Many hotels and resorts around the world claim the "luxury" label, few live up to the standard; but Le Taha'a definitely makes the grade. The resort has a stunning location, beautifully maintained property with an incredibly friendly staff.

We just returned from a 12 night stay in FP, 6 of which were at Le Taha'a. The resort is very isolated so if you're looking for an active nightlife, choose another property. That said, if you're looking to spend some serious quality time in a very romantic setting, I highly recommend this resort.

The food was quite good, beginning with a scrumptious breakfast, have the pain perdue, it's excellent. Plenty of fresh fruit, breads, and cheeses along with many made to order choices like eggs, omelets, crepes, pancakes etc.

For dinner you'll have many choices of fresh seafood prepared with local ingredients along with nice beef and duck entrees. As far as appetizers go, the beef carpaccio and tuna tartar are among the best I've ever had. For desert, the coconut crème brule is a great choice.

Our bungalow, # 19, was next to last on the dock and had great views and a nice degree of privacy. The condition of the bungalow was immaculate, it looked BRAND NEW! The bathroom was quite luxurious with a huge tub and nice open shower. Also, the bungalow was HUGE, that's not even counting the very large deck and outdoor table with banquette seating, 2 table chairs and 2 lounge chairs! Also feeding the fish at night from the foot of your bed is a great experience, just turn on the light under the bungalow and watch the fish appear!

The waters surrounding the resort are amazing, plenty of snorkeling and kayaking opportunities, we also saw another guest taking a swing at wind surfing. There is a great coral garden that sits at one end of the property, definitely take the time to explore it. A beautiful infinity pool that was never crowded provided a great place to enjoy a book, few cocktails or some lunch.

Only one very very minor complaint, the bed was a bit hard, but definitely ask for extra pillows and you'll be ok.

The staff was very friendly and was very good at anticipating your needs without being too overbearing. We were always greeted by a smile and a friendly "I'orana", even by the grounds crew and constantly being thanked with a cheerful "maoruru".

The other guests at Le Taha'a were certainly more upscale than those of the two other resorts we visited on our trip, thankfully. It mostly consisted of couples that for the most part kept to themselves but always had a nice "bon jour" or "bon soir" at the ready.

Le Taha'a is the gold standard that all other properties in FP should be measured against. Everyone we met later on Bora Bora asked us about our stay at Le Taha'a and if it lived up to it's reputation. My answer is, "Absolutely 100%!!"

We flew into Le Taha’a by Helicopter from the Bora Bora Nui. As we were landing on the heliopad, there they were, waiting for us, with a golf cart and welcoming smiles. We jetted off to reception where we were given very refreshing blue cocktails and then taken on a tour of the grounds before heading to our beautiful overwater bungalow. The bungalow was amazing and was by far the most beautiful we saw in FP. The view was magnificent, the set up of the bungalow was perfect with a very private outdoor deck and eating area on the patio, and a perfect deep tub in which a bath was already drawn with local petals tossed in. The pool at Le Taha’a was great with an infinity wall looking out to a crystal clear lagoon and a nearby beach restaurant with delicious food. Overall, Le Taha’a is a very beautiful place. Here are our specific pro and cons for others travelers to consider:

Pros:
1. Absolutely beautiful bungalows. If, as some reviews state, there are bungalows that are run down, we did not get one of them. Ours was immaculate and seemed completely new. The bed was large and comfortable and the bedding was beautiful. The bungalow had an open bright feel to it, with a great view from its picture window, and a large breezy porch, all the while feeling totally private. Whoever designed the bungalows did so with comfort and privacy in mind. We loved it. (Worth noting, we were in an end bungalow. We suspect that the others might feel a little less private.)
2. The ice cream sundaes! Delicious. Whether it’s the hot fudge or the fruit sorbet, get a sundae at the beach restaurant while you are there! More generally, the food overall is quite good. We really enjoyed our evening on the porch of our bungalow with room service. We had great appetizers, delicious duck and seafood entrees and wonderful bread and wine. The room service is completely wonderful.
3. The pool is really relaxing with great lounge chairs, a swim up cocktail bar, easy access to the beach and lagoon, and sand-floored beach restaurant. We spent more time there than we would have anticipated because we really liked the views and the water.
4. The spa is beautiful and the massages are done in a great private room that looks out on a small lagoon. It is very peaceful and relaxing. And, the Polynesian masseurs will seriously massage you out!
5. ABSOLUTELY go the Chez Louise for dinner on mainland Taha’a. The hotel will set it up. You will be picked up at the dock and taken to the restaurant where you will have AMAZING seafood. There is no wine list, you just choose white or red, and there is no menu, you get whatever seafood they could catch that day. We were given huge bamboo platters of lobster, tuna steaks, shrimp, poisson cru, rice, and bread. It was hands down the best meal we had in Polynesia. You must go.
6. Do take the ray and shark feeding trip. The local man who runs it is really odd and fun. He sings and plays the ukulele the whole time. We got in with the rays, we got in with the sharks, we fed both (a little scary!), and we saw two amazing snorkel spots. It was a great afternoon.
7. There is a coral garden right next to the hotel that is not to be missed. It is such a unique experience. You can walk out to it because the water is shallow all around the resort. Then you float on your stomach and see the most amazing coral and fish. The thing is, you are floating so close to everything that it is almost disconcerting when you start to consider how near the spiny sea urchins are to you or how close the fish and coral are. It is a very cool, almost scary, snorkeling experience. We loved it.

