We spent 8 nights at Le Taha'a. It was the 2nd stay for both of us.

Le Taha'a requires a short plane trip to Raiatea and a boat to the resort, which is actually on a motu of Taha'a called Tautau.

Le Taha'a prides itself, quite correctly, on its service and amenities. We had an overwater bungalow with a Bora Bora view, which means that, between two motus, you can see the twin mountain profile of Bora Bora in the distance. It does make a gorgeous photograph!

The bungalows are over very shallow water, which makes the water crystal clear and a very rare shade of perfect light blue. We've seen magazines use this resort for cover photos, and it's as beautiful as anything we've seen anywhere else. Tranquil coral gardens just 100 yards from the bungalows are full of the local fish we've come to know pretty well, so for snorkelers it's pretty much paradise.

Le Taha'a is a very expensive place to stay, but there are several factors that make it worthwhile in general. The bungalows at Le Taha'a are so gorgeous, inside and out, spacious and perfectly designed, with a great balance between the rustic and the modern. A glass bench at the foot of the bed has a hinged lid, so you can not only see the fish below, but feed them. The glasstop counter behind the bathtub is also hinged, so you can even watch or feed the fish from the tub!

It's such a nice room that you never mind spending a lot of time there! The fact that this resort is somewhat more isolated from civilization is actually a huge plus for us, and makes the extra money easier to part with. Honestly, we've never taken any of the excursions from Le Taha'a, we've just loved the snorkeling and the hanging-around-doing-nothing too much. If you're into those things, Le Taha'a is perfect.

We were surprised by a few things that didn't come up during our first trip. For one thing, it rained every day we were there, usually only for short bursts (the typical tropical rain that lasts all of 20 minutes then dries without a trace), but at least 2-3 days were completely overcast, something unexpected for us. And we noticed a lot more locals letting off steam nearby (in this case, on the motu which faced our bungalow) on the weekend. This can lessen the experience slightly, as booming bass, roaring pleasure boats and screaming revelers is something we go to Tahiti to get away from, and yet the lagoon on the weekends here was definitely noisier this year than it was in 2005. Something to keep an eye on for us, anyway.

Food options at Le Taha'a are limited, because the resort is basically the only thing around, unlike Moorea. The main restaurant for breakfast and dinner is very good, though we found at the end of 8 days, the menu started sounding a little, well, blah. (My husband suffered a 24-hour bout of food poisoning, but we honestly believe that that could happen anywhere, and we don't think that it says anything about that restaurant. That probably did impact our assessment of the food, however!) Also, the servers there were in the process of training a lot of new and very young staff, who are not very comfortable with the public, seeming painfully shy and not used to communicating outside their language, which can be difficult at times.

The real food highlights for us were Le Taha'a's gourmet restaurant, Orhini, and also Chez Louise, on the main island of Taha'a.

We hadn't booked the gourmet restaurant at Le Taha'a (reservations DEFINITELY required, as we met several people who weren't able to get in at all during their time at the resort!) until our next-to-last night, and it was a revelation. The service was impeccably attentive, and the food was some of the best we had anywhere in Tahiti. The menu is based on trios, or three ways of serving a particular meat or fish. The kobe beef trio was a knockout, and the scallop trio and veal trio were also delicious. Before we'd finished eating, we'd booked it for the next night, too!

Another restaurant highlight was visiting Chez Louise on the main island of Taha'a. Although the delivery/dropoff was less than smooth (at first no one was there to greet us on the island once the boat from the resort dropped us off), they showed up soon enough, and we were driven a short distance to the restaurant, poised on the water surrounded and permeated with a veritable jungle of lush plants and trees.

The restaurant itself was charming, and the food was excellent! Served on bamboo "boats," the menu is completely catch-of-the-day, fresh and simple seafood cooked perfectly. More shrimp than we could possibly eat, one half-lobster per person, poisson cru and small tuna steaks cooked in a tangy lemon/butter/garlic sauce. Add in the mountain of rice and bread, and this was a true feast. A side benefit was watching the leftovers get fed to the fish below!

After eight days on Taha'a, we'd probably say that next time we might prefer to do 5-6, but ONLY because of the limited food selection.

