Tom Karren

Review of Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & ...

We spent an amazing week here on our second trip t...

We spent an amazing week here on our second trip to Tahiti. Moorea is amazing. It s like Hawaii and France had a more primitive baby. We love the setting, the people, and the food.

Unfortunately, we can t give this hotel the 4 star review it deserves. Since our first trip here in 2013, time and the elements have been kinda hard on this property. It s badly in need of renovation. Even so, we did have a lovely stay here and since it s such an epic place I ll give you a list of our good and bad points.

The good:
* It s an amazing setting here. Beautiful ocean, mountains, wildlife, and grounds.
* The staff are friendly, and the people here are delightful. The Tahitian and French culture meld to make a really delightful place.
* The crepe bar on the boardwalk is a delight. You can enjoy peaceful evenings under the stars with fish and sharks swimming below, all while you eat delicious crepes.
* The buffet breakfast and dinner were good (all things considered). After a few days, we noticed some things about the buffet that we didn t love but for the most part I d give it a thumbs up.
* We love the bungalows. In the class we booked, you get a private bungalow with a fenced in porch, deck, and plunge pool. It s a stand alone building nestled in with the others offering lots more privacy and tranquility than a regular hotel room. We enjoyed spending time on our private fenced in deck in the afternoons when the breezes picked up.
* We enjoyed good room service and they kept the room made up and the mini bar stocked.
* Access to the lagoon and ocean are great here. You can kayak, SUP, snorkel, swim, or whatever you want to do right from the beach at the hotel. They have the standard activities desk that can hook you up with jetski rides and snorkel tours right from the hotel dock.

The bad:
* The property doesn t need maintenance, it needs a full restoration. The relentless sun and elements haven t been kind to the fences, decks, siding, and especially the roofs of the over the water bungalows. It s feels weird to be at a four star joint and be looking at completely worn out roofs with plastic/rubber slats draped over the worn down roofing material to keep water out. Our bungalow fencing, siding, decking, and flooring were all extremely weathered and worn down.
* Our bungalow didn t smell great when we got here. It had a bathroom kinda smell, and not in a good way. Housekeeping fabreezed it and kept it tidied up, but it had a musty, sometimes even slightly sewer like smell during our stay.
* We are avid divers, so we were surprised when the activity desk would not book our dives for us. They were kind enough to have the concierge call the dive operator and hand us the phone (which I could have done myself). If you dive, this is probably not your kind of place.
* With limited on property food options, after a few days, we wanted to go try some other food. The off property restaurants on the island are a fair bit away, so we had to take a cab out and back, which adds a fair amount of cost to any such adventure, and the food here is anything but cheap.
* The food at the poolside grill is very average and grew quickly grew old.
* They drive their electric service carts everywhere on the property. We felt like we had to have eyes in the back of our heads as we walked around the property. I don t think there was a single time we walked anywhere on the property that we didn t have to step off the path to allow a service cart to whiz by.

Some tips:
* There is a current in the lagoon. While we were here, the current was 1-2 MPH west. Be advised that swimming, SUP, kayaking, etc is much harder against the current. We did enjoy swimming downstream and then walking back on the beach adjacent to the hotel. Just don t go all the way to the public park unless you want to fight the current all the way back or be prepared to walk (possibly barefoot).
* There is a trigger fish that is very territorial out there on the reef. He bites - lol.
* The beach at the public park is very nice and has showers.
* Bring some snacks. There are none here.