FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - DISCUSSION for Hilton Honors Hotels in French Polynesia (Tahiti) {PYF}
Old Oct 8, 2009, 11:51 am
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Thunderroad
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Hilton Moorea, Hilton Bora Bora Nui: Recent stays, comparison, room info, weather

Last month (September 2009) for our anniversary my wife and I went to French Polynesia and stayed for four nights each at the Hilton Moorea and then the Hilton Bora Bora (BB) Nui. We used HH points for our reservations, but paid for the upgrades to the OWBs. (Basically, the free upgrade you get as a Gold member, which is what I am, and as a Diamond only automatically gets you a better land-based room, not an OWB, but more on this below.) We loved our times at both, though as you'll see below I offer some cautions and advice, particularly re construction at the Bora Bora Nui.

Since folks here at FT (and at Tripadvisor.com, or TA, which also was a very useful resource) were so helpful in supplying answers to so many of my questions in preparing this trip, and since a trip to FP sometimes means a special, sometimes once-in-a-lifetime vacation for folks, I thought I'd provide a detailed post for future potential visitors. I include contact info for reservations people at the hotels.

I also provide this information as one post rather than dividing it between the respective threads on the two properties because I compare the two and provide some more general info.

Bear with me as I go into far too much detail for most folks--the detail is for the relatively few here at FT who obsess as much as I do over sunsets, room location, etc.--and don't provide much information about things like the many great activities there that we were too blissfully lazy to check out. Feel free PM me if you have questions.

As you'll see, I first gush about how great over-the-water bungalows are; get into non-OWB stays a bit; then discuss the hotels individually; then compare them; then add a few other general observations regarding the weather, etc.

Over-the-water bungalows (OWBs)

We'd never stayed in an over-the-water bungalow until this trip. We stayed in them in both Moora and BB. An OWB is truly a unique, wonderful, magical, romantic experience (am I being enthusiastic enough?) that I'd highly recommend at least once in your life for anyone who can afford it, particularly since if you're going to these properties it may well be for a honeymoon, anniversary or other very special occasion.

To be perched over a gorgeous lagoon, particularly though not only while hanging out on the deck, is fantastic. Plus an OWB has many other fine features, including lots of privacy and being able to simply dip into the water to snorkel. In addition, unlike many tropical rooms, including certainly the beachfront ones at the BB Hilton and I assume the Moorea Hilton (though I didn't hear any comments there), there are no mosquitoes in the room or on the deck at night. As a more minor matter, the fact that there are not grounds to tend means fewer staff coming and going near the OWBs.

Finally, both Hiltons' OWBs are very large (at least compared to regular hotel rooms), very nicely set up, and have great decks. We loved the whole OWB set-up at both places so much that we were happily slugs practically our whole time there, rarely leaving our room or deck except for snorkeling and (sometimes) meals. At any other property we would have gladly enjoyed the hotels' nice pools, particularly the wonderful infinity pool at the BB, for instance, but at the Hiltons we had no need or desire to do so.

Rooms other than OWBs

Both of these properties are so nice and the islands and lagoons so beautiful (and, from our admittedly limited contact, the people on the islands so nice) that you can still have a great vacation even without an OWB--perhaps particularly if you're more active than we were and are exploring the islands more. But the OWBs are unique. And given that the beaches at the properties are pleasant but still small, and given how expensive FP generally is (including the rooms, meals, drinks, etc. at the properties and the car rentals and excursions outside them), I do wonder whether nice resorts, great beaches and far lower prices in Thailand, the Caribbean, etc. give better value for one's money if you're not doing an OWB.

Hilton Moorea

We first went to the Moorea property Sept. 4-8. Here's a link to the lay-out of the property's various rooms: http://www.submarineaz.com/Tahiti%20...orea%20Map.jpg

As I mentioned, we secured the rooms with points and paid for the OWB upgrade. I paid about $200/night in advance to do so, though the hotel did give me the option of simply taking my chances and getting a free upgrade to an OWB upon arrival. I played it safe and paid in advance, but while there I did run into one couple who got a free upgrade based on Gold or Diamond status, and either here or at TA read about a two or three more couples who similarly did so. The advantages of shelling out the money in advance are, of course, the guaranteed upgrade plus you're likely to be able to get a better location from among the OWBs. I also received a PM along the way from someone who stayed there longer than we did and also paid in advance for the upgrade to the OWB, but was able to include a free upgraded night as part of his deal with the hotel. So especially in these hard economic times, folks might be able to negotiate a better deal than I did.

