Intercontinental Hotel in Papeete?

[crowpro]

Is this a nice place to stay for a couple of days before our cruise in February 2016?

Thanks

[Marisha115]

We stayed there in April of 2013 and thought it was absolutely wonderful! We booked it on our own for a much better rate than Oceania was offering. The food there is expensive though.

 

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

[Caroldoll]

We stayed in one of the over the water bungalows. OMG, they are wonderful and they have lights and you can see the fish at night.

 

Our friends stayed in a regular room and it was nice.

 

Our breakfast was included so we didn't have that expense, but EVERYTHING in Tahiti is very expensive as far as eating. All food has to be brought in. It is a wonderful experience and well worth it. Do not miss it.

[ronrick1943]

Yes it's very nice. Besure to get a room over the water. We also stayed after the cruise for a day, before the night flight.

 

Rick

[alidor]

We also stayed here for 3 nights before our cruise in an over-the-water bungalow and it was wonderful! Well worth the cost for it - it remains one of my favorite places to stay.

 

I've read some negative reviews about the place saying it's run down, etc. I don't know about the regular rooms but for the over-the-water rooms, it was terrific.

[canuck.qc]

Is this a nice place to stay for a couple of days before our cruise in February 2016?

Thanks

Absolutly great for a few days. If you had more time you could split between Moorea.

This is a picture of our garden level room, facing Moorea. We simply walked out to the pool/water. Make your own booking with breakfast included...watch online for IC specials.

 

[mediapro]

Is this a nice place to stay for a couple of days before our cruise in February 2016?

Thanks

 

We're returning for our sixth trip to French Polynesia this weekend. Though the IC Tahiti is a nice property, explore the IC Moorea as an option. The vibe and beauty of Moorea beats Tahiti hands down. The IC Moorea has a great pool/beach area, a dolphin rescue facility, a turtle rescue facility, the OTW bungalows, and plenty of water toys included.

 

You have to factor in the 45-minute ferry ride (same harbor and next to cruise ship dock area) and $15 US per person, as well as taxi fare to the IC (~$25 each way).

 

If you decide to stay at the IC Tahiti, check with the hotel or your TA about whether your stay will be on one of the Polynesian Dance Show nights. Outside of the restaurant/bar area is a shallow pool/lagoon. The night we were there probably a cast of 50 dancers reenacted first contact with Europeans. The male dancers emerged from the lagoon, the female dancers moved with such unimaginable energy, it is something not to be missed.

 

So, IC Tahiti if you are there on a show night. Otherwise, get into the real FP vibe in Moorea.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We loved it. It's been 10 years but we stayed 4 nights. We could see Moorea from our bed. We had room service breakfast...by canoe. Included in our stay. There was an upgrade offer via the hotel website from an OWB to an OWB/Suite. We saw the Polynesian show - incredible.

We took LeTruk into Papeete and walked around the Marche.

We explored their verison of grocery store.

[Wol]

The Intercon Papeete is a reasonable place to stay for a couple of days pre- or post- cruise, but the rooms are fairly basic (think Caribbean)

 

The food is expensive and not particularly memorable (like most Tahiti hotels, apparently) but Carrefour is only twenty minutes walk away with wonderful fresh food for self catering.

 

If you are in the main blocks make sure to ask for a room on the West wings - the East wings are near the stage and the "music" is deafening!

 

Also, the hotel is basically a transit place with guests checking in and out constantly - you can expect to sit in the foyer for hours waiting for a room to be available unless you book for the previous night as well. There was (January) a lot of renovation going on - the overwater rooms, I think, were part of this - and even the fans in the foyer were not connected so it was pretty sticky.

[kuldalai]

You need deep pockets in Papeete . Everything food and accommodation wise is as dear as poison . Dear as Paris . Most food comes 20,000kms from France rather than from New Zealand which is a stones throw away . Also we expected a wonderful range of tropical fruits at breakfast buffet but were confronted with tinned peaches and pears at two resorts .

