We had a great time at the Hawaiki Nui Pearl Beach Resort. After staying at the Manihi Pearl and Bora Bora Pearl for 3 days each, we had to extend our honeymoon in FP for two more days. The Bora Bora Pearl was nice, but quite large and a bit artificial, and since we had already experienced Manihi (which was excellent!), we were looking to get back to a more authentic polynesian experience, something more intimate and natural.

We found a great rate on the internet for the Hawaiki Nui since it was "under renovation", and got a premium overwater bungalow for 50% off. Lucikly, when we arrived, the restaurant and bar had already been renovated and were operating as usual. Which, by the way, served some of the best food we had in FP. Everything we ordered from the extensive menu was very good, from drinks and appetizers to main courses and desserts, and reasonably priced for the high quality. Our compliments to the chef as well as the rest of the friendly staff at the hotel, who also spoke English with no problem!

The overwater bungalow was in good condition, a bit dated, but comfortable and clean. It had no A/C, but we found that the cool breeze off the water and the open design of the bungalow kept us very comfortable (unlike in Manihi and Bora Bora, where A/C was definitely a good thing to have). Since the resort is across the lagoon from an open pass to the Pacific, the wind blows nicely all day and night, and you can see and hear the waves crashing on the distant reef protecting the lagoon. We found the room to have many nice features, including a well stocked minibar and a window (plexiglas) in the floor, along with lights below the bungalow to illuminate the water and attract the fish at night.

The beautiful coral at this resort extends from the shore to just in front of the deck of the overwater bungalows, and then drops off sharply. One of the best features is that you can jump right off the deck of the bungalow into the lagoon with no worries of hitting the bottom like most other resorts. The snorkelling around the bungalows was very good, with many species of tropical fish and lots of interesting coral, second only to Manihi on our trip. This was a great bonus, as we had been disappointed by the lack of coral and fish in Bora Bora. The water was not quite as wonderously blue as at the other resorts, but it was still clean and clear.

All in all, the accommodations were a solid 3 stars, with a 4 star location and restaurant, and a great friendly staff. Although it was not the most luxurious resort of our stay, we found it to be the best value by far, and definitely the most authentic experience (we actually preferred it to the 5 star Bora Bora Pearl). We would definitely stay here again if we visit Raiatea in the future.

Here's where overwater bungalows with windows in the floor got their start! There is a special charm to staying in one of the first overwater bungalows and watching colorful fish swim in the coral heads below you. But charming only goes so far: these bungalows are in need of an update. They lack air conditioning and bug screens on the sliding glass doors (which are terribly hard to open and close); gray water drains directly into the lagoon so you can hear your bungalow "peeing" when you shower which clouds the lagoon; and termites fall from the aging beams onto the bed (and you, when you're in it). Many more conveniences could easily be provided to enhance the stay such as slippers and a broader range of toiletries. Surprisingly, these flaws did not detract from the experience as much as one might imagine, largely because of the incredibly warm and helpful staff. They happily arranged on short notice a tour of the ancient marae from which canoes set out to colonize Hawai'i and New Zealand with a well-known though verbose anthropologist, Bill Kolans. The Friday night Polynesian "spectacle" featured local children, charming in only the positive connotations of the word. Diving was bit "laissez-faire" compared to other Pearl Resorts and is only recommended for confident, safe and self-reliant divers.

We spent 3 nights at the Haiwiki Nui for our honeymoon after a few days on
Bora Bora. We'll break our review into different sections.

SETTING -
Raiatea is definitely a quiet island. There is one small town (Uturoa) with
a couple supermarkets, a little bit of shopping, a cruise ship dock, an internet cafe,
and a small number of restaurants that seem to cater to cruisers who've docked. There
are some vanilla plantations and a botanical garden towards the southern end of the island.

Raiatea is typical of the Society Islands. A volcanic island makes up
Raiatea, and a lagoon surrounds the island. A coral reef sits at the perimeter of
the lagoon and is the border to the South Pacific. Near the reef are small coral
islands called "motus" or "atolls". Off some atolls, the lagoon is a breathtaking
turquoise in the shallow water. You can see the Pacific crashing into the reef
from the hotel and from many places on the main island or the motus.

The main island of Raiatea is very green and lush. Beware, this lushness brings
out lots of bugs. Despite our best efforts, we got lots mosquito bites. Some
outdoor restaurants may have ants, mosquitoes, flies, etc. flying near your food.
We assume most of French Polynesia is like this.

