ajnaro

The favorable situation I reported above has recently changed dramatically for the worse. See my post in another thread (beginning with post #38):

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...l#post15908321

Centurion

The property has an excellent front desk employee at Le Meridien Tahiti named Nephi ( I think I got his name right) . Very nice to have someone who speaks english/french well and has studied in Utah. I do not think I have ever complimented any singular employee before on any of my flyertalk posts.

What is odd is I did not get any upgrade, special treatment but just found him a very delightful and informative front end person on the area culture, etc

The property could learn from the St. Regis on other issues. But I understand it is harder to do things in Tahiti for many reasons. If I have time I will followup with a detailed property review and my Over Water Bungalows which as previously stated by someone else are limited. There are only ten Over the Water Bungalows so if you want one I suggest you reserve it and not hope for an upgrade even as platinum.

oreo2222

The Meridien is ok. Nothing special. The pool area is very nice though, and for just one night, you can't go wrong.

The Beachcomber, closer to the airport is nicer in my opinion if you were to stay longer.

Moorea is very beautiful, enjoy!

Centurion

Check in....Nice women says "No Over water Bungalows available sir"......I walk 10 feet to computer in lobby and spg.com and book two over water bungalows. Hand her two confirmation numbers for OW Bungalows. She looks disturbed goes in back and we immediately get welcome drinks and cool towels from her and she is much more welcoming. Decide to go for a drive while we wait for Bungalows and person who picks up our cool towels (not a front desk person, could have been a waiter) is very nice and suggests a few sites to see on drive while we wait for room.

Later meet Nephi at front desk who is very nice.

Hotel does not have ANY 110V transformers. But Nephi does find me an adapter and fortunately Mac Books adapters automatically adjust for 220v


Dinner...raw meat and raw chicken in stir fry dish. In USA any health department would shut down restaurant. Lost appetite.
Waiter extremely nice but over worked...but I can understand because restaurant empty and then very busy.

Breakfast..Room service egg omelette with cheese way way under cooked so cheese never melted but eggs cooked so not a health issue just not what one would expect. Did not finish meal

Centurion

By Beachocomber do you mean the Intercontinenal? Spent one night before hopped on a ship. If so I think this property has the potential to be much better. Yes Moorea is better and so it Bora Bora and even other smaller Motu locations

oreo2222

Parking at the Meridien is free and it's right infront of the hotel.

oreo2222

Yes, sorry, i do mean the Intercontinenal. l agree that it has the potential to do much better. There is actually a much nicer, newer hotel there now. Manava Suite Resort. Nice pool and the rooms are very nice. The Intercontinental is very hit and miss.

futaris

Beautiful Paradise, From Only 250 AUD per night, min 3 night stay @ Le Meridien Tahiti (Full Rate Value 630 AUD*)

The Weekly Flyer

My wife and I recently returned from 1 night at the Le Meridien Tahiti as part of a 2 week trip to Bora Bora and Moorea.

We stayed on an award night and enjoyed our stay. We were Platinum members during the stay.

Below is my detailed trip report. Please let me know if you have any questions.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/points...tahiti-review/

DCF

I'm a Platinum and I visit Tahiti once or twice each year before the St Regis Bora Bora.

And I have to be frank. I would NEVER consider a return stay at Le Meridien. It would be a triumph of loyalty over sense.

Firstly, the location is poor - it's a long way from town, the airport and all the restaurants, and in rush hour it can take an eternity.

Secondly, the Beachcomber (InterContinental) is superior in every imaginable respect. It's well-located. It's well-maintained. It has excellent restaurants. It offers cheap small rooms for a brief layover, Panoramic rooms for a few days stay, and 3 different sizes of overwater bungalow for a special stay. And, if you pay $100 for the InterContinental Ambassador program you get a 1-class upgrade plus an annual free weekend night. So I book a Panoramic room for around $350, get the second night free, and get upgraded to an overwater bungalow. Also, they have a free self-operated laundromat service, which is useful.

There are just no redeeming features about Le Meridien if you are going to use actual money for your stay. It's only value is for points redemptions.

ajnaro

There is the sand-bottom pool at Le Méridien, which I find pleasant. For very short overnight stays I prefer the Hilton, ex-Sheraton, near the airport. I'll have to try the IC sometime.

The Weekly Flyer

Aren't you always?

I agree, this hotel is not one I would pay the going rate. We used points simply because we had burned all of our PC points at the IC Thalasso for 7 nights. It was pleasant for an afternoon and return to the airport in the AM.

crazyit

Any recent stays and improvements to report at this Hotel? We were planning to burn some SPG points for a one night stay on our arrival to Tahiti , before boarding next day a cruise to the Marquise Islands, in late April. Will we get a decent treatment as Platinum SPG? Reports on this thread and on Tripadvisor are not very encouraging. Should we rather burn Priority Club points at the Intercontinental (Beachcomber) , where we were actually planning to spend our last night before flying back home early morning , next day? Thanks in advance for all suggestions, crazyIT.

ajnaro

From my experience you will get decent, but not excellent, treatment as a Platinum SPG member at Le Méridien. A lot depends on the individual check-in person, most of whom seem to have no training at all. Asking to speak to the duty manager should help. You will probably be offered one of the remodeled W-like rooms, with a distant view of the sea. There are also unremodeled suites at both ends of the building (directly on the sea) and lots of other rooms with large varandas as well as over-the-water bungelows. Unfortunately, the water itself is nowhere near as attractive as in Moorea.

I have never actually stayed overnight at the IC, but from what I have seen on my visits it is no great improvement over Le Méridien. For a simple overnight stay near the airport the Hilton might be the best choice, although you could find lots of cheaper near-by accomodation in local establishments.

crazyit

Thanks Ajnaro, it will be just a rest stay, upon arrival all the way from Europe, so the most important will be a good bed and decent room. A part from the cruise, we are also planning to stay (on HH points) a couple of days each at the Hiltons in BOB and MOZ , so a decent room in PPT will make it.
BTW, the Hilton in PPT should have closed last year. What happened of this Hotel?