Marae Manunu

I admit, when in FP I want the 5 star overwater bungalow experience…but we were blown away by the design, attention to detail and beauty of our room at Apatoa! Pinned as “Glamping” due to the structures it was anything but! On entering our room we were met with a five star interior! The pool is lovely, as was our private pool on the deck overlooking the lagoon. There is a beautiful fish filled reef just at the end of the dock. You can swim for hours with the fish, right out your front door! Dinners were impressive and the owners accommodating and friendly. The Island of Raiatea is laid back and peaceful. We highly recommend a visit to this hotel!

We stayed at Le Taha’a after our stay at the Westin in Bora Bora (so naturally it makes comparisons of service levels tough to be fair). I will break down my feedback into a few categories: - pick up at airport was quick and smooth. It takes about 45-60min by speedboat to transfer. The ride was lovely to see the island on the way as your are isolated from the main village once at the resort. - Check in process was where I got a bit frustrated. It took for the reception staff to acknowledge us and process our check in (close to 30-40min) - it just felt silly how slow it was. - we were then taken to the room. Firstly the room was beautiful - nothing I could fault here. It was clean and gave us the traditional authentic vibe we were seeking. Beautiful fish and sharks to watch - stunning - food at the resort was limiting and value for dollar was lacking. It was not on the same level as any of the 3 bora bora resorts we have stayed in although the price for accommodation is comparable. Drinks were also more basic. - We loved travelling into town for the tours- they were fantastic and loved them all. So much to see and do from the vanilla farm, atvs, pearl farming, snorkelling - we loved it. - overall loved the island, grateful we got to see it in our overall French Polynesia itinerary. The hotel’s aesthetic and gardens are stunning. The service and food is what made me not give it 5 stars. It is just not at the level it’s charging for which made me feel a bit ripped off.