My husband and I spent the second part of our honeymoon at the IC Le Moana for 3 nights for our honeymoon. The first 4 nights of our honeymoon were spent on Moorea at the Sheraton resort which I submitted a review for as well. We had a great time on Bora Bora and I can’t say it enough, as I’m sure all others have echoed the same phrase but Bora Bora has to be the most beautiful place on the planet. My pictures are a testament to that. Following is a detailed review of our stay at the IC Le Moana in Bora Bora.
Arrival
We arrived to Bora Bora on the interisland flight from Moorea. Many of the other passengers on the flight were doing the same Moorea-Bora Bora combo that we were. And also for clarification, you should sit on the RIGHT side of the plane flying into Bora Bora. For some reason I was confused and thought it was the left side of the plane that gives you the beautiful view of the island flying in but it is the right side that does that.
Each hotel has their own check-in booth at the airport. We were given flower leis and picked up our luggage which was then boarded on to our boat transfer and we were off. It appeared that the other hotels that were on motus; i.e. Thalasso, Le Meridien had lots of guests coming in. In contrast on our transfer to the Le Moana it was only us and a couple with their teenage son.
Check-in
Riding on the boat to the Le Moana gave us a great view of the island. Since the airport (which is on a motu) is on the opposite end of Bora Bora from the Le Moana we got to see almost the entire island on our ride down to Matira point which is the furthest peak that sticks out of Bora Bora and where the Le Moana is located.
Upon entrance to the lobby we were greeted by the very nice hotel staff who offered us mai tai’s, damp towels and seats to fill out our check-in paperwork. When we were finished, we were given a tour of the entire property which made us feel like treasured guests. Our stay at the Sheraton in Moorea didn’t feel this personalized but they were also a lot more crowded. The peculiar thing to me was that the IC Le Moana seemed like a very quiet property. From reading prior reviews, I had read that people preferred staying on the motus because since it was on the main island, it was a more busy property and in the epi-center of everything. I don’t know if we just happened to be visiting during a slow time for the Le Moana but that statement couldn’t have been further from the truth. Yes, it is next door to Matira beach which is a public beach where many locals visit but unless you walk over there, you never see anyone or hear anything. In my opinion I much preferred staying on the main island as we enjoyed having greater accessibility to the restaurants and other areas on the island.
The property has a black pearl shop, restaurants, game room, a bar and other relaxing areas which was very exciting for us. We definitely thought that the Le Moana was an excellent property even though others seem to think its average.
Overwater Bungalow
At the end of our guided tour of the property we were taken to our room. We had used the Ambassador Club membership to get the free upgrade from a beach suite to an OW Bungalow. There are two OW docks for the Bungalows. One is adjacent to the main lobby of the hotel, the other is at the end of the property and requires walking down a path past all the Beach suites to get to it.
We were given the very first OW on the right at the first OW dock. When we saw this we were a bit hesitant worrying that it wouldn’t be very private and seem like an OW being so close to shore. But after some discussion amongst ourselves we rationalized that it might be nice to be close to the shore and would allow us to swim to and from the shore easily so in the end we decided not to ask to be moved. Our main concern initially was that our hut wouldn’t be as private with kayakers going by our room but in the end we found that it was never a problem and rarely were there ever swimmers or kayakers coming by our room. In fact like I had previously mentioned, this resort was so quiet that “too many people” was never a problem anywhere at this resort.
The room was a bit smaller than the rooms we had at the Sheraton but the décor looked much nicer, brighter and upscale. The cool thing about the glass coffee table was that the top would slide off so that you could feed the fish in the lagoon below from the comfort of your living room. The bathroom had his and hers sinks and many amenities to make your stay comfortable. The digital safe in the room was a bit small but more than enough space for wallets, jewelry, etc. The shower was open air with no curtains and had a separate bath tub. The toilet area was much more private (it has a sliding door) than the one at the Sheraton Moorea which was nice, especially for those who might not be couples staying in this room. The outlets did not accommodate American appliances but that was easily solved with a quick call to the front desk where they brought us a simple-looking adapter to plug in our appliances. There was a mini bar, bathrobes, slippers, razor kit, sewing kit and more in the room which blew me away. I instantly felt that the Le Moana really was a place that wanted to make their guests as comfortable as possible. There were also two flat screen TVs; one in the bedroom, one in the living room. The deck was very nice as well and had an area where couples can sit and dine on the patio.
After going out for a while we came back to find a honeymoon gift left in our room for us; a bottle of champagne and a fruit basket. They also brought us some coconut slices wrapped up and a complimentary pareo for me with sample spa products and a T-shirt for my husband. The room also had a complimentary bottle of water.
Another cute thing was the nightly treats they brought to our room. They ranged from coconut cookies to brownies to madeleine’s and were something we started to look forward to after dinner.
Okay so here’s the one not so perfect thing that happened. Its weird because I think it was like a christening for every one of our first nights sleeping in an OW as a similar thing happened at the Sheraton Moorea. On our first night here I was awoken to a picking feeling. I got up and found what appeared to be an earwig-like bug running away. I promptly killed it and that was that. Never saw one of those again.
They also gave us a certificate for two free rum drinks at the bar.
