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Intercontinental Tahiti


crisp1
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We're booking our own air and hotel. The IC has a discounted rate of $220 per night US non refundable and a another with no deposit and that can be cancelled up 3 days prior that includes breakfast for 2 daily and the circle island tour for $367/night US.

This seems like a no-brainer but I've read mixed reviews of that tour and am wondering what the actual cost is for breakfast at the IC

The rates are for garden view for $20 more per night we can get a lagoon view- worth it?

Thanks

Edited by crisp1
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We stayed there in 2013. Loved the room! Had a Jacuzzi on balcony(enclosed, but fully opening shuttered windows)and on lagoon side. Awesome! I'm sure garden rooms are great, also. The peacefulness and the sounds of the water lapping were calming to us; but it depends on what you want most out of your stay.. The infinity pool with the gradual walkin was something to spend a lot of time at too. Breakfast was very expensive, but it was generous. The hotel basically has a monopoly on this tho. It was very expensive to take taxi into town and no restaurants near(a tiny store was a few blocks' walk,but only open when owner chose to) We had been there previously and had taken the Circle Island Tour before. The out island is nicer than the city of Papeete, but there is not a lot to see overall. But if I haven't seen it, I would go. Enjoy!:)

 

We're booking our own air and hotel. The IC has a discounted rate of $220 per night US non refundable and a another with no deposit and that can be cancelled up 3 days prior that includes breakfast for 2 daily and the circle island tour for $367/night US.

This seems like a no-brainer but I've read mixed reviews of that tour and am wondering what the actual cost is for breakfast at the IC

The rates are for garden view for $20 more per night we can get a lagoon view- worth it?

Thanks

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We stayed 3 nights post cruise in February '13 at the IC. The property is well landscaped and the views each morning and evening of Moorea were beautiful. The first room we got was a disaster and it took most of the day for the front desk personnel to address this - no hot water, leaking toilet draining water all over the bathroom. By early evening, the night manager must have gotten sick of DH, and relented by telling us to move from the garden view room [ugh, noise from the band at the bar was a bit much] to another building. The new room was further to the left of the main lobby building, facing the beach and looking out toward Moorea. Much nicer location and better room.

 

We booked our own circle island day tour with Dave's VIP tours. He picked us up at the hotel, small group in his van, very informative. I seem to recall the cost about $65 pp. The concierge at the hotel knows Dave and if you book this tour through the IC, they will tack on their profit. Check out TA for contact info to book this on your own.

 

Back to costs - yikes, FP is expensive! Everything on the island is imported, so the prices, along with taxes & service charges are steep. And I thought Zurich was expensive!! Food at the IC restaurant overlooking the pool, is on the high side with a limited menu. The IC also has an upscale restaurant on the property, but we didn't try it out. Drinks are similar to fine dining in major US cities. The hotel has a small notions shop, snack foods were way over priced IMO. But as previously mentioned, nothing is close by. I did notice a grocery store between the hotel and air port, but we didn't have time to check it out.

 

Darcy

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We're booking our own air and hotel. The IC has a discounted rate of $220 per night US non refundable and a another with no deposit and that can be cancelled up 3 days prior that includes breakfast for 2 daily and the circle island tour for $367/night US.

This seems like a no-brainer but I've read mixed reviews of that tour and am wondering what the actual cost is for breakfast at the IC

The rates are for garden view for $20 more per night we can get a lagoon view- worth it?

Thanks

 

Here are pics of the ground floor garden room we had looking out to Moorea. I'd pay the extra $20 for this view.

We booked with breakfast incl. I seem to remember breakfast costing at least $35.PP. We enjoyed the ground floor room, being able to walk out to the water was convenient. The tour is an added bonus. Not sure if they'ed take your luggage- space issue.

cvn_213210.jpg

cvn_060939.jpg

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The IC was originally a Travelodge, built in the 1970s, so the original rooms reflect that business plan. Then it became The Beachcomber and most Tahitians still call it that today. Then it changed hands again and went to the Park Royal group. Then it became an InterContinental and was considerably expanded. The OWBs date back to the early years and were built on the original beach which wasn't really a beach at all - just a bit of reclaimed land. It's OK but not worth the prices and most people use it like an airport transit lounge.

 

In my view The Radisson is preferable, though the building is ugly. However, it does have the best beach on Tahiti and a spectacular view of Moorea. I don't really know The Meridien well enough to comment.

 

Most people like Manava Suites near Papeete.

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Thanks for that update Someotherguy . . . this is quite a jump for the Pearl group, a big resort like the Radisson, and I hope they might improve it. I've always had a soft spot for the locally owned Pearl group - their Bora Bora property has the best view, has the most authentic Polynesian vibe, and is the only hotel I'd consider on the island until (and if) Amanresorts reopen the Hotel Bora Bora. The Pearl in Moorea is notsogood.

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We'll be checking in late Thursday night and plan to take it easy on Friday- maybe a trip into town to buy some groceries. We'll be checking out Saturday morning and instead of spending half a day in town are thinking about taking a half day island tour. Will the hotel keep our bags until early afternoon or should we take a cab to the pier, drop off our bags and have the tour pick us up and drop us off there. Any half day recommended island tours?

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Luggage can be secured in a room to your right, across from the check in desk. We had to do this as our flight back to LAX left close to midnight and we had to be out of our room earlier in the day. We spent that last day by the pool, then used a common area shower room to change for the evening flight.

