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Le Meridian Hotel in Papeete


Zoey1
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we are disembarking in Papeete and our flight does not leave u til 11pm.

We thought about getting a day rate at a hotel and relaxing at the beach/pool in preparation for our long flight home.

 

None of the hotels get great reviews, I emailed quite a few bit only the Le Meridian got back to me. Has anyone been to their beach and know if it is decent?

 

Looking for any and all information.

Thanks,

Wendy

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The hotel is very old - we had a day room there in 2004 and it was old then. Not sure if you checked CC's sister company, TripAdvisor but this is what they had to say https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297572-d308289-Reviews-Le_Meridien_Tahiti-Punaauia_Tahiti_Society_Islands.html

 

Keep in mind that Papeete is super expensive so plan accordingly!

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Le Meridien is our favourite hotel on the main island. The beach is small but OK, and the pool is excellent. The grounds are excellent, as is the food. In that part of the world all buildings, including hotels, decay rapidly because of the climate. So the question is not so much when it was built as how has it been maintained. In this case, the answer is pretty well, although the over-water bungalows have been closed for some time. As TC2 says, all hotels are expensive. But Le Meridien is literally a five minute walk from a shopping center with coffee shops, a nice grocery store, a couple of upscale restos, etc. So somewhat less expensive alternatives are easily available.

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In Feb. we stayed at Intercontinental and just booked whole nite rate,,that way we could stay past 8-pm of nite we flew,,,since the airport won t even open gates there for checking in till 9pm and little seating space and no ac in front. Not much more and worth every penny. Talked to a few that had to be out at 7 ,,I think in their day room and were not happy to be sitting at airport under above conditions.Also, even with day room,,or reg booking,,no guarantee a room will be ready in am. Ours not till 1-pm ,so enjoyed great pool ,restaurant,etc. Had changing rooms and luggage area.Got taxi and at airport in 10 min.from there.It s a LONG day, and good to enjoy it.

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We've stayed at the IC a few times before and after cruises on the Paul Gauguin, and plan to stay there again next year. The same company owns both the PG and the IC chain, so the room rates and transfers work well between the cruise and room for us. There's really no beach at the IC Tahiti, but there are 2 great pools, and the lagoon swimming area is really nice. I like to just walk around it and look at the fish, but it's an easy snorkel there. There's no way a shark can get in, which is a big plus. The food and beverages are really expensive at the restaurant. The best price for dinner is eating in the bar area at happy hour. We've seen people walking out to the main road to bring back breakfast and lunch, and it's really close to the airport. Most of the rooms have been upgraded within the last 2 years, and the cheaper rooms to the left of the lobby were scheduled to be updated earlier this year (and they needed it). While you might want to get a higher floor to keep prying eyes out of the room, just remember that leaving your patio door open in any of the rooms will let in geckos and large insects. Mosquitoes and no-see-ums will come in if you don't keep the screen closed.

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The hotel with the best beach is the Pearl, formerly the Radisson. It's a natural black sand beach, part of the Matavai Bay area where Cook and Bligh landed in the 18th century. There is also a nice view of Moorea from there. This is a public beach and it's very long so you can have a nice beach walk. The hotel itself is adequate, not great, like all of the hotels on Tahiti.

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As Fletcher says, the Pearl has the best beach by far. The minus is that the hotel is pretty isolated. The Intercontinental is closest to the airport, which some will like but I've heard of one complaint that it is too noisy because of that. Le Meridien has the nearby shopping center, which is in its favor if you have the time and inclination to use it. I've heard different things about the staff of the Pearl and the IC, not all of which were positive: I've never had an issue with the staff of either hotel. But in my own limited experience, the staff of Le Meridian have been universally pleasant and helpful. So choosing any of these three you are unlikely to go wrong. As I have written, Le Meridien is my personal favourite, but wouldn't mind either of the others provided I get to be in French Polynesia.

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