Cons:
1. The thing we liked the least about Le Taha’a is something that is hard to quantify, but it truly had a negative impact on our enjoyment of the place. The best word I can think of is “pretentious.” It is a pretentious place, which is not surprising given that it is an expensive place. However, there is something not quite relaxed about the people who work there, and hence the experience of being there is not entirely relaxing. It’s as if the staff is walking on eggshells because they have dealt with too many uptight fussy patrons in the past. Obviously, this is speculation, but in comparing it to our experience at Bora Bora Nui where the staff was genuinely very friendly and seemed to want to make our stay enjoyable, the staff at Le Taha’a seemed to do things because they had to and they were timid about doing them correctly. For example, one day we asked to see our bill and my husband inquired about one of the taxes. It was a very unemotional, simple, inquiry. I thought the girl at the counter was going to cry, it made us feel terrible. It was very odd and we felt like we should console her and tell her not to worry about it. Basically, we found it uncomfortable to ask things of many of the staff members, mainly because they often seemed so very uncomfortable. (That said, there are key personnel there who are lovely and helpful, but it is definitely not across the board.)

2. Our first night there the locals had a party at a restaurant on mainland Taha’a. The sound of the party could be heard clearly in our bungalow across the lagoon. It was very loud and we could not sleep through the pounding bass. At 3am we went to the front desk to ask about the noise. Apparently, so did some other guests. They told us it was a party and it would end eventually. At 8am the next morning, it was still going on. We went to the front desk to inquire if it would ever stop. They said it would end soon. What surprised us was that they knew we were unable to sleep because of the noise and they knew that we had had a rough night. We did not say anything more to them and we weren’t blaming them, but we would have thought that they would have offered some consolatory gesture. It just seems like something a hotel of that status would do (e.g., have a manager apologize, send some wine to the room, offer to change our bungalow, something.) We have stayed at many hotels around the world and are fortunate to have few bad experiences, but when we have, we have generally been pleased with the response from management. All we got at Le Taha’a was a sheepish shrug. It was as if they thought that if they did not make a big deal of it, neither would we. We didn’t, but we have to say that we were surprised and we were again disappointed in them.

3. Le Taha’a resort is isolated and the island of Taha’a does not offer many activities. There are a few excursions you can schedule, but not many. Some guests took the shuttle to Taha’a to look around and came back saying there was nothing to see. We went on a ray and shark feeding tour, which was a highlight. Generally though, you are at the mercy of the resort. We were not big fans of that. We preferred Bora Bora, where a quick shuttle to town can lead to any number of adventures. It’s a good place to lay by the pool or take a dip outside your bungalow. It is absolutely a beautiful place, but if you want more excitement, you will be disappointed.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Very different from Bora Bora, the lagoon by the bungalows is very shallow with no coral and only a few puffer fish during the day. At night the fish swarm by the lights near the bungalows, but during the day there is nothing to see. It’s like swimming in an endless swimming pool. It is beautiful, but if coral and fish and deep water are your thing, you will be disappointed.
• If you are deciding on which bungalow to choose, here is some advice. Definitely get a bungalow on the end if you can, but don’t worry yourself over a specific view. All the views are great!

* This review is also on the forum, so if you ahve stopped there, read no further.*

Booked thru Costco - saved $$$

This was the last Island on our holiday, and the most peaceful. we were there from Oct 14th thru the 17th.

We stayed in OWB #44, a Horizon Bungalow, and were very happy with our choice. We contemplated staying in one of the beach bungalows, as we had stayed in OWB in both Moorea, and Bora Bora, but after walking thru 3 of the beach bungalows, which were all very lovely, we decided to stay on the water - a bit more of a breeze, and no insects to deal with.

These were the largest of the OWB that we stayed at, while in FP, and were luxurious. The beds were very large, with a glass foot rest, that opened to the ocean below - the better to feed the fish.

The bath room was well appointed, with two separate sinks. As with the other resorts, there were two decks, split level, which allowed you to sit on the chaise lounge on the higher deck, and then go down a few stairs to the lower deck, for shower, and ladder into the lagoon.

Water calm, shalow, and blue/green. Warm water, and shallow for couple of hundred yards.

The resort was well appointed, and spa was lovely (even used the sunbrun treatment - as we got sunburned one day, after being in the islands for 11 days, with no problems - we decided 30 minutes in the sun, with no sunscreen would be no problem - WRONG!...Anyway, took their sunburn treatment masasge, with Tamaniu oil, form a local nut, and felt much better.

