JBauer

How do taxis work to get to LM? I see estimates ranging up to $100? What can we expect for a family of four? Thanks.

kmcbrid2

taxi should be 3,500-4,500 CFC from airport to LM. Lower rate is for before 8pm and higher rate is for after 8pm.

You can also get LM to arrange transportation which was 7,000 CFC.

Didn't seem to be any difference in fair based on umber of Pax but rather number of suitcases; I think 100 CFC per bag maybe.

My own 2 cents on LM, don't stay. Choose the Intercon instead. I'm die hard SPG but would not stay their again unless it was for just 1 night. We were upgraded to a OWB but still think we would have enjoy staying at the Intercon instead.

JBauer

We stayed here for one night as a family on our way to Bora Bora. This was a very convenient and easy ride from the airport -- 15 minutes at most. They allowed us to check in at 7am (your 24) as an SPG Platinum member, which was much appreciated after a long flight from LAX.

The rooms are relatively new and nice. Had an ocean front-view room. Nice balcony. Nice bathroom. Be clear, the over-water bungalows are not worth it -- they are just little huts over some rocks in the lagoon. These are not Bora Bora bungalows.

There is a nice lagoon to swim in -- kind of a man made beach/pool. It was great for kids. They loved it.

The food was terrible and we went out to eat after our first meal there. Breakfast is included for Platinums and that was fine.

I did get the sense not many people worked here. I would go all day and see like 2 or 3 employees -- on the entire grounds of the resort. Runs very lean.I went down to ask to borrow a converter to plug our American chargers into -- and the front desk person said they do not have any. I found that hard to believe and after pushing a bit he found "one in the office."

Again, this is a "fine" hotel for one or two nights but you would be horribly bored if you visited for more than that.

kmcbrid2

[QUOTE=JBauer;26423227]

I did get the sense not many people worked here. I would go all day and see like 2 or 3 employees -- on the entire grounds of the resort. Runs very lean.QUOTE]

Indeed it took me 20 minutes to check out with 1 agent and 5 people in front of me. Don't understand why the hotel could not plan for peak check out times as there are only a few flights people would fly out on.

However, if they do run lean then this makes sense.

DCF

[QUOTE=kmcbrid2;26423774]It's French Polynesia.

There are much stronger employment laws than in the USA.

There is no casual workforce allowed (i.e. You can't just call people in when you're busy and not call them in or pay them when you're not), the minimum wage is more than double what it is in the USA and you cannot terminate an employee unless he or she literally kills someone. Oh, and you can't get people to work split shifts with a few hours off in between. If you employ a waitress for breakfast and lunch, you're paying her in between too, whether you need her or not.

The positives are that unlike in Mexico you can go to the beach without hawkers trying to sell you stuff you don't want, and nobody is going to rob your room or especially steal your passport! And you don't get staff over 65 like the poor people waiting on tables in Hawaii. In Tahiti they have all retired at 60 or 65.

So French Polynesia is expensive and often seems understaffed. But I'd rather be a waiter at Le Meridien Tahiti than the Royal Hawaiian.

WhIteSidE

Staying here for a couple of nights next week. How's their breakfast? I usually take the points, but since it seems a bit remote, and with two mornings we might actually eat at the hotel, if the breakfast is okay.

WhIteSidE

Update on Le Meridian Tahiti:

1) When we checked in late, keys were already prepared. Asked about upgrade, told they're all sold out. Multiple suites and bungalows available online. Too tired to fight over it. Day 2, went to the front desk twice. Once they didn't have time to deal with it but I should come back later. Second time, didn't even look at computer "we're all sold out". Multiple suites and bungalows available online. Day 3, went to front desk, insisted on talking to manager. Explained the situation politely. He provided option of King Suite or Bungalow. Was generally great thorough out the stay. I'm not sure if the front desk staff doesn't provide upgrades as a matter of course, or whether different managers have different policies, but the reaction was night and day between my visits.
2) Staff, overall (minus a few of the front desk staff and one bartender) were wonderful and helpful. I went to ask for some more coffee pods for the coffee machine, and the staff was about to put them on a trolley to take them to the room for me. No, seriously, I can carry a couple of little coffee pods by myself, it's okay.
3) It may depend it part on the length of your stay, but Breakfast is a pretty good benefit here. The breakfast spread is large on weekdays and absolutely ludicrous (in the best of ways) on Sundays. The breakfast benefit includes the whole meal in the main dining room (a lovely space) with a value of ~$40 per person. (I think 3800 XPF). Weekdays include omelettes, good baked goods, eggs, meat, cheese, nice fruit, sashimi, etc. Weekends are a positive feast. There were 4-5 different kinds of fish, a dozen or more different kinds of fresh backed goods. Several preparations of eggs, a cornucopia of fruit, and I'm not even sure I saw it all. In general, I consider the breakfast benefit one of the weaker choices, but I would definitely take it here.