For folks who don't access the map of the property (or even for those who do), I'll describe the lay-out of the OWBs: there are basically three walkways that each have OWBs off of them. I believe that the rooms and decks are the same on all of them, but the nicest in terms of privacy and views are those the furthest out toward the ends of the walkways. We had and loved #86, almost at the end of the middle prong of walkways. If I had to pick just one, though, I would take #87, at the very end because it's the most private. (Though as it turned out, it was rather windy during our stay, so 86 was probably better in terms of its deck being more sheltered from the wind.) Another room that would be my top pick would be 109, the last OWB at the end of the westward walkway. I'd rank it just slightly below 87 and 86 because it has an observation deck next to it that anyone can use--but that deck is really a very minor intrusion, since we only saw people going out to it for a few minutes around sunset, and in any event 109 retains some privacy with respect to it.

For those who love sunsets, as we do, the best views would be from the west side or the end of the middle of the three walkways (specifically, 82, 84, 86 and 87, with the higher number the better) or perhaps better yet from the west side of the more westward prong (100, 101, 103, 105, 107 and 109, again with the higher the better). It turned out, though, that even in September, supposedly during the driest season, we got some clouds and even a little rain, so we only ended up with one really nice sunset. Plus, as I understand it from the popular Jan Prince guidebook to FP, because the hotel is on the north side of the island you can only see sunsets in the sea from about May through September. But these are real quibbles; everything else was paradise.

The nicest views of the dramatic mountains on Moorea itself are from probably the end and certainly the east side of the eastward walkway (e.g., 69, 70, 71, 73). I'm pretty sure but not certain that the end room, 75, would have that view--and in any event it's the most private on that prong.

The rooms were nicely refurbished recently. The lay-out is such that the bathrooms are separate from the bedroom, but not completely walled off--not ideal, but not a big problem.

We didn't check out the garden rooms (ie, the room areas that are not OWBs), partly because a portion of the property was closed as the hotel is I believe installing plunge pools for those rooms. This could mean some construction noise for several months, so with this in mind I'd suggest contacting the hotel to make sure that your room is as far from the construction as possible. For the OWB's, this would mean being as far out on the water as possible. On the other hand, when we were planning our stay I saw some posts saying that the hotel had nicely handled the refurbishment of the OWBs well with little noise or intrusion, so that's a good sign.

The other noteworthy aspect of this construction is that it could be that the hotel is simply booking people who otherwise would stay in those garden rooms are being placed in OWBs, but I don't know how that's playing out. I believe I've seen posts to that effect on TA (or maybe here on FT?), but also say one from someone who got bumped to another hotel and was not at all happy about it.

A few rooms that I wouldn't recommend from a privacy point of view are 46, 47 and 48, which do look out at the beach (nice) but have everyone passing by them en route to the restaurant, bar, reception, etc. The other rooms in the garden (ie, non-OWB) part of the resort looked kind of close together, but I'm sure they were nice inside and our perspective was kind of distorted by the OWB.

The property itself is very pretty and peaceful. The very small beach is nothing special, but it's certainly a pleasant place to relax.

A nice spread at the breakfast buffet (including the continental breakfast portions, which are free for Hilton Gold members); other than that we just ordered room service (which was OK, but nothing special) and ate at the crepe bar in the middle of the OWB walkways. Food there was good, drinks nicely prepared, and the staff very friendly. It's only open from about 5 p.m. onward. They feed the small sharks, turtles and other fish that gather below in the illuminated waters, so that's something of a nice show.

We loved the crepe bar, but I'd suggest requesting a room that's not close to it. Most evenings it seemed to be a pretty relaxed scene, but it could get noisy.

Decent but small gym, with maybe four aerobic machines and a basic weight machine. Never crowded when I was there.

The hotel seems to be quite good at trying to honor email requests regarding sunsets, away from the wind, getting shade on the deck, noise, etc. The very helpful (reservations manager?) there was Norma Aue, at [email protected], whom I'd suggest at the main contact person. A more junior but also helpful reservations person you could also try is [email protected]

Hilton Bora Bora Nui

After Moorea, we moved on to BB for Sept. 8-12. Again, it was a fantastic time, in some ways even nicer than Moorea because our room , deck and the property were even nicer But I came away ambivalent about the place. The bottom line is: 1) you can have a truly memorable stay there (as we did), but as of a few weeks ago there was construction going on at both ends of the resort that makes some (though certainly not all) rooms and the spa noisy; 2) before you go, specify that you want to be far from the construction noise (which, not knowing about the construction, we did not do); and 3) be prepared to complain quite strongly (which we did do) if you nevertheless don't like your room.

