You’re gonna tell yourself: What? Another hotel story? Well, yes! In the continuity of our first partnership trip with the Maitai Bora Bora that we did a few months ago, we gladly accepted to spend the weekend at the superb Le Taha’a Island Resort and Spa, the well-known “Relais & Châteaux” hotel off the island of Taha’a, in French Polynesia. Locally, a lot of people know the hotel as one of the must-see references, a place to see at least once (and sleep if you can)!

As explained more recently in articles about French Polynesia, more and more people are asking us for information about honeymoon trips on the territory. Even if our blog is not necessarily focused on “luxury travel in French Polynesia”, it seems more and more relevant to us to diversify and talk about everything that makes French Polynesia what it is, from camping, to Airbnb, guesthouses, small hotels to luxury hotels. Indeed, this is also one of the territory’s attractions, its diversity.

So, here we go for a superb weekend in the islands (as they say here…even if I admit it, we ultimately already live on a rock, Tahiti, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean). We share with you our honest opinion of our weekend at the Taha’a Island Resort and Spa, and even if it’s a partnership agreement with the hotel, we remain entirely in control of our opinions and everything that is written in this article.

The Taha'a Island Resort & Spa, a reference in the 5-star world

First of all, we should note that we already knew the place. We came here two years ago to have breakfast on a Sunday morning. Because indeed, it’s also one of the very nice things to do here, if you are visiting Taha’a main island you can consider taking the shuttle from the main island and it brings you directly on the motu of this very nice hotel, to spend the day. That’s what we did and we talk about it in this article about Taha’a island. For those who can’t afford to stay here for example, you can spend a great day in this magical environment. In short, this time, we were very lucky to be able to spend two nights in the renowned bungalows on stilts!

Before telling you about our experience in the hotel, you should already know that it is actually located on a motu off the island of Taha’a, these famous sandbanks are as if they were on the coral reef. The island of Taha’a does not have an airport, so the hotel came as usual to pick us up directly at the airport of Raiatea Island, which shares the same lagoon as Taha’a.

We were warmly welcomed by the captain of the boat who brings us a beautiful flower necklace. Unfortunately, the weather was very bad at this time as it had been raining more or less for almost a week on the Leeward and Windward Islands. But we shouldn’t joke, we didn’t really have the right to complain too much about the weather, knowing that the forecast appeared quite normal considering the season. We were indeed in the middle of the rainy season in February.

We boarded the small private boat quietly. Nearing the hotel, my 4 year old son couldn’t hold still and kept repeating about 40 times during the trip: “where are the houses on the water? “, to think he would eventually get used to it. A half hour boat ride under a gloomy weather allowed us to finally arrive at the hotel. Even with the cloudy weather, the place was splendid. Of course, it’s even more beautiful with sun, and we were going to pray hard to make sure it made its appearance (which will happen eventually, so keep reading, eh?).

Upon arrival on the hotel’s pontoon and the big boat “from Vaiana” reminded us right away that we were in a very high class hotel. You could feel that things are not done randomly and the small details are well thought out. We wait in this beautiful entrance hall with local colors, beautiful vegetation in the background, a waterfall and some very good fruit juice “lemon-vanilla” that reminds us of the tropics! We were going to be fine for a weekend here.

Someone takes us quietly on foot to our bungalow, a superb “Bora Bora Overwater Suite”. The entrance to the bungalow is grandiose and blows you mind! The bungalow is huge, 90m², the entire place is tastefully decorated, it was perfect for me. The hostess leaves the room and we enjoyed discovering every nook and cranny of the bungalow. The main room is really spacious, with a king-size bed and a single bed, perfect for our little one. The bungalows are for 3 people. The room is truly decorated with care and the whole is clearly reminding the “life in the islands” with the exclusive use of local materials. No visible concrete, no tiles, only wood, ropes, braids, in short, the interior is splendid in my opinion (I say “I” because it is me, Sylvain who writes, but Melanie does not think any less…).

The bathroom is also superb, with a shower and bathtub available with a view of the lagoon. It’s not bad here! The bungalow naturally has access to a beautiful terrace overlooking the lagoon and Bora Bora Island, but at the time of our arrival, the weather is still not at its best, so we cross our fingers to enjoy this superb view as soon as the sun will point the tip of his nose!

Regarding equipment, of course, everything is there: air conditioning, Wi-Fi (which works perfectly even in a bungalow on stilts far from the reception), direct access to the lagoon, a window on the floor at the foot of the bed to observe the lagoon, television, Nespresso machine and a teapot, minibar (filled every day), hairdryer, safe, etc. In short, all you need to spend an excellent week-end and not miss anything, eh!

Considering the rainy weather at the time of our arrival, we are happy to enjoy our comfortable bungalow with our complimentary chocolates offered at the entrance of the bungalow and a small coffee to pass the afternoon.

The hotel in detail!

