We stayed the last night of our vacation here. I was not going to post until I saw Fishman's post confusing the Tahiti Airport MOTEL with the Tahiti Airport LODGE. Other travellers at the airport made this mistake thinking they were going to the motel when we were picked up. Not the same quality.
And yes, it is in his basement. Above ground but still the basement of his house. I did a tour of the place in the morning while looking for Charlie and checked it out.
When we made reserves over the phone Charlie confirmed full breakfast included, airport transfers and air con in room. Reality check when we arrived late. No air con working in any of the rooms. Room was tiny with a small window overlooking the "lobby". With the lights out the room was almost dark. The heat and humidity in the room was stifling. The fan was so loud and sqeaking it kept us awake and looked like it was going to come off the ceiling at any moment. Throw in the airport noise from jet traffic to top it off.
The rooms were homemade, no dressers or closets. Plywood shelving and a bar with 3 hangers. The bathroom was mediocre. The bed was like a futon you see on the curb at the end of the month. Full breakfast was pieces of French bread and instant coffee.
Why I nickeled and dimed myself on our last night ??? Good grief it was depressing.
And the cherry on top. He wanted 1500 for the return trip to the airport. No thanks . We just walked down the hill 5 minutes to the terminal.
Charlie himself was most unwelcoming. Not a curmudgeon, but more like we were intruding and he tolerated us for the money. Of course he could have been uncomfortable over the deviousness of the air con, breakfast and transfers.

We stayed at the Tahiti Airport Hotel before our TP cruise in August 2006. It had only been opened for 1 week. Yes it is right across the street from the airport BUT it is up a STEEP hill. We did walk up to it with our luggage. There is some confusion about what street to go up but since it was dark, 8:30 pm, we chose one and started the trek up. I would not suggest walking there, take a cab! It is a gravel private driveway that wasn't user friendly with luggage and we were greeted by a pack of dogs Luckily there was an employee of the motel watching us crazy travelers and he came unlocked a gate and helped us The hotel itself was brand-new, clean, reasonably priced $120 a night but was sparsly furnished. It was just fine for the night and the next morning we took a cab into Papeete, $20.

The only reason one should stay at this hotel is for an overnight stay before catching a plane out the next day. We did not expect anything other than a bed and in that regard, we were not disappointed. It's not exactly a charming spot (and it is not in a basement as mentioned in an earlier post) but it is the most reasonable place to stay close to the airport if you're not picky and want to save some money. Charles is hard to reach by phone, but you can fax him as I did, and he called me right back to confirm our pick-up from the airport. He was prompt and was equally prompt in getting us to the airport the following morning. By the way, the breakfast that is included is a typical French continental breakfast: a baguette (and it was very fresh) with butter and jam, coffee or tea.

If you go with reasonable expectations you will not be disappointed and can save your money for more desirable accommodations. In fact, staying here will actually make you appreciate other choices you make!

My fiancee and I planned a trip to Tahiti for three weeks to get away from the stress of planning our wedding. We decided to go this route of staying at family pensions and some hotels to make our trip affordable. Unfortunately our hotel on Moorea, our first stop on a 5 island tour would not be ready until the 13th of March so we had to stay at the Airport Lodge for 2 nights. All we can say that it was probably one of the most affordable places on Papeete, however it was the worst experience of our whole trip. Again, Charles was not there, he was not at church, it was Saturday night at 7:30p.m. He just forgot. We know that as travelers there is such a thing as "island time" however watching all the other weary travelers being greeted with smiles and flower leis made us feel a little unwelcomed. My fiancee had to purchase a $15 phone card to call Charles and ask him to pick us up. It was about 2 minutes away. Our transfers were $22 each. We could have taken a cab for a 1/4 of that. Lets put it this way our transfers to the Novatel Bora Bora were $10 each. We were so bummed out when we saw this locked prison gate across the lodge it just didn't give us a feeling of island hospitality. Our room was adequate, however, We had an air conditioner that didn't work, an obnoxious poster of a monkey going to bathroom , and a menacing looking ceiling fan that threatened to come off the ceiling. We were so tired that we decided to go to bed and make the most of spending some time in Papeete. In the morning we asked Charles how to get into downtown Papeete. It was Sunday, a definite day of rest and reflection for most Tahitians. Therefore, nothing was open except the Supermarket. Thank goodness because the Lodges idea of breakfast was instant coffee and bread with peanut butter and jelly. Still we were remaing positve. We got some wonderful pates, cheese and bread and decided to back back to the lodge, have some drinks (we brought a bottle with us) and make the most of it. As we were sitting outside our depressing room in the courtyard I noticed a pool with a gate reading "Private Keep Out" well it was hot and I thought we would go for a swim. Little did I know that Private meant no admittance for paying guests. We asked permission and Charles's wife just looked at my fiancee and in broken English said "Pool no for you" . I just got so mad. We had had enough at this point . I am in the hospitatlity business and have never felt so insulted. I realize that this forum can sometimes have petty reviews and you can take it for what it is. I will say that when we return because our trip was amazing, we will never, ever return to the Airport Lodge. I would rather spend a little more money and even be in downtown Papeete than stay at this Lodge. This place does great business because its cheap at $105 a night but when I tell you that $100 a night will give you waterfront views on Moorea with the most wonderful people there is no comparison. All in all we paid $277 for 2 nights including Tranfers and for that you could be on Moorea or anywhere else and your experience would be a 100% BETTER.