Raiatea hotels & places to stay

The Opoa Beach Hotel where we’ve stayed the final 3 days of a 3-week trip to New Zealand and French Polynesia, is 9 cute cottages all decorated with local artisan craftwork, surrounding a small pool right by the waters edge on the east (sunrise) side of Raiatea looking towards Huahine. Free boat shuttle out the motu (little island w/beach on the reef surrounding the lagoon) 3X/day, where the snorkeling in the coral garden on the reef side is pretty spectacular and never more than 10' deep. Everything was pristinely clean and manicured, beautiful plantings, very relaxing and low-key elegance, but not the place if you’re looking for action or every creature comfort (e.g., no A/C - just the constant breeze) and no screens in the windows and nobody wears shoes (take them off at the door and rinse your feet in a little stone cistern) but we had no trouble with bugs or anything like that. They have cars on-site to rent and will arrange anything you want to do but mostly people seem to come here to escape the rest of the world and relax with a good book and incredible food and a serene view across the lagoon. The hotel director was incredibly helpful, he and his wife (run the hotel like a finely-tuned machine - but one with a smile and a gentle laugh. Mme. Barbace is also the chef - a creator of amazing delicious food blending French and Polynesian, with fresh local ingredients like fish from the little fishing village right next door. This is the place if you want to experience the real French Polynesia and leaves your shoes at the door, far from the maddening crowd...

Overall, the "Pension Les 3 Cascades" was a good choice for my stay in Raiatea. Patrice, the owner / manager, was extremely helpful in terms of arranging activities, making phone calls to his local contacts. Without him, I would never had been able to organise the bicycle tour or the day-trip on Motu. I highly appreciated him walking the extra mile. The property itself is also very nice!

Arsenne and Marie-Claude run a beautiful small hotel in the Opoa area. The hotel is a collection of individual bungalows - with most right on the beach, just a few steps to the Raiatea lagoon. The beach bungalows each have great views of Huahine, the Raiatea lagoon and reef, and a motu on the reef. Located on the windward side of the island, a strong, refreshing and cooling breeze is almost always coming directly into the beach bungalows, which are comfortable and private. Breakfasts and lunches are available in the dining room or on the covered dining patio. Dinners are ordered and delivered to your bungalow exactly at an agreed time. Meals are VERY good - while we were there, local Raiatea residents came to the hotel just for the meals, and we thoroughly enjoyed all of our meals there. Definitely try the fresh fish prepared in the local Opoa vanilla sauce! I also loved the tagliatelle with bacon - rich with flavor and loaded with plenty of bacon. Watch out for their "fruit cocktails avec alcool" (with alcohol) - they are very smooth and tasty, but after a second one, you might be staggering back to your bungalow. I would book a beach bungalow - I would be concerned that the ones inland might not have that refreshing breeze to keep you cool. Also - immediately adjacent to the hotel is one of the most important maraes in French Polynesia - Marae Taputapuatea. This is worth a visit by itself, but if you stay at the hotel, it is only yards from your bungalow. There are several large "temple" and "courtyard" structures of lava/basalt, with good informational signs in Tahitian, French, and English. Arsenne doesn't speak much English, but Marie does well, and we had no trouble with communications. Please note that this is a very French hotel - not what you might expect of a hotel that caters to a lot of Americans. Relax and take it easy and you will have a great time here.

Since this was our first and probably only trip to French Polynesia, I booked the Pension Ta Maeva see as much of the island before getting on a catamaran cruise the next day. The bungalow was on the side of a hill just up from the owner's quarters. It was sparse with no AC but had a large floor fan. We slept comfortably. We had a resident gecko, but that didn't bother us. I was concerned about chikungunya and dengue carrying mosquitoes so I had Deet wipes with me. The owner's spoke mostly French, but communication problems were solved with reverso.net. The wifi was at his place. None at the bungalow. He said the chikungunya was no more and dengue is still around and treated with Tylenol. I was bitten by something anyway which I truly expected but I have no lingering effects. They would have prepared supper and charged us, but he recommended a roulotte (food cart) just down the road. He drove down and we bought Chinese food (very good). There was enough for supper and lunch the next day. The continental breakfast (fresh baguettes, local fruit, and coffee) the next morning was waiting for us near the pool and was tasty. The photo of the pool is deceiving. It's very small. We wouldn't have gone swimming. I am just noting it is not a full size pool. They kept the place landscaped nicely, such beautiful flowers everywhere. We could see the bay from our bungalow. Lastly I didn't understand that he would have picked us up at the airport. He did return us to the marina and stopped at a market for us since we left the plug at home that we needed for electricity. He was quite the guide and made a few stops to show us fruit trees and talked about the island. He charges a regular taxi fee plus a small tax (5120 cfp). We would have used his services both ways. All in all it was a very pleasant experience. We highly recommend Pension Ta Maeva if you are low key like us.

Le bungalow est spacieux et très fonctionnel. Il est propre, moderne et très bien équipé, avec une jolie terrasse et un accès direct au deck et à la piscine. Edouard est un hôte adorable, accueillant et très attachant. Il a aussi pris du temps pour nous montrer toutes les bonnes addresses en ville. Pour ne rien gâcher, Edouard est un exemple d'honnêteté : nous avions trouvé un arrangement pour emprunter sa voiture. Il a finalement refusé de recevoir la totalité de la somme convenue car il a beaucoup plu le jour de notre départ, et il a estimé que nous n'avions pas à payer pour un jour où nous ne l'avions pas utilisée ! Du jamais vu Nous recommandons chaudement la Maison du Voyage pour toutes durées de séjour à Raiatea

The accommodation is very well maintained and the view of each bungalow is directly to the lagoon. They are directly at the beach and very clean. The best accommodation so far in French Polynesia. I would absolutely recommend this hotel to everyone. A car or scooter to get along is recommended. The owner is very friendly and the food in the restaurant is excellent. Only the breakfast is a bit overpriced (2000 xpf/person). WLAN which is only available around the pool and restaurant works well and fast.