While waiting for the weather to change and to tell you a little about the hotel in detail, the hotel has four types of accommodation: the suites with a view of Bora Bora (where we were), the sunset overwater suites, the end of pontoon overwater suites (with even less vis-à-vis and a superb view), the Beach villas with swimming pool, the Taha’a overwater suite and the Royal Pool Beach villas with swimming pool which include 2 bedrooms with their own bathrooms. In short, there is nothing but good stuff! We had the chance to visit a beautiful beach villa for 4 people. The surroundings and the interior are just as beautiful as our suite on stilts. It is even bigger, has a small private outdoor pool and a beautiful beach access. All in all, for a family of 4, it’s the perfect little nest!

The hotel has 58 rooms in the end (which remains “few”), 3 restaurants (but the gourmet restaurant was closed during our visit) and two bars. Finally, and to spend a great time on this motu, the hotel also has a Spa center, a beautiful overflowing swimming pool (I’ll tell you about it later), a tennis court and a gym. Of course, the hotel offers a whole range of activities (in groups, for lovers, etc.) that you are free to book during your stay. Paddles and kayaks are also available free of charge and are perfect for discovering the lovely lagoon in front of the hotel. I forgot to mention, but the hotel has its own private coral garden in a “hoa” next door. These hoa are the false passes that connect the water from the ocean and the lagoon. I’ll tell you more about it below, on our Sunday, when the sun came out (and we forgot to put sunscreen on).

Finally, the hotel is also involved in coral protection and you can see several sites around the stilted suites where coral is tempting to grow back. Another positive point to note is that it is asked in the bungalow not to waste water and to preserve the environment by, for example, only changing towels when necessary.

The rest of the weekend

To get back to our weekend, we arrived in the late afternoon on Friday. Given the weather, we were not really able to enjoy the place during the evening, nor the next day, Saturday which was not superb either (rain and strong wind). However, there is no reason to be discouraged, and we went gladly on Friday evening to the restaurant “Le Vanille” for a very good meal. I have nothing to say about that, except that we really enjoyed ourselves. The menu is quite varied, what we could taste was excellent. I personally enjoyed the two risottos I tasted and the velvety Uru and pumpkin soup. The service is professional, fast and the prices are correct (we’re in a 5 star restaurant, I remind you!).

The next morning, and given the weather is always erratic, we take our time to enjoy the splendid breakfast buffet. I can’t say that I’ve tasted many buffets in 5-star hotels, but this one remains the best I’ve tasted (by far). The choice is not only infinite or almost, but it’s absolutely excellent. We appreciated especially the homemade jams and juices, the coconut/caramel cupcakes but also the very good omelets that you can order. We used this beautiful space upstairs, while the rain is falling, to enjoy our family moment! The day will unfortunately be the same for us: wind and rain all day long. We keep our fingers crossed for Sunday, which should be nice according to the weather forecast!

Our beautiful day finally arrived!

Our wish was granted since when we get up on Sunday morning, we finally saw some good weather and that clearly changes the situation! I often repeat: the lagoons and the turquoise water, it’s especially magical when the sun is out. And this is finally what awaits us, a perfect day, in magical scenery and sunny weather (even too much so, don’t get me started on the the sunburn, haha).

We start this beautiful day with the delicious and generous breakfast buffet. Nothing like an excellent meal to get off to a good start, right? We then enjoy fully the place and in particular the overflowing swimming pool with a view on the lagoon. The weather is perfect and there is almost no one in the hotel (well, so to speak). We are alone in the pool for more than an hour and honestly, it’s enjoyable! You even have the possibility to have a good cocktail directly in the water. It’s so good to be here!

We take advantage of the superb weather to go back and see the well-known coral garden. I am saying go back because we had seen it two years before during our day spent on the motu. I have to say that it’s still quite nice to walk in this beautiful coral garden, in less than a meter of water most of the time. It’s also very good for people who are not very comfortable in the water (I think of my father, haha!). On the agenda, no big scary fish if that reassures some people. You’ll enjoy watching the small coral potatoes spread out right and left in this fabulously colored hoa. On the menu: a lot of small classic coral fish, anemones, a lot of clams in beautiful colors, etc. In short, for those who are not used to it, it is a very beautiful discovery.

About the weather, because we had the good idea to go snorkeling between 12 and 13p.m obviously, it will be fatal for Melanie (and I wasn’t looking so either). Fortunately, the little one had his anti-UV tee-shirt. We enjoy a small meal at the restaurant “La Plage”, always so nice. The homemade salads are excellent and very elaborate by the way. We have the chance to enjoy our suite on stilts until the shuttle that will take us back to the island of Raiatea at the end of the afternoon to take our flight.

It was sadly a weekend that was too short (as is often the case) but in spite of the bad weather (which was to be expected in February), we had a great time in this sublime atmosphere. Is it worth it to come and spend a weekend here? Without a doubt in my opinion! To check out the current promotions and to book directly, come this way. It was the second time we had the opportunity to test an accommodation and the idea of finally being able to really talk about a place we now know is still top notch.

I hope that this little stroll made you want to discover Taha’a Island and the beautiful motu of the Taha’a Island Resort and Spa. I hope you liked our opinion anyway? Feel free to tell us what you thought about it by commenting. For those of you who are visiting the island of Bora Bora and who are looking for a stilted accommodation “without going broke”, I advise you to read our opinion on the Maitai Bora Bora!