menus Hilton Moorea?

[psyfi]

I was wondering if anyone has, or would be willing to make note of on an upcoming trip, the menus at the Hilton in Moorea. I think that is the hotel we will be booking, but from what I can determine from a couple guide books, it is pretty isolated in terms of eating other places. I am really trying to get a budget on what the meal options would be like. I know there are a couple different restaurants and buffet as well as a la carte. If anyone has a photo of the menus that they could share, or a website link (I can't find one), that would be very helpful, as it would also help us to determine if a meal plan would be worthwhile and also if we rent a car if it would be worth it to keep it a bit longer to go elsewhere for dinner one night. Is there a Tahitian dance show at the Hilton and which night it is usually offered? If so, does anyone know the cost of that? Is there a grocery store nearby that we could get sandwich fixings to make some inexpensive lunches? We are not going until Jan 2013 so we have some time to get this figured out, but I would prefer not to have "sticker shock" that I know is likely coming anyway. Thanks very much for the help

[Donray]

I was wondering if anyone has, or would be willing to make note of on an upcoming trip, the menus at the Hilton in Moorea. I think that is the hotel we will be booking, but from what I can determine from a couple guide books, it is pretty isolated in terms of eating other places. I am really trying to get a budget on what the meal options would be like. I know there are a couple different restaurants and buffet as well as a la carte. If anyone has a photo of the menus that they could share, or a website link (I can't find one), that would be very helpful, as it would also help us to determine if a meal plan would be worthwhile and also if we rent a car if it would be worth it to keep it a bit longer to go elsewhere for dinner one night. Is there a Tahitian dance show at the Hilton and which night it is usually offered? If so, does anyone know the cost of that? Is there a grocery store nearby that we could get sandwich fixings to make some inexpensive lunches? We are not going until Jan 2013 so we have some time to get this figured out, but I would prefer not to have "sticker shock" that I know is likely coming anyway. Thanks very much for the help

 

Stayed at the Hilton last June. We make sure that the room includes breakfest. Theyu only have a buffet breakfast which I think is about $35.00 US each. They have a beach grill where a hamburger and fires will run about $20.00 (15 hamburger 5 for fries). Dinner at the indoor restaurant will start at about $35.00 each with no alcohol drinks. Drinks run about $15.00 each. If you rent a car which is very expensive you can find a cheap stand restaurant, but the cost of the car or taxis will more than outweigh the saving.

The Hilton does have small refrigerators in the room and we rent car first day and go to a store and stock up on bread, chees and canned meats or lunch meat and chips, soda etc. Eat that for lunch and have a hamburger and fries for dinner. At one bar they have a happy hour with two drinks for you $15.00.

Hope that helps. The cost is about the same as Paris. The Hotel in Paris last month was 28 Euro for breakfast buffet. That's about $40.00 US.

 

Whatever you do, stay in an overwater bugalow, it was wonderful. Will probably go next June again.

[Toto2Kansas]

I agree with the pervious post, if you budget around $100 per person, per day for food, that would be a good estimate. ;) Nothing is inexpensive in Tahiti except flowers. :)

[psyfi]

Hmmm, can I eat the flowers?? :D

Thank you very much-- a $200 per day food budget it is.

We could do a late buffet breakfast and skip lunch one day and maybe just have a granola bar for breakfast another day and have burgers for lunch.

I thought I read something about a crepe restaurant too?

And yes the plan is to stay in the overwater bungalow!

[Emdee]

I personally would budget at least $150 per day. $100 may be a bit light. I recall there is a pizza place you can call for pizza .

 

$20.00 for a burger and fries is what you would in any similar resort any where in the world. The problem you face in this area is the lack of cheaper options.

 

If you book your car in advance with Sandrine it will be 20% cheaper.

[Donray]

The crepes are at the bar that also has the two for one drinks. It is the bar in the center of the overwater bungalows.

Bring some dog or cat food to feed the fish. Also, a dog bone works well for the fish when snorkeling. We brought two ponds of dog food. Had the little sample bags for dog food.

If you walk the opposite direction there is a small food store that you can get some soda, etc. It is about a mile and you pass some nice scenery so take a camera. Note, nothing much open on Sundays,

Here are some pictures of Moorea from last June. http://s682.photobucket.com/albums/vv189/donray1941/Moorea%20June%202010/

 

I notice that since last June the CFP is more value to the USD than when I was there last June. So you can go up another 20% for food, etc. Last June exchange was 1.03 USD to 100 CFP now it is 1.22 USD to 100 CFP. The US Dollar is getting less and less valuable around the world.

[psyfi]

Thanks for sharing the photos!

 

WOW so I really need to budget $300 a day for food?? ($150 each!)-- a longer cruise is sounding like a less expensive option every minute!