 

Darcy

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We'll be checking in late Thursday night and plan to take it easy on Friday- maybe a trip into town to buy some groceries. We'll be checking out Saturday morning and instead of spending half a day in town are thinking about taking a half day island tour. Will the hotel keep our bags until early afternoon or should we take a cab to the pier, drop off our bags and have the tour pick us up and drop us off there. Any half day recommended island tours?

Drop your bags off at the ship. There are tour operators at the pier offering all types of tours. There are also many tours online that you can book months before, which is what I would do. You could also arrange a tour with persons from your RollCall.

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We'll be checking in late Thursday night and plan to take it easy on Friday- maybe a trip into town to buy some groceries. We'll be checking out Saturday morning and instead of spending half a day in town are thinking about taking a half day island tour. Will the hotel keep our bags until early afternoon or should we take a cab to the pier, drop off our bags and have the tour pick us up and drop us off there. Any half day recommended island tours?

 

Limited groceries in town. You are better off walking the mile or so to Carrefour which has everything under the sun. It's an easy walk along the road with a sidewalk pretty much the entire way.

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Limited groceries in town. You are better off walking the mile or so to Carrefour which has everything under the sun. It's an easy walk along the road with a sidewalk pretty much the entire way.

 

Not that I'm in bad shape, but walking 2 miles for a few groceries is not on my list of things to do in Tahiti :D. We're not real big on breakfast- some fruit, maybe a pastry, juice and coffee, but want to purchase something for a light lunch for Saturday- bread, cold cuts, cheese- these can't be bought in town? Also looking for an alternative for dinner to the IC- dw doesn't eat seafood. Is there something near the IC or should we go into town later in the afternoon on Friday and eat there or at the trucks by the pier.

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Not that I'm in bad shape, but walking 2 miles for a few groceries is not on my list of things to do in Tahiti :D. We're not real big on breakfast- some fruit, maybe a pastry, juice and coffee, but want to purchase something for a light lunch for Saturday- bread, cold cuts, cheese- these can't be bought in town? Also looking for an alternative for dinner to the IC- dw doesn't eat seafood. Is there something near the IC or should we go into town later in the afternoon on Friday and eat there or at the trucks by the pier.

 

This is my experience. We walked to Carrefour which was an easy and interesting walk. It took about 15 minutes in each direction. While we were there we picked up a bottle of wine (they had a decent selection of mostly French and NZ wines--the still wines were reasonable, the sparkling wines were out of control expensive), a loaf of bread, some cured meat, some cheese (they have a decent fromagerie), bottled water (it was suggested we not drink the tap water on Tahiti), some milk, croissants, and juice.

 

When we got of the PG at the end of the cruise we looked around downtown, thinking we would do the same thing. We found a "quickie-mart" type place that had little to no selection of the items we wanted. There was a single loaf of stale French bread, no meats, cheese slices like you'd put on a kid's sandwich, and a selection of wine like you'd find in a gas station. Maybe we weren't looking in the right place, but I wouldn't count on easily finding anything downtown. There was nothing in the public market except some fresh fruits, we found the quickie mart place on a side street.

 

Also, we had fresh fruit bowls in our rooms at the IC, not sure if it was something they do for everyone or due to my status with IHG.

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Thanks for that update Someotherguy . . . this is quite a jump for the Pearl group, a big resort like the Radisson, and I hope they might improve it. I've always had a soft spot for the locally owned Pearl group - their Bora Bora property has the best view, has the most authentic Polynesian vibe, and is the only hotel I'd consider on the island until (and if) Amanresorts reopen the Hotel Bora Bora. The Pearl in Moorea is notsogood.

 

I hope they do something good too--have heard that the hotel has become quite run down, which is sad because we really liked it. Also have a soft spot for Pearl, but then again, they have completely abandoned their extraordinarily beautiful Pearl hotel on Manihi, which doesn't bode well for them. I've also heard that the Pearl on Moorea is run down--how bad is it, do you know?

 

Not that I'm in bad shape, but walking 2 miles for a few groceries is not on my list of things to do in Tahiti :D. We're not real big on breakfast- some fruit, maybe a pastry, juice and coffee, but want to purchase something for a light lunch for Saturday- bread, cold cuts, cheese- these can't be bought in town? Also looking for an alternative for dinner to the IC- dw doesn't eat seafood. Is there something near the IC or should we go into town later in the afternoon on Friday and eat there or at the trucks by the pier.

 

Well, Le Meridien is a very nice property, albeit a bit further back to town and the airport, but there's a nice-looking supermarket literally next to the front gate of the hotel. I agree with you--don't want to walk two miles anywhere in FP! Here's the view from our room:

 

P1030032-XL.jpg

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Carrefour near the IC is awesome. Stocked up for 5 days. Food, drink, saved a fortune. That being said, to the left at the IC entrance, a 10 minute walk is a small grocery store that's pretty good too. Part of my walk last time was with a lot of school children. It was a blast.

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  • 1 month later...
owned Pearl group - their Bora Bora property has the best view, has the most authentic Polynesian vibe, and is the only hotel I'd consider on the island until (and if) Amanresorts reopen the Hotel Bora Bora.

 

You can't be serious. You favor a third tier dilapidated abode like the Pearl over 2 of the world's best and most prestigious hotels: The Four Seasons and the St. Regis?

 

If you are allergic to top 5 star hotels in the world, then a third choice like the IC Thalasso still beats the Pearl by a mile.

Edited by Kinofdc
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All the times I have been to Bora Bora I can't remember if I have actually seen more than a handful of people at the Pearl. The other side of the mountain is indeed spectacular. I have stayed at the IC Thalasso and it was amazing. If you don't want to stay at any of the big 3 then try Le Meridien in between. Nice place too.

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