First, the wonderfully positive parts of our stay. After our first day near the construction, the very helpful assistant manager Karin moved us to a wonderful room that for the most part was quiet. (More on this and other rooms later.)

More generally, this is a beautiful property. As I've already said, I'd urge anyone who can afford it to opt for the OWBs, and particularly the deluxe horizon OWBs (more on the room categories below), but even those who don't do that and stay on the land-based rooms have a very nice, peaceful location, with a pleasant beach and beautiful infinity pool to enjoy. I'm not sure that the non-OWB rooms and the overall hotel experience are better than what you'd get at other beautiful beachfront properties in Thailand, the Caribbean, etc.--and in fact in French Polynesia they might well be more expensive and the beach itself isn't as nice as elsewhere. Still, they're very nice. And between the fact that folks spend lots of time in their rooms and sometimes take trips offsite to do activities during the day, the hotel has a very quiet, private feel to it that I imagine would still be the case if it were full (which it was not when we were there).

Another assistant manager, Chris, was very helpful in answering all of my questions in advance of our visit, responding to my requests and providing information (except about that construction!). For those requesting specific rooms/locations or who have other queries, his email is [email protected].

If you ask him to, he'll also email you a map of the hotel lay-out, including which rooms are located where. This map can come in quite handy in figuring out where you might want to stay at the resort. They can't assign specific room numbers in advance (though of course they assign the category of room in which you'll stay), but they do their best to honor requests regarding whether you want the best views, your location in the resort, etc.

Another nice feature was, as a Hilton Gold, I got a free breakfast (both hot and cold items, including both the buffet and that we could order from the waitresses) for my wife and myself each day.

We paid $400/night for our upgrades from an (award stay) beachfront room to the OWB. Unlike Moorea, it doesn't seem like we could have gotten a free upgrade to an OWB if we'd been willing to take our chances.

Now, our problem: The hotel is in the middle of replacing the thatch roofs roofs in the 300 series of OWBs and our room (325) was perhaps 100 feet fr0m where such work was going on. I don't want to over-represent or under-represent the nature of the construction. It was not jackhammers, but it was a good deal of hammering--not quite constant, but certainly frequent. I would not be crazy about this on a business trip or on any vacation, but for a hotel that bases its appeal substantially on offering a very special, tranquil, relaxing experience, it was definitely disappointing.

When we went in to talk to assistant manager Karin on our second day, she searched through other available rooms and could not come up with anything. I suggested 107, which is an extra large and rather private suite--even bigger than the other Deluxe units--with nice views (including of very dramatic Mt. Otemanu on the main island). At first she said no, but when my wife (thankfully!) forcefully weighed in saying that this was really bad for a hotel such as this that advertises its tranquility and that it made for a miserable experience, Karen gave us 107. Perhaps it also helped that I reminded her that I'd already paid that hefty charge ($400/night) to upgrade from our free Hilton Honors reward room to the OWB (which was a Deluxe, though I think that's the charge for any OWB upgrade), but in any event the LESSON is don't be afraid to complain and to do so in a strong (but of course polite) manner.

The lesson extended to two other couples we met there. One had to move twice, first because they were given the wrong room category and the second time because of th construction noise. Another couple started in a regular beach villa, but was able to move to an OWB after getting a lot of mosquito bites. It might have helped that second couple that they were members of the Hilton vacation club.

(I'd add that, like that first couple, we encountered some discrepancies on our bill, such as our being charged for breakfast. Unlike those unfortunate, very nice folks, who were still trying to clear up the problems even as they prepared to depart, our problems were pretty easily corrected, though in fact we still had to wait until a manager was on duty the next day to do so.)

To make matters worse, though, the construction is not only taking place in the 300's. Toward the other end of the resort and up the hill, (that is, near the hillside villas in the 400 series of rooms and above the OWBs in the 100s) the hotel is starting to replace the roofs on all of the land-based rooms with tile. So more construction there and lots by the nearby hillside spa. We very occasionally heard a bit of it in 107, but it was not bad at all. And I should add that in the other parts of the resort relatively far from the construction, you could not hear much construction work at all. At least when we were there, then, the parts of the 100 series of rooms further out into the water, all of the 200 series and the those around 335 seemed pretty quiet, as did the breakfast/lunch restaurant. (More on the rooms and the lay-out of the hotel below.) But the noise at that end could well get worse before it gets better--if and when he construction moves down to the beach villas there, it will be that much closer to all of the 100's and the rest of the resort.