Went on a 4x4 with Teva and the Poi Rani tours, and had a blast. For the first 15 - 20 minutes, we drove along the coast, on the main road. Stopped off at a couple of kiosks, bot some mango's for 500 f, stopped in a local market etc. I was wondering why these 4x4 jeeps had such large knobby tires. Well, about another 10 minutes in the vehicle, and all would become apparant. We went off into the bush, up some very windy road (passed an outdoor covered auditorium where we heard some singing - stopped off, and were treated to the local school children performing songs and dances for their families - very fun)

On we trekked, and after numerous switch-backs, up this steep dirt road, we ended up on the mountain top. There we had fresh coconut, which we shucked, fresh pinapple, and some mango. The views were breathtaking. After the mountain top, went down the back side, back to the main road, stopped off at a pearl farm (Teva's Mom's place - complete with presentation on how pearl farms work).

After the pearl farm, picked up Linda, Teva'a wife, and Tu te Rai, his youngest child of 20 months, and went off to the vanilla plantation, where Linda educated us on the growing/harvesting and selling of vanilla bean.

Then back to the marina, and home at Le Taha'a.
One nite ate at Chez Louise - very quaint, and fun experience. Right on the water, and when you are finished eating, you just tip the tray over the side, and the food goes right into the water, where these crazy looking large fish, come up for chow...reminded me of feeding the dogs your leftovers. One item about Chez Louise - my wife is not a big fan of fish, and so the folks at Le Taha'a called ahead, and when we sat down to eat, she was served Chicken. Very accomidating people, and the food was great.

We met two couples at Chez Louise that were boating around the islands, and were from Canada. We had a wonderful time talking about their trip, and sharing experiences.
One nite we decided to have dinner in our room. This was not room service, mind you, but a special dinner, prix fix. They require you to be out of your room from 4-5:00pm, at which time they put flowers thru-out your bed room, and bath (even in the tub, with very work water). In addition they set up the outside covered table on your deck with a full two per setting. Dinner was at 7:00 pm, and was joined with champaigne, and wine. What a great experience.

The restaurant by the pool, was one of our favorites, and we had lunch there each day. Normally had a Hinano beer with the lunch, which is the local beer.

Great Trip, and Fantastic resort. Not there for the fast life, but if you are there with your 'someone special', and have the ability to relax, than you will find that the Le Taha'a is just the medicine that the doctor ordered (25th annniversary - maybe go there for our 50th?)

Cheers,
Jim

My wife and I stayed at Le Tahaa for 6 nights, during our honeymoon, in early July of this year. Our itinerary was Le Tahaa for 6 nights followed by the St.Regis Bora Bora for 6 nights. We selected Le Tahaa
to start our trip because we wanted the privacy accorded by being on a private island. We were a bit nervous about Le Tahaa because of some negative reviews on this site, which focused on issues with bugs
and on the wear and tear on overwater bungalows. However, we decided to stick with our selection of Le Tahaa largely because we knew the property had been renovated earlier this year, and also because of the opinions of experienced FP travellers such as Meherio and Shully.

We're really happy we stuck with Le Tahaa. The setting is truly gorgeous. The water is incredibly clear around the whole resort. No need to pay for any special views, we had the Tahaa Overwater Bungalow, and it was absolutely lovely. The rooms were very well appointed. We arrived to a flower turndown with a bottle of champagne
waiting. The bathroom was very clean, and even the water pressure was good in the shower, which impressed me given the potential challenges of making that happen in an overwater bungalow. We never had any issues with bugs. We took a Jeep Safari of the island of Tehaa, which we really enjoyed. We also snorkled around the resort and saw tons of exotic fish and also a couple stingrays.

We felt the only thing that Le Tahaa could have improved upon meaningfully was the food. We expected it to be extremely expensive.
However, given the Relais and Chateaux rep, we expected the food to be higher quality. In general, the food was bland and definitely below the standards we are used to both while travelling. This was both in their Vanilla restaurant and also fine dining restaurant, which we went to once and did not return to.

Also the pricing of the food seemed to lack much logic. The starters were about the same price as the entrees, despite the differential in size of the portions. We always were better off ordering another entree as an appetizer. Also, the pricing of some of the dishes perplexed us, for example 45 dollar pasta compared with 35 dollar seafood entrees. Understandably, the seafood can be obtained locally,
but it seemed odd to us that it would be cheaper than pasta with tomato sauce. In any case, the odd pricing would not have been an issue at all if the quality have been better. Indeed, we were prepared to pay up for quality. In the end, the odd pricing simply provided a topic to laugh about with the 2 couples we met that were also going to the St.Regis as their next destination.

Despite being disappointed with the food, we had a wonderful time at Le Tahaa. The rooms are great, the staff is friendly, and the location is wonderful. However, we would advise anybody making multiple stops in FP not to make it your final destination. As I will
expand upon more in a forthcoming St.Regis review, the St. Regis truly trumped Le Tahaa in almost every category, in particular the food, and it would have actually been a bit depressing to have gone from there to Le Tahaa.