lunch was VERY expensive ($100++/day total), but the portions are HUGE so we found we actually preferred to share a lunch, especially the vegetarian pizza.

We did two tours - the 4x4 with Moorea Explorer and the Lagoon shark/ray feeding with Albert's. We booked both through the front desk. Both were a blast - if you do Albert's, bring the Sofitel's snorkelling equipment with you (we didn't and regretted it). If you do the 4X4, bring bug spray and water (again, we didn't and regretted it). Other than that, we did a lot of relaxing, snorkelling and reading and just generally enjoying the gorgeous views.

One thing to note - I am a Sofitel Privilege cardholder, which is supposed to entitle me to a 4:00 checkout if available. Apparently, it wasn't available for us, so we had to check out at noon, though our transport didn't come until 4:00. This was fine though - we had lunch and hung out by the pool, and then took showers in an area they provided to us, so no big deal. Upon advice I received in the forum, we purchased a couple of pizzas from Maeva pizza at the Moorea ferry dock, and brought them with us to the PPT airport, and boy were we glad we did!! Everyone kept asking us where we got the pizza - it wasn't the best pizza ever, but it was better than any of the options at the airport!! The pizza takes 15-20 minutes to prepare, so plan accordingly.

Overall, this was a fantastic trip, and we really enjoyed it. If you are lookinjg for the ultimate relaxing vacation or honeymoon, with beatiful lagoons and views, go here. Based on the other resorts we saw on the island, the Sofitel definitely is the nicest (though the Sheraton looked nice too).

THE ROOM:
The garden bungalows, where we stayed 4 nights, were great, completely renewed (2 years), refurbished and very nice, big room and balcony. The shower is unique cause it has a private small garden, where you can have a shower outside with 100% privacy. All the bungalows (beach and overwater) seem exactly the same but in different places.
DINNING:
French style food with good quality; three very good dinner buffets per week (with food from 3 continents). Polynesian shows every night. The restaurant has a wonderful view over Tahiti. The service is not as good has the rest, the French manager is ok, though the locals have a lot to improve, the lack of formation is notorious.
THE BREAKFAST:
Wonderful, just perfect. American style with a wide variety of fruits, bread, juices, everything with 5 star quality.
ACTIVITIES:
The activities centre seems to work well, tough you cannot do any kind of activity without paying a lot. We only did the submarine 1 hour tour (total 85€), the guide is very nice and he took us just 50 m away from the last OWB, 3 m deep, the coral is very natural and rich. Going to Tahiti by plane costs 190€ per person, by boat costs 18€ round trip (30 min). Getting to the boat is harder, or walking 4 km each way or 15€ by cab. Few boats. You can rent a car in Moorea for 4 hours for 60€, and only for 24h in Tahiti for 120€.
HONEYMOON OFFERS:
Bottle of good champagne, half hour spa for both, gourmet package of vanilla tea and natural stick. Thanks!
THE VIEW: Good view over Tahiti. The sunsets and sunrises are very beautiful, but every body kept me telling the ones from the end of the beach were even better, we didn’t experience that.
FACILITIES:
Very good looking, very stylish, extremely clean, the garden was perfectly maintained and very rich.
THE ISLAND:
A wonderful surprise. We had no high expectations, but we were astonished by the views, the mountains, the reefs. The view over the two bays, from Belvedere is a dream. The main road around the island is very well maintained, and the locals are extremely friendly. People seem to leave well.
THE TOURS:
We strongly recommend the Moorea Explorer 4 hour safari, it’s easy to book because they are every where. Costs 67€ for two and you get to see the all the North part of the island. We booked when we arrived at the airport. The views, the two bays, off road experience, the hotels, the agricultural school, liquor and juice factory (where you can buy really nice souvenirs, the most complete and cheap place for that). The guide was French and we was extremely nice and with a very good English and complete knowledge of the island.
THE SNORKELING:
We are not pros but it was perfect for us, very natural. We didn’t see any shark or ray. Tip: check for the moray below the small marina, outside the bar.
INTERNET:
You have to pay a lot for it. You can only have it in your room with wireless router. We were staying at the end of the resort and You can still find internet coverage. You can rent one laptop. The connection costs 15€ for half hour but you can split the time.
OVERALL:
Perfect!

We spent 4 nights at the Sofitel Moorea during our South Pacific Honeymoon in October. Located just minutes from the airport on the Cook’s Bay side of the Island we found it was a perfect location. The resort is very contemporary and sleek in design. We stayed in a Deluxe Beach Bungalow which was absolutely perfect - like having our own beach house. The Overwater Bungalows looked very nice as well but since we stayed in one in Bora Bora the Beach Bungalow it was a nice way to get the best of both worlds. The room was very comfortable and the garden shower was terrific. In addition, no need to bring any shampoo, conditioner, etc. as the amenities they provided were great and were replaced as needed! The bathrobes in the room as well as the towels were very fluffy and luxurious. The beach at the Sofitel is very calm and clear. Take a kayak out to the reef for some great snorkeling (although the water was so clear we didn’t actually need snorkels!). The beach is a little rocky so we were glad we brought water shoes.

We personally did not eat any meals at the Sofitel other than breakfast. Breakfast was great and so plentiful that we were often not hungry for lunch. Ours was included in our package; if you can get this it is advised as breakfast is very pricey otherwise. We opted to venture out to local restaurants in Moorea for several reasons including getting more of a local flavor, better food and better prices. We never rented a car or felt the need to as most of the local restaurants on the Cook’s Bay side of Moorea will pick you up if you call and make a reservation. One thing to note is that the Sofitel requested that we make these local calls ourselves from our room which we did with the help of a Frommer’s South Pacific Guide that we brought with us. The local calls were not that much and it wasn’t a big deal. I would suggest bringing a guide book of this sort for quick reference to local information. Le Mahagony is worth the visit for dinner! Many of the pearl shops will also pick you up if you call them as well. We even asked one of the pearl vendors to stop by the grocery store on the way back to the Sofitel and they were happy to oblige.

Finally, as beautiful as tempting as it is to never leave the beach, take the time to see the interior of Moorea on a Jeep Safari tour. It is well worth the time!

Our only complaint was that we couldn’t stay longer!