Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort, Maiao

My wife and I visited this resort for our honeymoon back in May. We had the WORST experience which ruined our honeymoon. First of all, we stayed in a garden bungalow and the HOT water broke. We called 3-4 times to complain about it, and every night around the same time, we would be taking cold showers. The 3rd night we were finally moved to a new room BUT the room had twin beds.... They even made the bed like twin beds. I have proof! To top it all off, the HOT WATER BROKE AGAIN! We were sick and tired of complaining and figured we would do it when we got back to the states. Were we WRONG, the hotel said that since we did not complain about our experience while we were there, they would not honor our complaint. How horrible is that? We feel as if our honeymoon was ruined by this horrible experience. Another issue, a BIG issue is the flies. Flies were all over the buffet and over our food. I felt like we were battling the flies while eating. They would not stop coming and they were flying all over the buffet. I would recommend that if you were considering staying here, please do not. you will be disappointed with the service. Our honeymoon was completely ruined because of this. Please stay at the Sheraton or Le Meridian, you will definitely be happier somewhere else.

Stayed at Sofitel Mooera from 26th Oct for 5 nights in a garden bungalow. Positive comments. The resort and room was kept very clean, the beach and water clarily amazing, better than any 5star resort we have previously stayed in at Fiji, Rarotonga etc, and presence of other guests was barely noticable. Things to work on: Resort needs to provide guests with map of layout, including a better guide to bungelow numbers beyond the generic 401.. 421 plagues in grass and a specific number by each bungelows front door, the configurations of the bungelows makes it easy to get disorinated about which cluster yours in in, at least until you get your bearings. I saw numerous people looking confused trying to find their rooms during inital day/s of stay. A guide to the restaruants and theme food nights in each room would be good, as we encountered a $110NZ each buffet,(by not knowing what the food choice was until we sat down for tea. The bar menu is very limited and overall the food is expensive and rudimentary. Suggestions for keeping food costs down: We brought cereal /milk and lunch supplies at the champion market and stocked the emptied mini bar with these, great idea except as the rooms have no crockery, we resorted to eating cereal out of large glasses each day, a memorable experience!. So perhaps buy or pack some disposible bowls, plates and save $$$ on your food bill. Lastly we ate out at several places whilst we had transportation, and have to say that Alfredo's was the only place we felt the staff were pushy and overbearing, and at $60 for a plate of bland pasta and mushrooms it would not be somewhere to recommend.

Sersiously, go to Le Meridian on Bora Bora or some where else... Had a "Deluxe" overwater bungalow, it was supposed to be their nicest however the view from our bungalow was into the rooms of 2 other bungalows - there was absolutely NO privacy. The bungalow itself was nice enough - a lot like an over water hotel room - it really had very little character. ALso, don't go here if you want to see a sunset. The resort is on the east side of the island and the sun goes back behind the mountain at around 4pm every day. The sunset was amazing - but you'll need to be up at 5am. The food was horrible. The small, boring buffet that they offered was totally picked over every night by 7:30pm (dinner only starts at 7) and every morning by 9am. Dinner cost us nearly $200 for 2 our first night and breakfast was around $70. We were so disgusted by the dinner food and price that we went to a local grocery store and bought stuff for dinner the next night and went to another restaurant our last night there. The staff was strange too. Every other place that we went to in French Polynesia had service that was amazing, but at the Sofitel, the staff was slow, and generally uninterested in pleasing its customers that pay a ton of money to stay there. Again, don't waste your money. There are a ton of other great choices for places to stay on the islands of French Polynesia. This was one of the most expensive with the worst service we encountered.

Spending an evening in the south seas gazing at the southern cross from the deck of a lagoon bungalow is a once in a lifetime experience. Total bliss - no neon, loud music, or traffic - just the lapping of the waves and a gentle trade wind to touch your senses. For anyone seeking relaxation and pampering the Sofitel Beach Resort provides it all. Ken Stempson

We were picked up at the airport and driven to this hotel. Had a "premium overwater bungalow", supposedly the nicest one. The bungalow itself was great: roomy, huge deck, reef everywhere. However, we were wedged between 2 other bungalows and faced the island of Moorea (not the ocean). We thought we had paid for the “best”. Make sure you request the END OF THE DOCK, FACING THE OCEAN. Our view was decent. Plus we were hoping to sun on our "private" deck all day... however the way we were facing we only got the afternoon sun (which was shorter). Weather for us was good, one day of slight overcast and the rest sunny/85. The showers in the bungalow were great and the bed was AMAZING. We were definitely in heaven while inside our overwater hut. The food was horrible. They had very normal food... it just wasn't any good. We had only been in French Polynesia 12 hours and we thought we'd play it safe and order a double cheeseburger ($40) and 2 beers ($12). The patties were smaller than at McDonalds and although I ordered it well-done it came rare. We sent it back and they brought another one (thankfully they brought some more fries, which were good). The burger tasted worse than it looked. We managed to eat about 1/2 of it together. Later we were at the bar and they brought old french fries and olives as bar snacks. Tomato soup and bread was the best thing I found ($20). They don't serve tap water anywhere (although fine to drink), but instead serve $6 bottles of Tahiti water called "O". There was a great restaurant about 5 miles away that will come and pick you up. I don't have the name of it on me but I assume I can post it later on here. The snorkeling was amazing. Our bungalow ladder stepped into coral reef everywhere so you had to be careful but once you were in with fins and snorkel you were good. Amazing fish everywhere. If you are into this stuff you will not be disappointed. No entertainment at the place but what's above. We rented a scooter for one day and drove around the island. This was pretty neat and not to expensive ($50)... but it was dangerous. Drivers are insane here. I think we saw 3 wrecks in 4-hr, and no one stops. Be prepared to be passed at 75 mph on a curve with another car coming the other way. Its 2-lanes with no speed limit. The island itself was quite nice and the shops were cool to walk through. There was a grocery store where were stocked up. Oh, I left my cell phone at this resort. I emailed them to see if they had it. They said they would send it if I gave them my credit card number for the shipping. The shipping was $75 through DHL. I asked to check the regular post office, which ended up $20. They still wanted my credit card but I said I didn't feel comfortable sending emailing it and that I assumed they would pick up $20 postage considering all the money we spent there. They wouldn't hear of it and wouldn't accept a check being sent. I guess the phone's still in Moorea. Hope it's having a good time...

We arrived to a cold drinks and smiles from the staff. While we were hoping for the overwater bungalow, and didn't get one, I was more that over-joyed with our beach front digs - our room was brand new, fantastic bed and linens, bathrooms were fantastic, walk in closet and fantastic porch with nice chair. I now would take the beach front over the "over-water" bungalows anyday. All food was very expensive at the hotel - take our tip and buy food at the local market - the rooms come with a fridge and utinsils. Also - if you want a homecooked meal - try the smaller family operated places on the island.