 

Does anyone recall how much it would be to have a pizza delivered? Lets say a large size? How about the cost of the crepes?

[narnia1]

Hi We just had 5 wonderful post cruise days at the Hilton. The snorkeling was fantastic. The bungalows were great. Other than breakfast, I would not eat a meal there. We did on the first night and it was more than disappointing. We also saw the Polynesian show which was mostly a bunch of relatively inexperienced teenagers and not a really professional show like many others I have seen. The Price was 6900 xpf per person, not including any drinks, and not even water or ice tea. (400 xpf). $80-$90 per person US. The crepes were about 2300xpf for dessert crepes, and 3600xpf for dinner crepes. They were pretty huge however. There are several fairly good restaurants nearby that will pick you up and return you to the hotel. We loved Rudy's and Les Tipaniers. The best value was at Les Tip. Do not go to Te Honu Iti. It was horrible and the worst service you could ever have and the highest prices. Hope this helps.

[psyfi]

Thanks! Glad you liked the resort, good snorkelling is important to us. How do I arrange to get picked up by local restaurants? Will the front desk call the restaurant for me? Do you recall how much breakfast would be?

[narnia1]

Thanks! Glad you liked the resort, good snorkelling is important to us. How do I arrange to get picked up by local restaurants? Will the front desk call the restaurant for me? Do you recall how much breakfast would be?

 

 

Hi! Just got my photos loaded onto the computer today and I want to go right back!!!!! The concierges in the lobby are very helpful and some speak English better than others. We really liked Dinah-I think her name was. They will suggest places to eat and will call the restaurants, make the reservations and arrange for the pick ups. So there are set times but they were like 6:15 or 7:30 or whatever. Usually they will pick up 3-4 couples from the hotel and then bring you back when you are finished. Tipping is not expected. People only rent cars by the day or 1/2 day there. The Mayflower was a restaurant I wanted to try, but they had no pick up so we didn't go. The cab fare would have been about $50US round trip, and the concierge tried to put together 3 couples to go together, but it did not work out.

It is probably better to get breakfast included with your reservation if possible. It is about $70-$80 for two and it is the same buffet everyday. It was just average. I ate more bacon there than I have in the past 10 years! Let me know if you have more questions!

[psyfi]

Thanks! I'm actually thinking I might pack soem granola bars in my suitcase and skip breakfast, or perhaps do a late breakfast and skip lunch. We might also be able to stop at the market in Papeete before going over to Moorea (don't have the detials worked out quite yet) and pick up some bread and fruit or whatnot. Since we will be getting on a 10 day cruise after our stay on Moorea, I'm sure a little dieting would work fine! It's good to know that the hotel will make dining arrangements (and I assume will make suggestions?). We have some passable French skills so that should help a bit. Did you go up and have dinner at Mt. Belvedere? I heard it was nice, but have no idea how much that would cost. Was there anyone who would deliver a pizza? Did you go to the Juice factory? I was thinking buying cartons would save us a lot over paying for drinks at the resort. I assume there wasn't anywhere around to buy 1/2 case of water or pop (i.e. convenience/grocery store?) Is the tap water drinkable at the resort? I assume no fridge in the room though?

 

Sorry to innundate you with questions! You offered, and I just started rambling!

[psyfi]

I suppose I should also ask--would you recommend this resort? Any insider secrets I should know about having never been there before (i.e. what did you wish you knew before your trip?) Are there kayaks/sailboats, etc... and is there a fee for their use or is it included in the hotel charge. Was it difficult to sleep at night without A/C? Can you recommend an OWB location for us to request? I have heard the Panorama or Sunset ones are the ones to book for the best views. What else did you do on your stay in Moorea? And thank you for answering all my rambling questions! I'm really worried about making the right choice of hotel in Moorea given the expense involved (as you can tell from the pressured speech and rapid fire questions!) I'm not even booked yet so there is no hurry to respond!

[Emdee]

Psyfi,

 

Someone on this board from Toronto booked a Goway package including breakfast at the Hilton or Sofitel in Moorea in conjunction with the PG cruise. It worked out really reasonable as the cruiseline gave them a credit og 1250 and the Goway packages are about 1900 - 2500 depending on the hotel etc. I even saw one package that had breakfast and dinner included at the Sofitel which I prefer to Hilton. I think I may do this the next time.

[psyfi]

Emdee, why do you prefer the Sofitel?

[Emdee]

I am not a swimmer and the Sofitel is on the best beach in Moorea. You can sit in the water surrounded by fish. the view of Tahiti from the Sofitel is also wonderful.

The Hilton doesnt really have any shallow areas though I like it too.