It was a great trip, and we're sure to return someday.

We stayed at Le Taha's for three nights prior to taking a cruise on the MS Paul Gauguin. The resort is perfect if you are looking for peace and quiet, and beautiful scenery that will take your breath away. We stayed in an over water bungalow, and it was worth every penny. The spacious room had plenty of storage, a safe and adequate seating. The staff at the resort was unfailingly helpful and courteous. The food was good, but the menu never varies. The spa was excellent, and my husband enjoyed the dive excursions. We also took the half day excursion to Taha'a. We circumnavigated the island by SUV, stopped at a vanilla farm, a scenic outlook, and at a pearl farm. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The 30 minute boat ride from the Raiatea airport to the resort was very pleasant. I get seasick very easily, and did not have a problem. If I ever travel to Tahiti again, I would definitely stay at Le Taha'a.

We had the most amazing time here on our honeymoon. We first came here for four nights then to Bora Bora and stayed at the Nui. I wish we had saved this for last.

We stayed in the #49 Beach Bungalow. Fantastic. Big, spacious and secluded. It was like having the whole island to ourselves.. except for the mosquitos. They give you Off bug spray for a reason.

The service was impeccable. Laurent saved our trip. Upon arrival, I managed to break the welcoming bottle of champagne on the ice bucket which shattered and sliced the top of my foot. Laurent was there in a second with the local doctor from the mainland who performed six stitches in our hotel room. Truly unforgettable.

The service in the restaurants was not perfect, and a little slow, but who cares! I highly recommend ordering the breakfast delivered to your room. I don't recommend eating at the fancy restaurant. Too pricey and a little awkward.

I do recommend heading over to Chez Louise on the mainland. It's a kick!

The pool is beautiful and it's fun to have some cocktails here in the afternoon. The lagoon is so brilliant. I didn't mind that much not being able to SCUBA because of my stitches as the snorkeling was so great.

The spa was very nice, but nothing special.

Stitching and all, it was an amazing experience!

My Husband and I were so pleased to make this hotel our last stop on our Honeymoon in August of 2007. If we were were to go back again we would spend more than 3 days there and possibly even skip Bora Bora. This was our favorite resort of all of the ones we stayed at during our honeymoon. The secluded location was wondeful. The grounds were amazing and the the room was just incredible. We stayed in one of the Sunset bungalows and although it was a bit of a treck to the pool, it was worth it for a little extra seclusion. I loved the private deck. The food in the poolside restaurant was very, very good. What more can you say about a pool with a swim-up bar. For breakfast I recommend ordering room service. They give you SO much food you can snack on it the rest of the day and save some money on lunch. For dinner there are two options, the normal restaurant (no reservation) and the fine dining restauarant (reservation needed) we were planning on eating in the fine dining restaurant until we found out about the dress code. We decided to skip it and were thankful that we did. Another couple we spoke with ate there and got food poisoning, presumably from the Lobster. They also said it was quite overpriced for the quality of food.

One thing I would recommend is that if you are coming from bora bora or another island closeby you should try to take a helicopter straight to the island. We flew from the airport and the boat ride to the resort seemed very long and bumpy. Ofrourse I was nursing a bit of a hangover from Bloody Mary's the night before. Our hotel on Bora Bora (the Pearl Beach Resort) had told us we were geting a helicopter to Tahaa but when we went to check out the next morning they said we weren't. Anyhow, if you are going to French Polynesia you MUST come to this resort. Besides, if it is good enough for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes it's good enough more most.

I also appreciated the free internet access available. I was beginning a semester of onlibne graduate courses and I was able to email all of my professor's so I did not fall behind. On any other island this would have been more costly as they charge quite ridiculous rates for internet access.

We did enjoy hot rock massages in the spa while we were there. The spa was very relaxing and the massages were given outdoors. My only complaint is that I like a lot of pressure and the girl did not understand me when I asked her if she could increase the pressure. Also, these massage therapists get a little bit friendlier than those in the States. So if you are extremely modest this may not be for you.

All in all this resort is a must see if you are going to FP!! Well worth the money!!!