I certainly understand that a hotel must repair and renovate property from time to time, and I want to emphasize how much we appreciate Karin fixing our problem and how delighted we were with our stay in the end. And I'd add that if you're the type not easily bothered by noise or if you plan on spending little time at the resort during the day (but if that's the case, why go there?) , then much of what I've said about it could be irrelevant to you.

It could well be that this discussion of the construction will soon become irrelevant; a couple of folks who PM'd me in response to my post at TA were told by the hotel that it should mostly be wrapped up by the end of October. From what I saw, I 'm not at all sure about that.

Anyway, for the hotel and future guests there while the construction quite possibly continues in coming months, I'd suggest the following:
1. The hotel should post a notice on its website and otherwise inform potential visitors of the construction work going on.
2. It should only be doing repair work at one end of the the hotel, not both. We were lucky and delighted to get 107. But if there had been more guests, there would have not been a quiet room to give us. That would have been a major, major drag. And that's why I'm only rating the hotel Average--despite our fantastic time there (which rated Excellent), it could easily have been a bad stay (which would have rated Poor or even Terrible).
3. If, as seems likely, it will be doing repair work at the spa end of the property, it should temporarily move those spa facilities into rooms at the other end (the 300's) and, again, not be doing construction there.
4. In booking rooms, guests should make sure to request and receive assurances about being far from construction.
5. As noted, be prepared to complain forcefully if you are nevertheless stuck near construction work.
6. Check your bill the day before you check out for discrepancies. And if you've paid some advance deposit, check it even earlier.
7. Finally, make sure to get and bring with you written confirmations of the kind of room you've booked, any deposits you've paid, etc.

A few more scattered and mostly positive observations: Most staff were really great--friendly, efficient, helpful--with the exception of a couple of breakfast waitresses. In our experience room service was fairly quick but the food was lousy. (Though, for what it's worth, room service is cheaper than eating at the hotel restaurants.) Maid service was very prompt and pretty good, except for not clearing away and replacing dirty glasses. I'd read a few comments suggesting that it is a long walk from one end of the hotel property to the other; we did not find this a problem at all, and in any event the front desk will dispatch a cart to take you from A to B if you wish. The fitness center is rather basic--four exercise machines (treadmill, cross-trainer, stairs and bike), plus a few weight machines and some free weights. But it was never crowded when I stopped in, is on a nice hillside location, and is decently air-conditioned.

Now to (finally!) move away from the noise issue and to describe the rooms themselves in a more general way: There are at total of six basic categories of rooms--three land-based and three OWBs. The OWBs are attached to three sets of broad wooden walkways (except that some in the 300 series branch off of a tiny spit of land instead). The largest array are those with room numbers in the 300's. They are the ones toward the west end of the property. The ones in the 100's are toward the east end. Those in the 200's are in the middle.

The following info comes from the hotel map and my own observations. The first and most basic of the OWB categories comprises 12 villas that are simply called OWBs (or Overwater Villas). These are generally the ones that are closest to the shore and/or to the Reception Area (which can be a bit noisy with boat and human traffic) and/or have the worst views.

The next category comprises 40 Horizon OWBs. They're characterized by pretty much falling between the other two categories in terms of views, etc.

Finally, the third category consists of 30 Deluxe Horizon OWBs (on the map, called Premium OWBs). These have the best views and/or the most privacy. Those toward the ends of the walkways in the 100's and 300's are Deluxe. (When I simply say Deluxe here, I mean Deluxe Horizon OWBs.) All of those in the 200's are also Deluxe--I think this is because, while they are close to the shore, they all have unobstructed views straight out to the horizon. I'm pretty sure that all the OWBs are the same size and, except for those at the ends of the walkway that have even more privacy, there are equal spaces between them.

Preferences will of course vary, but if I had to pick one OWB to go back to it would be 109. It's at the end of the walkway, looks straight out to the horizon, and has a sunset view (at least where the sun was setting in September) that is not obstructed by land or other villas. (As such, it's a Deluxe Horizon OWB.) 110 and 111 also had sunset views, though though they are slightly less private than 109, with views just slightly less marvelous and therefore "only" Horizon rather than Deluxe. 108 also looks straight out to the horizon and is at the end of the walkway, as is a Deluxe, but can't see the sunset.