[psyfi]

Phew, everytime I think I get this figured out, then I think I don't! Chris and I are avid swimmers so we want deeper water and I won't be sitting out on the beach too much as I burn crispy even with 60 sunscreen and a hat. And with an OWB I would think we would spend time on our "balcony". Sounds like we made an ok decision.

[narnia1]

Thanks! I'm actually thinking I might pack soem granola bars in my suitcase and skip breakfast, or perhaps do a late breakfast and skip lunch. We might also be able to stop at the market in Papeete before going over to Moorea (don't have the detials worked out quite yet) and pick up some bread and fruit or whatnot. Since we will be getting on a 10 day cruise after our stay on Moorea, I'm sure a little dieting would work fine! It's good to know that the hotel will make dining arrangements (and I assume will make suggestions?). We have some passable French skills so that should help a bit. Did you go up and have dinner at Mt. Belvedere? I heard it was nice, but have no idea how much that would cost. Was there anyone who would deliver a pizza? Did you go to the Juice factory? I was thinking buying cartons would save us a lot over paying for drinks at the resort. I assume there wasn't anywhere around to buy 1/2 case of water or pop (i.e. convenience/grocery store?) Is the tap water drinkable at the resort? I assume no fridge in the room though?

 

Sorry to innundate you with questions! You offered, and I just started rambling!

 

 

We found that the gas station convenience store I think in Pao Pao had cheap water. There is a frig in the rooms and the bungalows are wonderful. We did not go to the juice factory and I didn't know there was somewhere to eat on Belvedere. We loved a little place in Maharepa, Carmelines(?) that had cheap sandwiches and ice cream. We had huge breakfasts and did't eat lunch.

[FlightMedic555]

A few thoughts:

 

The lagoon at the Hilton is only about 4-5 feet deep. The water is crystal clear and has tons and tons of fish. I would state that this was world class snorkeling at its best.

 

If you get the HHonors Surpass Amex card you automatically are Gold status in Hilton for a year. We did this (cost $75 a year for the card) as the cardholder and guest get free continental breakfast at any Hilton. We did 5 nights at the Hilton and this saved us a few hundred dollars. The difference between the Continental and full buffet was that we could not get the omlet station nor the pancakes/breakfast meats. Tons of pastrys, breads, cold cuts, fruit, hard boiled eggs, juices, etc. This would have been about $30 US each per day.

 

Except for the Mayflower any of the restaurants that we wanted to go to for dinner picked us up at no charge. I listed a few in my indepth review of the Paul Gauguin from this past July. You may want to review that.

[psyfi]

I'm off to search for the review! Thanks for the idea about the AMEX card. Do I have to charge the hotel to the Amex card to get that deal? Or can I just present it at the desk/restaurant?

[psyfi]

WOW Flightmedic555 that was a FANTASTIC review--you can see from my posts I was gone for about 2 hours--read through your whole review, all the PG dailies, made notes, etc... thank you so much for pointing that out to me! I am glad to hear you loved the Hilton. that was a tough decision. Also good to know which OWB to ask for that have a good view of the sunset and thanks so much for prices of food options. I am glad to hear that you booked a transfer through Albert's and that they made a stop at a store for you--I will consider that option. I was just thinking to get a ride at the pier, this seems like a better plan. Do you recall from your logbook which dive site you went to on Moorea that you liked? Unusual to see octopus during the day, sounds like you had a great trip for that (I love octopus). Thanks again!

[FlightMedic555]

I did none dive with the hotel based dive shop a and another about 12 days later from the Paul Gauguin ship. I don't know the name of the site from the hotel but Shark Alley was what the ship called the site. Both were very close to the Hilton.

 

You may want to look on the Internet for some restaurant menus before you go as the concierge at the hotel had very abbreviated menus to review.

[FlightMedic555]

Previous post should have been one dive through the hotel.

[psyfi]

Shark alley added to my dive list!

[happycdn]

Hi

 

I notice you are Canadian too! We are from Oakville, Ontario - and stayed at the Hilton Moorea - I would be happy to answer any questions - you can email me at jmassey@cogeco.ca if you wish. I will give you a tip on how to book the Hilton Moorea cheaper just give me a quick email.

[ASTORIA]

Hi

 

I notice you are Canadian too! We are from Oakville, Ontario - and stayed at the Hilton Moorea - I would be happy to answer any questions - you can email me at jmassey@cogeco.ca if you wish. I will give you a tip on how to book the Hilton Moorea cheaper just give me a quick email.

 

Hi - we are neighbours - live in Burlington. We are on Ocean Princess in

Feb. 2012 from Tahiti to Hawaii and are thinking of staying in Moorea a couple of days pre-cruise. Would you mind if I e-mailed you to pick your

brains on getting to Moorea from Papeete and staying at the Hilton for 2

nights? Thanks