When we were planning our honeymoon, we asked our travel agent (Lisa Corso @ Tahiti Legends) for an island off the beaten path. We were definitely going to visit Moorea and Bora Bora, and she suggested Huahine. So, to start of with, we knew that we were not going to a massive ‘resort island.’ There are only 2 resorts remaining on the island, and we booked an overwater bungalow at the Te Tiare, which is the better of the two resorts. I had read the reviews previously on this website, but was still going into the resort with an open mind.

The resort is only accessible by boat, as there are no roads on that part of the island. The boat transfers were very efficient and did not cause any problems. The one thing about the boat transfers is our hotel felt cut off from the rest of the world. In the other islands that we stayed at, we could leave the resort to go to an outside restaurant. We could have probably done that here, but it didn’t seem worth the effort. We did have the breakfast/dinner meal plan which helped, and the restaurant had wonderful food, though the service at the restaurant took forever. Granted, I went into this vacation with a totally open mind, but this even seemed slow for the ‘Polynesian’ way of life.

On to the room; as mentioned, we booked an overwater bungalow. There are 5 total in this category. Four of the five are attached to land with the balcony reaching over the water. At high tide, there may have been two feet of water at the swim step. Most of the time though, there was probably less than a foot. I didn’t really feel that I was getting my money’s worth out of this category of room, whereas we could have had a beach bungalow with just about the same amount of water under it. The inside of the room was exactly what previous posters had mentioned….seemingly in need of some upgrades. The inside of the room just felt old, though there was nothing wrong with it. We did have the excitement of spotting two lizards in the room the first night that we stayed there. Those were exciting pictures to take.

Finally, my one complaint, which the hotel has very little control over. Outside of our room, there was a tree, which was full of birds. These birds were quiet for most of the day, going about their own business. Yet, at 5 PM and 5 AM, the birds came to life, chirping like no tomorrow. This was not your average, everyday chirp; this sounded like hundreds of birds chirping in unison. Even with earplugs in the second night it was difficult to sleep through. It probably only affected our room, and maybe one other. So, just a heads up to anyone staying in the overwater bungalow…if you hear the birds in the evening, be cautious of the early morning.

So, long story short…great hotel for the elements, very helpful hotel staff, and just know what to expect as you go there. Huahine was definitely worth the visit.

My wife and I went here for honeymoon and loved it! This hotel is nicely secluded, although a short boat ride to town. I have visited the Carribean many times but would not have chosen one of those hotels over this one. Unlike the Carribean, we were not herded into a large hotel that is impersonable. The hotel staff was alwas friendly and helpful. The room was always clean. And the snorkeling at the hotel is good. Would recommend this hotel for a romantic weekend or honeymoon.

The location is attractive apart from the ever-present local mosquitoes . Colorful fish are a plenty to watch from the rather pleasant restaurant . But those guys just cheated us on the reservation we made :they deliberately ignored the type of faré we had reserved (deep water , full ocean view , etc.) and paid for , and they parked us into a desolate room overlooking quasi-brackish one-foot deep water .

All the French manager could tell us was basically : " S...t happens , we're overbooked". Instead of five nights we only stayed overnight and headed straight back to Bora Bora after I spent hours on the phone reorganizing our trip .
Worst hotel experience I ever had in my life. Too bad , as all other hotels we stayed at in FP were just a dream come true.

Beautiful isolated hotel. The rooms are huge but outdated. It is a great hotel to stay four or five days. The service is very good and the food was the best one in FP. The shuttle connects you with the town each hour. But, having said this, we must say that this hotel is absolutely overpriced. We paid 770$ per day for a beach bungallow, which was the same price we paid for a premium overwater bungalow in Moorea (Sofitel). The Sofitel Hotel, even not so isolated, is a superb new hotel with really modern installations and superb bungallows. And it was not so much cheaper than the OWB in the intercontinental Thalasso in Bora Bora, the best resort I have ever been.

As a conclusion: it is a good charming hotel, but the rates do not make any sense.

P.D: Huahine is the most beautiful island in FP, even better than Bora Bora. Enjoy it.