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Hotels before and after the cruise


cranmom
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We are going on the 11 night Tahiti cruise in January and wondering where people have stayed pre and post nights of the cruise. We are arriving 2 nights ahead of the cruise and staying 1 night after. Any help would be appreciated. thanks..

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We were there in May 2016. We stayed pre-cruise at the Manava Suite Resort. It is a small hotel which was very nice and had a little beach area that we enjoyed. Post-cruise we had day room at the Intercontinental since our flight left at midnight. It was lovely but expensive. Enjoy your cruise.

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We went with Airbnb. Was apprehensive at first but everything came out OK. The owner sent a taxi to meet us at the airport when we arrived (and when we departed). We were right in the Market area and walking distance to the pier. It was a great location for all off our excursion. Good price. We had a blast.

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We stayed one night post at Intercontinental and were surprised with upgrade to over water bungalow as IHG member. I asked about late discharge having the late night flight. For a reasonable fee we kept the room until time to leave. We had planned to see about a tour that last day but with upgrade had no desire to go anywhere. We did our pre night in simple but clean hotel on waterfront and walked through the market until time to board. Were able to walk with luggage.

 

 

 

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For the first night, the Hotel Sarah Nui. Clean and reasonably priced ($115+/-), free wi-fi, in the middle of town within short walking distance of the pier where the cruise departs as does the ferry to Moorea, and if you communicate with the hotel directly when you make your booking, free transfers from the airport (a $30 or greater savings)! Where to stay after the cruise? We stayed at the Manava and didn't particularly care for it. Moreover, it's quite a distance away from the airport so unless you're renting a car, consider the transfer costs. We're doing another Tahiti cruise later in the year and have booked the Tahiti le Meridien. This is the same hotel Windstar uses if you purchase their all inclusive package which includes first night's lodging and a last day's day room. The le Meridien is apparently undergoing a major renovation so its OTW bungalows won't be available for occupancy until the end of the year. One final recommendation. Rent a Hertz automobile. The cost/day is cheap, but you have to pay for mileage (not really a big concern because you're not going to be driving long distances and you need transportation back to the airport for your return). And they have an office right in town and if you arrange ahead of time, they'll pick you up for free at the dock where you depart from your cruise, and take you to their offices. Hope this helps.

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  • 1 month later...

We booked at the Pearl Resort, and it was lovely for the day before the cruise and the day after. It made our vacation feel so much longer because we flew in very early in the morning. I made sure we could check in by 10 a.m. We had 2 whole pool/beach days on Tahiti on both ends. There was entertainment going on the night before we flew home (fire dancing, etc.) and made our final night that much more special.

Just booked a cab to get there from airport and port. Booked a prearranged car to take us to the airport early the day we flew out. We enjoyed this quiet laid back resort on a black sand beach. Our room was one of the renovated ones with the separate bedroom with living room and 2 bathrooms. Booked directly with the hotel.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Cranmom -

 

Am giving you an update to my previous response to your post. We just returned from our W/S Tahiti cruise. We can reaffirm my previous lodging recommendations. We arrived in Tahiti (in Fa'a) and went straight to the Sarah Nui Hotel (in downtown PPT). The hotel uses Tahiti Transports (resa.tahititransports@gmail.com) for its complimentary transfers from the airport (again, worth $30 or more). Tahiti Transports was waiting for us when we arrived making this aspect of our itinerary at 11 P.M. reassuring and less costly. After a long trip, all you want is: a clean place with a comfortable bed to sleep, complimentary wi-fi service, complimentary luggage storage the next morning until it's time for your cruise, a very short walk to a Bank of Tahiti ATM so you have some carrying around cash, a very short walk to the center of town [make sure you go to the municipal market (see https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294352-d309581-Reviews-Municipal_Market-Papeete_Tahiti_Society_Islands.html)] so you're not forced to purchase an over priced breakfast, a short walk to the dock next to the ferry building where you will board your cruise aguo (if you check-in at 1 P.M. you will be able to enjoy lunch with the option of leaving the ship for a shopping/other excursion with your luggage well secured), and a very reasonable (by Tahiti standards) price (about $110/night). The Sarah Nui checks all of these boxes. You won't save much money (in fact, you probably will have to pay a bit more) booking the Airport Motel, you will have to hike uphill with your luggage after a long flight or pay for transfers to get to the motel, and if you arrive late at night, you will not want to make the hike in pitch dark, The only other real reasonably priced option you have is the Hotel Tahiti Nui which will cost you about 40% more than the Sarah Nui, and not provide complimentary transfers from the airport. So really, we fell this is the best option!

 

We stayed at Le Meridien at the end of our cruise and would recommend it as well. If your flight departs after 11 P.M., you want a hotel which offers complimentary luggage storage until it's time for you to leave for the airport. You also want complimentary use of a transit/day room complete with wi-fi/TV access, use of a shower, and full access to the hotel's pool/beach amenities. Here Le Meridien checks all of these options. Moreover, the hotel is located on a beautiful sandy beach, it is adjacent to a shopping mall (within very short walking distance) which includes a wonderful French bakery/boulanger (le Fournil Haufbois) and a reasonably priced French restaurant (Chez Remy), and it is conveniently located about 11 kms from the airport. The only other major named hotel option which is located closer to the airport is the Intercontinental, and I cannot comment on whether it offers complimentary access to a day room. So really for us, this too was the best option!

 

BTW, we were told that Le Meridien Hotel is about to change management companies to the Sofitel. So we would not be surprised if special "grand opening" promotions are being offered on the Accor web site. We would recommend investigating.

 

Hope these recommendations help and happy sailing.

Edited by skitrips
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  • 1 month later...

We took an overnight flight to Tahiti and I booked the least expensive room offered at the Intercontinental for the night prior.  I sent them an email letting them know that we wouldn't be there until early morning, and not to give away our room.

 

We walked into a lobby full of exhausted travelers trying to get into their rooms and being told to come back after 3:00 pm.  We walked up and the lady was about to turn us away until I mentioned that my room had been booked for the night before.  Within three minutes we had our keys and were walking to our room.  We slipped between cool sheets and slept for four blissful hours before getting up, showering and heading to the breakfast buffet just before it closed.

As we walked through the lobby to breakfast, we passed irritable, exhausted travelers in a standing room only situation--it had rained and all the people trying to nap on loungers around the pool had been driven inside.  That would not have been an enjoyable way to start a holiday.

It was seriously the best $120 I've ever spent.  If I ever return to FP I won't hesitate to do the same thing.

They allowed us to stay in that room until it was time to move to the over water bungalow we had booked for the following night.

We walked up to Carrefour and picked up a bottle of wine, loaf of bread, some cheese, and some Prosciutto plus some bottled water and enjoyed an al fresco dinner on the deck of the bungalow as the sun set.  

 

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  • 1 month later...

Wow! What a wonderful recommendation. I didn't realize the Intercontinental had $120 rooms. But now that I know, if we go to Tahiti again, this will definitely be a possibility. BTW, how did you handle the hotel transfers from the airport? What was the cost?

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A cab from our hotel to the airport or the port was only around 24.00 or 25.00. Our prearranged transportation was more,  but I wasn't sure if they would take american dollars.  Our cab driver did take dollars.  They have set prices and charge 2.00 per bag.  I wasn't able to find a 120.00 room,  so it probably depends on the season.  

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