Staying at the IC Le Moana and using the Thalasso resort amenities
Our stay included daily American breakfast buffet which was great. One thing we discovered during our stay was that you could use this benefit at either the Thalasso or the Le Moana so we definitely took advantage of this opportunity on our last day. We took the complimentary shuttle to the Thalasso which has scheduled arrivals about an hour apart throughout the day. The Le Moana does not have an on-site spa so you must go to the Thalasso for this. The shuttle boat is about a 15 minute ride. One thing that we observed about the Thalasso was that it was a very large property; much larger than both the Sheraton Moorea and the Le Moana but there were also a lot more people there too. The structures were grander in nature but I thought that people stayed on the motus to get a feeling of solitude. I saw more people here than we ever did on the grounds of the Le Moana which was quite interesting. I guess if everyone was staying here for the same reason its beginning to have the opposite effect.
I got a relaxing rain massage at the Deep Ocean Spa which was very nice but also very expensive. But the benefit to getting a massage was that when you paid for one, you could use the spa facilities for the rest of the day. Also, the Thalasso does not have direct access to its neighbors, one of which is the Le Meridien. In order to get to it, you need to walk down a back road that is rocky and uneven and has signs warning of dogs. We walked over anyways because we wanted to check out the property and we began to feel a bit claustrophobic there at the Thalasso although it wasn’t easy to figure out which way to go.
The Beach
The Le Moana has a beautiful beach that stretches out and has the most soft, white powdery sand I’ve ever felt. The restaurant is directly behind the beach and the pool is just beside it, also with a great view of the water. They have a cabana where they provide beach towels, kayak rentals and even have a basket which is filled with bread for feeding the fish which look like piranhas when you throw some in for them. There were always plenty of lounging chairs available as the beach was empty most of the time. The only negative about the beach and maybe this is a seasonal thing, was the windiness. At times it would get so windy it wasn’t very comfortable hanging out there as it made the air colder. The strange thing was we would walk across the hotel to Matira Beach where people go to watch the sunsets and the funny thing was, despite how windy it was on the Le Moana beach, the air was still and calm on Matira Beach. It may have been that the winds that were blowing in toward the Le Moana side completely protected this side of Matira point.
Other Bora Bora Advice/Tips…
When first visiting Tahiti I was pretty sure that I would be content with a one-time visit to these islands. But after seeing Bora Bora and the beauty it beholds I may decide that I need to return in the future. Especially after going on a trip to Kauai a month later, I definitely could see the difference in the water colors.
We were lucky enough to get same day reservations at the infamous La Villa Mahana restaurant on the night of our arrival and I would definitely recommend going if you can. If this is a must on your list, I wouldn’t chance making last minute reservations as from other couples we spoke to, others were not so lucky. The Activities desk at the Le Moana called to get the reservation for us and it was due to their repeated attempts that we were able to get in. La Villa Mahana was very quaint and romantic and it felt like you were a guest in someone’s home. The chef comes out to take your order and they include the tip in your bill.
The other restaurant just outside the Le Moana property, Fare Manuia was very good too. The portions were large and the dessert was delicious- we got the chocolate cake with raspberry sherbert.
We never rented a car during our stay on Bora Bora. We did rent bikes from the lady running the pension next door to the Le Moana where they were available at half the price that the hotel was renting them for. We circled the entire island of Bora Bora in about 4 hours riding at a leisurely pace. Most of the road on Bora Bora is flat and the bike ride can easily be done by mostly anyone. There was one uphill but other than that the ride was very easy. This in my opinion was the best way to see the island as you get to see the other non-touristy parts of the island and it allows you to take your time to see everything. There were a lot of huge dogs alongside the road but they never seemed fazed by us as we were riding by. Be aware that on Sundays, everything (the villages) is closed so its best to make sure you bike ride on any other day. We rode through Vaitape and stopped at a supermarket and purchased snack food items to bring back home to friends and family which was a great idea because we were able to bring home a bit of Tahiti with us and let others experience Tahitian foods at a much cheaper price than souvenirs would have been. We also stopped at Bloody Mary’s for lunch since we weren’t able to make it out there for dinner. The burgers were great.
On the Sunday we were on Bora Bora, the activities desk at the resort arranged a Shark & Sting Ray feeding tour for us that left from the Le Moana dock. When we were on Moorea and inquired about the shark tours, they told us that those were something that were more commonly done on Bora Bora so I was so relieved that Bora Bora was on our itinerary. The Shark tour was awesome and to this day, people keep asking me when looking at our underwater pictures if we really were in the water with the sharks. And the cool thing is they give you fish to feed the Sting Rays. They literally crawl all over you because of it! You don’t feed the sharks, but watch from behind a rope as your guide throws fish into the water for them at a safe distance but at times, they come close enough that it can be eerie. Eerie but the most awesome experience and I was too busy taking photographs to be scared! They then stop on the motu that the Pearl Beach resort is on and here you can get the most AMAZING pics with the translucent sky blue water and Mt. Otemanu in the back ground. It just takes my breath away thinking about it now. These are the photos you can use to show off to your friends, lol
Well, I can go on for ages about all of the wonderful things about Bora Bora but I’ve tried my best to tell the high points.
In Summary…
My husband said he wished we had spent more of our honeymoon on Bora Bora as opposed to Moorea but I liked both and was so happy we got to compare the two. Although I have to say that Bora Bora was slightly higher on my list in terms of its beauty I really enjoyed both islands. It was a magical experience and definitely worth the
trip. I will post more photos of Bora Bora as well, including the shots of the Shark tour. If you are headed here, enjoy it! This place definitely is a privilege to experience and due to its high cost, for many of us, it will be a once in a lifetime experience :)
