Radisson Plaza Resort Tahiti, 3 nights
Here's a property with 700 TripAdvisor reviews, yet rarely ever mentioned on FT. Of the TA reviews, most are at least somewhat negative, citing: there's not much to do, location is remote, taxi fares are high, hotel food is mediocre and overpriced, staff is incompetent, internet is slow... pretty much everything that can go wrong under the sun. Nevertheless we wanted to use our Club Carlson points, and you get the last night free on a stay of 2 or more nights. Did I mention few FT'ers seem to have touched this place? Good use of points + novelty. How can a true FT'er refuse? So sit back and learn everything you need to know about this elusive being.
As mentioned, it is fairly remote, about 16 km from the airport and 8 km from downtown Papeete. There are a few ways to get to the hotel:
1. By taxi.
2. By bus to downtown, then by bus to hotel (not practical with large bags).
3. By pre-arranged car service.
4. By bus/taxi to downtown, then take the complementary hotel shuttle at the Market.
We originally considered #4 and #2, but our plane was delayed an hour, making it too late for the hotel shuttle and bus. We wanted to try the food trucks downtown upon arrival but was told there was no luggage storage there, so we decided to just take a taxi straight to the hotel. We read several TripAdvisor reviews about the one way ride costing up to 4500 XPF (~$52 USD), so were pleasantly surprised when the taxi driver referenced a flat rate of 3,100 XPF to the hotel (posted at the airport taxi stand). Still not cheap, but better than expected. The taxi ride takes 20-25 minutes.
The property pre-upgraded us to the
basic suite on DH's Silver status. Club Carlson has 3 elite levels - Silver, Gold, and Concierge. So Silver is equivalent to Hilton and Marriott Silver and 2/3 of the way to Hyatt Platinum. I've never been upgraded as a Marriott or Hilton Silver in the US, (though did receive a massive upgrade as a Hyatt Plat), so I consider this upgrade generous (of course, I realize different geographical markets may have different incentives). You either get Silver or Gold status with the CC (depending on which version you qualify).
As far as the condition of the property, I am here to confirm reports that it could use renovation. There are visible chips and on scrapes on the floor throughout the property. Minor but noticeable. Our suite was fine but felt adequate rather than luxurious. That's how we felt about the property in general.
The shower featured a
partial glass door along this line:
I'd like to take this moment to describe my
disdain for it.
To me, the whole point of the door is to prevent water from leaking out of the shower area, wetting the floor and other things in the vicinity, often leading to the wetting of other things downstream. Yes, it is
possible to confine your shower activity to the coverage of the partial door, but Dear Designer, I want to shower
comfortably. I don't want to watch my every move to ensure it does not go out of the boundary of the small coverage area. That's why
completely enclosed shower door was invented.
I would like it more if it is mostly enclosed, but the ones I've seen are mostly
open. I just don't understand.
I'd like to know your opinion. Do you like partial glass shower doors?
Back to the review, another horror we were expecting is the mediocre and overpriced food, which appeared in some reviews. Here's the dinner menu during our stay:
Here's another picture showing the prices blocked by the flash above:
Here's the lunch menu on Wednesday:
Cheap? No. But not the grossly overpriced abomination we were expecting either. And the food is actually not bad. For dinner I splurged for the lamb:
DH had the poisson cru. Both tasted reasonably good.
For lunch I had the steak tatare, which I enjoyed very much:
DH had the sloppy joe which was only 1,300 XPF.
I usually don't eat at hotel restaurants in the US, but I think the food price here is in line with that of a 4 star hotel in the US. And the quality is good.
Here's the ocean-facing outdoor dining area:
It's my understanding all rooms have ocean view. This was ours:
I woke up around 5am each day due to jet lag. It's still dark outside and I would go to the the balcony. It's just me and the waves. At this point it was still a bit surreal that I was actually
here. Out in the middle of the Pacific ocean, thousands of miles from the nearest continent.
We could see Moorea from our balcony:
The hotel is connected to the black sand Lafayette beach, though it looks like a public beach. We took a walk and I must say my feet has not experienced softer sand. There was no shells to sting your feet. Really perfect for that barefoot stroll.
We turned around when dogs from beach houses started barking at us.
There's an infinity pool by the ocean. One time we saw a class.
Our desire to use the hot tub subsided with this sight:
It wasn't a huge property but there were some enclaves to relax:
The hotel does offer some activities on select days. On Thursday night there is a Marquesas dance show, free with your dinner reservation (regular menu).
They did not spare the audience from participation, including yours truly.
I had this for dinner at the hotel restaurant:
The majority of the guests spoke French in Tahiti. This would prove different in Bora Bora. The staff speaks adequate English in general. Simple English vocabulary will serve you will.
The staff, and everyone we encountered in French Polynesia, was a pleasure. Seriously, I don't recall the last time I felt so consistently welcomed in a country. Not once did anyone try to scam us, including taxi drivers, partly thanks to the established high prices, one imagines. Most locals seemed happy and I can understand why! On the flip side, efficiency isn't their strength. Just remember you're in island time.
The one strong downside to the hotel is the internet situation. There's NO wifi in the room, only cabled internet. So you're not gonna be able to use wifi, in the room, on any device (like a mobile phone or tablet) that doesn't have an ethernet port. To make things worse, both the cabled ethernet in the room AND the wifi on the grounds were weak.
In conclusion, I would rate this hotel 3/5 stars. The food and transportation to/from were better than expected, the grounds and room are adequate but not luxurious, staff was hospitable but not efficient, and thumbs down for the slow/lack of internet.
Stay tuned for our adventure in Tahiti.