Papeete

After an eight hour flight from LA, we arrived at Fa'a'ā International Airport  in Papeete, which is the main city and capital of Tahiti, at 5 a.m. along with a lot of other slightly disoriented travelers. Originally, we had a flight to Moorea at 7:15 a.m. with Air Tahiti but a few days before our trip, our Tahitian travel agent, Herald, who was recommended by Andressa, told us of a flight scheduling change to 10:15 a.m. and gave us the option to book a ferry, leaving at 7:30 a.m., which we did - this is one of the main reasons we strongly recommend booking this trip with Andressa’s help and through her Tahitian contacts. They will advise of any changes in plans and help make alternative arrangements. 

As is typical, upon arriving in a new island, one of the agents that works with Herald greeted us with a huge “Maeva” (welcome in Tahitian), flower leis and all our travel documents (plane tickets, vouchers and itinerary). This ritual was one we could easily get accustomed to: upon arriving at each new hotel, we were met with more leis, a glass of chilled tropical fruit juice and a cool towel scented with fragrant frangipane -- it is a delightful and memorable way to be welcomed! Tahitians are exceptionally friendly, courteous and genuine. No false or fake smiles from these islanders.

 

Our overwater bungalow was number 30, facing Taha’a and with great privacy. Other more expensive options were bungalows facing Bora Bora (honestly — the view is very distant and frankly, not worth the price) or facing the sunset (we spent an afternoon at one and the sunset view is worth it). All bungalows are thatched-roof, rustic Polynesian style, made of wood and other natural materials. The deck had two lounge chairs with access to the water, which is only about waist-deep. They were very well illuminated with big windows and glass doors to provide us with a wake-up view that we did not want to leave. At the end of the bed, there was a glass opening where we spent lots of time feeding the fish with the appropriate food sold at the boutique located at the lobby. Usually, most of the fish that gathered under our bungalow were small, but two nights we saw a huge wahoo; it was awesome! The facilities are in excellent shape. The main restaurant at the hotel, Le Vanille, is where breakfast is served. Like most big hotels in Tahiti, breakfast was delightful, with an assortment of great foods including fruit and omelettes. We had dinner there twice and chose dishes with vanilla as main ingredient; they were subtle yet fragrant. The other restaurants are La Plage and The Ohiri. La Plage is very casual and pleasant pool-side dining under the stars. We ate there one night and the food and ambience was superb. We did not eat at The Ohiri, a gourmet restaurant, as we were told that it was pricey and the food no better than that offered at the other restaurants.

 

There are several restaurants but usually only two or three are open for dinner, depending on the day of the week. Iriatai French Restaurant offers exceptional cuisine and breathtaking views of the beach and lagoon; this is the restaurant where an amazing breakfast is served. The cocktails at the Iriatai Wine Bar were mediocre but the bar and restaurant offer an amazing variety of fine wines from the cellar. The Banyan Chinese Restaurant serves a variety of seafood and other traditional yummy Chinese dishes. The Upa Upa Lounge Bar has a very cool glass floor and serves tapas and Japanese finger foods — it is a nice place to hang out after dinner and have a digestive or a cigar. There are two casual restaurants at the hotel, one is the Tamure Beach Grill, between the pool and the beach where they have movie screenings and the weekly traditional Polynesian night show featuring fire-throwers and local dance ensembles. The other one is the Tarava Pool Bar, serving only cocktails and beverages during pool hours. This hotel has a very nice pool area!