Overall, the hotel isn't super luxe, but if you can get the rooms for a reasonable rate and you don't mind being a bit pushy about the platinum benefit, it's a fine place to stay.

alanslegal

re: transportation

just doing an overnight stay where I arrive 3pm, depart 10am.

3,500 - 4,500 for a taxi , for what is a 10km fare? Or should I just get a hotel transfer at 7,000 ? The hotel suggests a taxi might be as low as 2,300 . If it's closer to 4500, I might as well pay another 2500 to not need to worry etc.

hnewman

Anyone know how to get the hotel shuttle? We arrive there late tonight. Thank you in advance.

Henry

Starwood Lurker

I took a look at the transportation page for this hotel and it does not appear that the hotel shuttle goes to and from the airport. They suggest a third party shared shuttle that runs 24 hours a day instead.

While they do operate a downtown hotel shuttle, it only runs from 9AM to 5PM.

If you have any other questions, they can be contacted via email at [email protected]

I hope this helps.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, LLC

[email protected]

hnewman

Thank you for the fast reply. I guess I misinterpreted that they had a shuttle that I could book. Thanks

DCF

It's against the law in Tahiti for hotels to provide an airport shuttle. Only a licensed (heavily taxed) transport operator can do that. Which is probably best, like in France proper the only question is whether the General public would choose to lynch Uber drivers or Uber users first!

Usually taxis are the cheapest option.

It's funny, many of the posts in this thread about low staff numbers, poor service or limited transport options all come down to the same cause.

The Tahitians are French. They enjoy labor privileges that Americans don't to guarantee them universal free health care, free university education, a maximum working week of 40 hours, job security and guaranteed retirement by the age of 65.

But that affects customer service. They are not reliant on tips and they are practically impossible to fire. And they can't (and wouldn't anyway) work flexible hours.

And everything is subject to a 16% sales tax, which is how the government funds these benefits.

UASPG

As far as I know, the health care is not free in France (the cost is deducted from the paychecks instead of being paid to private insurances), the university have fees but they are lower than in the States and there are also many private schools. When you retire, the social security that you get is depending on the number of years and the amounts you contributed to the fund.
The standard week is actually 35 hrs, but this might change soon.

Also, I don't think that French Polynesia has an unemployment system. The territory has its their own government.

worldtraveller73

I completed a stay here in June 2017.

Consistent with the reports upthread, there was limited Platinum recognition at this property. On our visit, the overwater bungalows appeared to be under refurbishment as the pontoon was padlocked off and otherwise deserted.

I had attempted to apply Suite Night awards on a two night stay but they failed to clear. As platinums, we were upgraded to a panoramic suite on check in. The view was nice but the room was in really rough state of repair. There was patching in the bathroom ceiling, and the desk covering appeared to be falling apart.

I wrote a Flyertalk trip report about our stay here.

I would only consider this to be a transit hotel on the way to outward islands in French Polynesia. Unfortunately, it is really a bit far from the airport to be a convenient stop. At least I got a stay credit and two nights in the yearly qualification.

truptravels

Just got an email from Le Meridien Tahiti that effective Oct 15th, they will be changing ownership to a Sofitel by Accorgroup. While they say that all rates and conditions remain the same, curious how Marriott elite benefits will work. Hopefully this doesn't mean that any more Marriott hotels in that area will be switching...

truptravels.com/2018/10/12/le-meridien-tahiti-changing-to-sofitel-tahiti-by-accor/