Lastly, this is a French territory, and French is the dominant language. As
typical Americans, we speak a little French, but are very limited.
However, almost all of the people we met (staff at Haiwiki Nui, people in town,
taxi drivers, people at airport, etc) spoke pretty good English.

Prices for food/drink seem equivilant to a mid-level American restaurant's dinner prices
(but prices are same at all times of day). For example, we spent around 1500 CFP
for a hamburger and about 250 CFP for soda at lunch time, roughly $USD40 for the two of us.


RESORT/ROOMS -
The resort is a good, small 3-star facility. Hardly anyone used the small pool. Some
of the front desk people doubled as waiters in the restaurant and bartenders in the bar (small
resort).

We stayed in OWB which was fantastic. We swam and snorkeled off our deck, and star-gazed
at nights. Having a private deck right on the water is as good as it gets, in our opinion.

Here are a couple things one should know:
The room's thatched roof appears to sit on beams elevated off the walls, leaving a small
gap between the walls and ceiling. This gap provides ventilation but can also let in
insects and sounds of nature. We had a couple bugs in the room during our first night
(it rained the night before), but nights 2 and 3 were bug-free. It was windy while we were
there at the lagoon. At night, the sound of wind blowing against our patio door was very noticeable.
The sound of waves crashing against the rocks under our floor was also noticeable. To
some this is soothing; if not to you, maybe you should bring ear plugs to sleep.

They had a shuttle waiting for us as the airport, which pleasantly surprised us since our
guidebook said they did not provide airport transportation. When checking out, we
found out the trip cost $USD35! We paid them instead of arguing, but look out for this.
A taxi is probably no more than $USD10 or $USD15 since the airport is only a couple miles from
the resort.

The restaurant on the premises is not bad.
Food was hearty (steaks, local fish, pasta, pizza, burgers). Steaks came with a mountain of
fries. Deserts are around $USD10, and not as good as main-courses.

Things preventing higher "star" rating:
The tiles in the bathroom were old and worn (however, fixtures appeared new). Some light
switches were not seated in the wall correctly. The patio door was bent and did not close
correctly. Television remote control did not work (maybe dead batteries).


ACTIVITIES -
You can kayak or snorkel for free. There is a motorboat which takes
people to nearby atolls in the lagoon, which we did and loved. The
atoll we visited (small one off Taha'a) was extremely picturesque. Water was very light
blue and weather perfect. The beaches were a little rocky, so
be careful of rocks on the ground when frolicking in the water. This trip included
lunch (a huge spread including sashimi, salad, chicken, rice, various local vegetables). It
was like our own private island for a couple hours, at a cost of about $USD40 per person. The
hotel boat operator also does diving tours and lagoon tours. It all depends on his availability,
so talk to him a day or two before you are interested in doing something.

There is a bulletin board of other local tours in the lobby. Most will pick you up and drop you off
at the hotel since you are generally the only customers in town for them. There are vanilla
plantation tours, hiking/biking tours, lagoon tours which include shark or sting ray feeding, fishing
tours, trips to the botanical garden, and island tours. You can rent a car for around $USD100
for a day and drive around the island. It takes roughly 4 hours to get around the entire island, and
there are some scenic spots w/ few tourists around.

You can walk to Utoroa in 20-30 minutes. There are a few places to go for lunch/dinner (unless
you WANT to eat at the resort your entire stay). We tried the Restaurant Quai des Pecheurs right
on the wharf. The cruise ship was in, and they were full. Everybody was seated in their outdoor area.
Dinner was about $90USD for a tenderloin steak, mahi-mahi, half-bottle wine and a bottle
of water. Food was very good and the manager picked us up and returned us to the hotel.

There is very little to do at night. Most people hung out at the resort bar, or on their
decks. This was just what we were looking for and so we really enjoyed a few days to
be alone and relax.

We had chartered a boat from Sunsail and had sailed for 8 days enjoying Tahaa, Hunahine, and Raiatea. Came back for a few nights in different locations and wanted a small quiet place rather than the tourist destination. We had reserved a garden room and were pleasantly surprised to be upgraded to an over the water bungalow. It was wonderful! The room was nothing like what was described in the last review - someone has gone in and everything seemed new - the service was outstanding and the people were great - the food was good and for French Polynesia the price was resonable. You could walk in to town (small town), but we snorkled off our deck and kayaked to one of the motu's - I would not suggest the garden rooms as it they are right by the road the ocean view or over the water would be best.