[bobndee]

We stayed there the night before our cruise in 2013. Count us among the people who feel the regular rooms are run-down. At least ours was. The property was nice and we enjoyed the lagoon pool.

[Leejnd4]

Here's another vote for the Intercontinental for a pre- or post-cruise stay. I've stayed there three times now, both before and after Paul Gauguin cruises.

 

If you are going to stay for more than a night or two, and want to do an over-water bungalow, I would suggest skipping the OWBs there and taking the ferry back over to Moorea to get your OWB at the Intercontinental there. We did that after our last PG cruise, and loved it! Much nicer than the one in Papeete.

 

If you're going to stay at the IC in Papeete, and you don't want to spring for an OWB, try to upgrade to a Panoramic room. They are significantly nicer than the regular rooms, which really are quite basic motel rooms. The Panoramic rooms are huge - over 400 sq ft - and in a nicer, newer part of the resort, albeit a bit more of a walk to the lobby.

 

Agree with the others that food is most certainly NOT the reason to come to Tahiti. :p If you have a free night, rather than dine at the hotel, grab a taxi to the Roulottes, which are food trucks that come out every night along the waterfront. Don't be put off by the fact that they are trucks - the food is awesome! You can get everything from Chinese food to French food, yummy crepes...they are busy every night with locals and tourists alike, and you will often see whole families dining there, kids playing in the grass nearby while the grownups sit around the picnic tables. It's really worth going, and the food is probably better than you'll get at the IC (and certainly less expensive!).

 

Ahh...French Polynesia...one of my favorite places on earth. We'll be back there again sometime soon!

 

Oh...editing to add...if you happen to be at the IC in Papeete on a Friday night, they put on a Polynesian dance show & buffet, and it's worth it! Pricey, but the buffet is the best food you'll find in Tahiti and the show really is fantastic. Check your dates and plan to see it if you can!

Edited March 11, 2015 by Leejnd4

[Leejnd4]

We're returning for our sixth trip to French Polynesia this weekend. Though the IC Tahiti is a nice property, explore the IC Moorea as an option. The vibe and beauty of Moorea beats Tahiti hands down. The IC Moorea has a great pool/beach area, a dolphin rescue facility, a turtle rescue facility, the OTW bungalows, and plenty of water toys included.

 

You have to factor in the 45-minute ferry ride (same harbor and next to cruise ship dock area) and $15 US per person, as well as taxi fare to the IC (~$25 each way).

 

If you decide to stay at the IC Tahiti, check with the hotel or your TA about whether your stay will be on one of the Polynesian Dance Show nights. Outside of the restaurant/bar area is a shallow pool/lagoon. The night we were there probably a cast of 50 dancers reenacted first contact with Europeans. The male dancers emerged from the lagoon, the female dancers moved with such unimaginable energy, it is something not to be missed.

 

So, IC Tahiti if you are there on a show night. Otherwise, get into the real FP vibe in Moorea.

 

LOL I just saw this post...great minds think alike, I guess! :D

 

When we stayed at the IC Moorea, we were in the OWB right next to the dolphin rescue, and their swim area was literally right beside us. We spent hours out on our deck just sitting there watching the dolphins swim around, leap, dance, talk to each other...it was wonderful!

 

Agree the Polynesian show at the IC in Papeete is not to be missed. We've seen quite a few similar shows around FP, but nothing comes close to the one at the IC.

[fairbourne]

Leejnd4

 

Can I ask about the ferry over to Moorea?

 

I am not a light packer (much to the DH's despair!)and we are on a longer cruise, so how easy is it to head over on the ferry with "cruise luggage"? ;):D

 

I also think we may arrive on an afternoon flight, so would I imagine be able to head straight over.

 

I haven't done any research on this yet, so am kinda "thinking out loud!".

 

Dolphins - magical creatures, that swings it for me! :)

[Leejnd4]

Happy to help!

 

I'm not a light packer either...and to make matters worse, my husband and I are scuba divers and we each had a suitcase filled with our dive gear. So we had plenty of luggage!