Two more units that have great views are 105 and 106, which look east and through a gap toward Mt. Otemanu on the main island of Bora Bora.

There is an additional spur of walkway for the 100's. 124 and 125 are the Deluxe along that spur, with 126 a Horizon and 127-130 regular OWBs. I think they're categorized this way because of their relative distance from reception and because of their relative horizon views. Of these, my guess would be that 126 would get the sunset; 125, 123 and 122 might, and 124 would not.

For the most part, the 200's (which run parallel to and close to the shore), all seem equally nice. The negative exceptions to this rule might be 201 and 202, which are closest to Reception (though, being at the end of the walkway, 201 has more privacy). The positive exception is 212, which is at the other end of the walkway.

The 300's are situated such that the two units farthest out at the end of the walkway are two-story, two bedroom units. Because of these, there are not "regular" Deluxe units at the end. The sun sets (again, at least in September) such that the units on the west side of the walkway see sunset, except (due to the curve of the walkway) those at the far end and possibly at the end closest to shore. (I'd add the the two very closest to the shore, 337 and 338, are also fairly close to a boat landing area, which occasionally adds a bit of activity to that neck of the woods.) Units 325-336 should get sunset views, with the higher numbers the better views even though their closer to the shore. In fact, Horizon (but not Deluxe)335 and 336 might have the best views and are situated along the curve such that they might have a tad more privacy than the Deluxe rooms toward the other end.

As for the land-based units, the most basic are the 19 Lagoon-view suites, which unlike the other rooms are not stand-alone units. We did not check them out, but their balconies looked nice from the outside. At least on the hotel map, what seem to be a few stand-alone units also are classified in the same way. 510-527 are the block of attached rooms. 503-505 are stand-alones on raised platforms, with 505 seeming best situated by virtue of being a bit higher and more set back than the others. They are all toward the west end of the property.

One step up from these in terms of the hotel category and price are nine Beach Villas (not literally on the beach, but set back from it perhaps 20-50 feet). 501-502 are toward the west end, and like 503-505 seem to be stand-alones on raised platforms. (I don't know why they'd be in a higher category than 503-505, especially since from the outside 505 looked like the most nicely situation of the lot.) The rest of the beach villas are toward the other end, in 400s. The sit flat on the ground. One of the couples that I previously mentioned found that (as one might expect) they had lots of mosquitoes at night, as well as ants, and found it rather dark in the evening as well.

For those of you who are Hilton Diamond or Golds, the Beach Villas constitute the free upgrade from the basic Lagoon Villas (unless perhaps you're better at negotiating this stuff than I am!) As I mentioned, to get the OWB I shelled out $400/night to further upgrade to the OWB. I'm not clear on whether I would have gotten a Deluxe OWB if I hadn't requested and confirmed it. On the other hand, in view of the global economy and the fact that the resort is not full, I'm also not clear whether I actually had to pay as much as $400/night for that upgrade if I'd tried negotiating it at the outset. Folks who pursue the matter and/or stay longer than four nights might be able to do better than I did.

Finally, also in the 400's but up the hill are the seven hillside villas. In booking my room, I was offered an upgrade into them for, if I recall correctly, about $100 or $150 per night. I'm glad I didn't take it, partly because these are closest to the most construction right now but even more because, as I've already gushed, we loved the OWB so much. During quieter times, these would offer nice views over the resort, though they probably would be buggy and are a bit of a climb up from the rest of the property.

Comparing the two properties

Bora Bora is a nicer property with nicer rooms and decks. Again, Moorea is great, but the Bora Bora rooms are even bigger--kind of like what some hotels would call junior suites, in that the living area is semi-divided from the bedroom. Plus the BB decks are larger and have more of an overhang to shield you from the sun. Plus better snorkeling at the BB property.

Still, if we had to do just one or the other again we'd do the Moorea property because there is more to do on that island (and next time around we'd be more active, particularly if we just were staying at one place rather than splitting out time); it's a more beautiful island; the crepe bar is informal, good and fun; the prices for food and other items are lower; and the paid upgrades for Hilton award stays are cheaper (as noted, free if you're willing to chance availability and $200/night if you want to confirm it ahead at Moorea, versus $400/night at BB); and if you stay on Moorea instead of Bora Bora you save by virtue of not paying for air fare.

One other difference that my wife especially appreciated is that one late afternoon in Moorea, while we were lounging on the deck and assumed that the staff was simply doing turn-down service, the maids put a path of flower (I think they were rose) petals to the bed and bath. They also filled the bath and put the petals on the surface. My wife was in heaven! It was added yet another special moment to our anniversary trip, which I assume is the reason the staff did this to begin with. No similar treatment in Bora Bora. I'm certainly not complaining about the Bora Bora Hilton not doing something so special and unexpected. Rather, I'm just noting how the Moorea Hilton made our stay there even more special.

One other consideration that didn't affect us but could affect others is that Moorea seems better run. I've heard and read more stories of problems with bills, etc. at Bora Bora--including the one I mention above, about the folks who were still trying to straighten out their bill even as they had to depart for the airport--though that impression obviously falls into the realm of the purely anecdotal.

(Update to the above point: Moorea posted the HH points I accrued there very quickly, while more than two months later Bora Bora has not done so.)

Having said all this, we're glad we got to experience both, especially given how great our time on Bora Bora turned out. We'd wondered in advance whether only four days on each was enough to settle in and relax at both places, but it proved fine.

Finally, though, the current construction and relative prices aside, if you simply want one place to hang out and do nothing, the Hilton Bora Bora is the nicer of the two, as great as Moorea is.

The weather

We'd booked our trip for September partly because it was for our anniversary but also because we thought we'd get nothing but sunny days. Wrong! We got a fair amount of clouds and even a couple of rains. Since the temperature was warm enough, this was not a problem--in fact, sometimes it's nice to hang out outside under clouds than under a blazing tropical sun. But don't expect uniformly sunny skies during the dry season. And don't (sniff, sniff) expect guaranteed beautiful sunsets or, if at the BB, guaranteed views of Mt. Otemanu from 107 or the couple of other rooms that are situated to see it. I noticed a post at TA from someone who visited the area in July and also got some iffy weather, so I don't think we simply hit a few extremely unusual days.

What we also hit, though the guide books do make this possibility clearer, is lots of wind for a good part of our time there. Again, not a big problem, particularly because our room in Moorea partly sheltered us from it. But it did alter our plans a couple of times in terms of skipping snorkeling and not having dinner one night at the otherwise nice Moorea crepe bar because it was just too blustery.

Having said this, I still suspect that the "dry" season has an advantage over the rainy season in that during the latter you have more of a chance, albeit small, of getting days of constant rain.

If the wind or, for that matter, the sun, are big concerns, you can ask the reservations folks at the two hotels to try to take account of your preferences in selecting a room whose deck is sheltered from the wind and/or provides shade from the sun by virtue of how it's situated. I'm sure they'll do the best they can to get you what you request.

Other travel stuff

1. We traveled Air Tahiti Nui in F both ways. The seats aren't in the same league as most major international airlines these days, but they're fine and the service was great.
2. To get around the islands, we took Air Tahiti (no connection with ATN As far as I know) and were very satisfied. Comfortable, clean planes, well air-conditioned (even as we boarded them on hot days), competent FA's and other staff, etc.
3. Still, if you're just going to Moorea, I think the 30-minute ferry ride would be more fun than the quick airplane hop.
4. We had to overnight in Tahiti before going on to Moorea. We stayed in the Intercontinental just five minutes or so from the airport. A very nice place, though make sure you give yourself enough check-out time in case there's only one person at the desk when you want to leave.
5. Rented a car from Avis in Moorea and bopped around the island. If all we wanted to do was simply have lunch outside and drive the whole way around the island, we easily could have done it in the four-hour time slot that Avis offers. But we wanted to get up to the viewpoint on one of the main mountains, visit the juice factory store (which, the way, has a very nice little pearl/jewelry shop run by an American women, on the side road leading up to it--best deals we saw on the island), etc., so rented it for 24 hours. Pretty easy to do and the car was fine, though we almost had some confusion about drop-off point so be clear about that with the Avis folks.
6. As a former bartender, I say with great confidence that the Blood Mary drinks at Blood Mary's bar/restaurant are the worst Bloody Mary's in the world. Food no great shakes either, though in fairness I believe that the place was not named for the drink and that the dinner menu is better than what they offer at lunch, when we were there.

Whew! Enough already.

Last edited by Thunderroad; Apr 4, 2011 at 2:38 pm
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