 

We had no problem taking the ferry over. The ferry terminal is right near the cruise terminal. We did this at the end of our cruise, so we had to get to the ferry from the cruise ship. Gosh, I can't exactly recall the specifics of how we got our luggage over to the ferry, but I know it wasn't difficult -- we were traveling with another couple who both have mobility issues, and we didn't have to make any special arrangements.

 

If you are coming from the airport, just take a taxi, and they will deliver you right to the ferry terminal where you can check your luggage in. There are several departures for Moorea throughout the day -- it's a short trip, maybe 30 to 40 minutes. The ferry was quite comfortable. And when we got to Moorea, we had a shuttle from the IC pick us up right there and deliver us. The whole thing was quite painless, and we were really glad we did that, as opposed to staying in Papeete.

 

We took one of our 3 days in Moorea and rented a car, and drove completely around the whole island. It was wonderful!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The ferry is a cinch. You will need to take a cab to get to the dock, but then coming back, you can walk to the cruise port, a few steps away.

 

I am one who is not a fan of the IC Tahiti. We did a post-cruise night in the Meridien on Tahiti just six months ago and really liked it, btw. But I concur that getting over to Moorea, even for just two nights is what you should do. Consider renting a car for the duration so you can get out and see the island, although with just two days you could easily "chill" at the hotel. With a car you can find smaller restaurants and buy supplies like beer and water to economize.

[findacruise]

We just spent a night at the IC Papeete in February before a cruise in the older part of the hotel. I concur with the OP that it is just a standard hotel room. Ours was definitely in need of some TLC. The bed was comfortable, though and that's what really mattered after arriving at 6:30 am. The tub was very high and difficult to get in and out of. The bathroom had a window with just a screen over it so you get regular air in there, not the air conditioning.

 

Our friends had an upgraded, newer room at the opposite end a were very happy with it. The included breakfast buffet had everything one would want. We ate it and had no need for lunch. We did go to the Friday night show that was mentioned and were not impressed, based on the price we paid and the food and show. Maybe because we have seen other Polynesian shows we felt were better and the fact wwe were placed in front of a post and behind a serving station where there was constant activity in front of us.

 

We realized (too late) that you can go to the bar next to the restaurant and actually see the show from there. - could have ordered a drink (which we had anyway ($18 US!)) and snacks and probably had a better view.

 

If we had more than one night, we would have gone to Moorea.

[We're The Groupnors]

We stayed at the IC Papeete prior to a PG Cruise in Feb 2014, and perhaps we got lucky, but we had a great room. We did not splurge for an Overwater Bungalow, but did have a a lovely patio room in the main building where we could step outside and walk right to the lagoon. We found the food there very good, too. Friends of ours that were on the same cruise chose to do a OWB in Moorea instead, and they loved it, but we liked having the chance to see Papeete since we were stopping in Moorea during the cruise.

[fairbourne]

Happy to help!

 

I'm not a light packer either...and to make matters worse, my husband and I are scuba divers and we each had a suitcase filled with our dive gear. So we had plenty of luggage!

 

We had no problem taking the ferry over. The ferry terminal is right near the cruise terminal. We did this at the end of our cruise, so we had to get to the ferry from the cruise ship. Gosh, I can't exactly recall the specifics of how we got our luggage over to the ferry, but I know it wasn't difficult -- we were traveling with another couple who both have mobility issues, and we didn't have to make any special arrangements.

 

If you are coming from the airport, just take a taxi, and they will deliver you right to the ferry terminal where you can check your luggage in. There are several departures for Moorea throughout the day -- it's a short trip, maybe 30 to 40 minutes. The ferry was quite comfortable. And when we got to Moorea, we had a shuttle from the IC pick us up right there and deliver us. The whole thing was quite painless, and we were really glad we did that, as opposed to staying in Papeete.

 

We took one of our 3 days in Moorea and rented a car, and drove completely around the whole island. It was wonderful!

 

Thanks! :) sounds like I have some planning to do! LOL!