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If you’ve been following along on our journey, you know that my family and I recently returned home from French Polynesia. After a smooth touchdown at Raiatea Airport (here’s what it’s like to fly Air Tahiti), Natalie, the kids and I walked into the open-air airport and headed to the booth for Le Taha’a. Here’s what our transfer and stay were like:
It’s a very small airport so you can’t miss the hotel greeters. A friendly representative was there to welcome us with flowered leis and tagged our bags, which arrived within five minutes.
He and another hotel worker put all the bags on covered luggage carts and gave us umbrellas since it was raining. We walked about 50 yards to the airport dock where the Le Taha’a XI was waiting. The boat transfer took 35 minutes and since it stays close to shore, the waters weren’t rough.
We hugged the coastline of Taha’a, the fourth-largest of the Society Islands, alongside Tahiti, Moorea and Raiatea. The boat has teak floors and everyone sits below on the comfortable white seats (the boat holds a max of 10 passengers). The weather was terrible so we didn’t have great views but fortunately, it cleared up later during our stay.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by a warm welcome, which included a song sung by Tattoo (pictured above).
He walked us to the open-air lobby where we and the two other couples on our boat were served a welcome drink made of hibiscus syrup, vanilla, lemon and water. I loved it. The kids did not so I got to drink theirs, too! Instead of standing at the front desk, guests are invited to sit in comfortable chairs around the ‘lobby’ for privacy. Guests sign all paperwork and restaurant checks using a pencil, which is unique.
Le Taha’a Private Island & Spa opened in July 2002 and was designed to be the most exclusive resort in French Polynesia. The hotel has won numerous awards including making Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List. It’s safe to say they’ve accomplished their goal because the 60-room resort (48 overwater bungalows, 10 beach suites and two super beach suites) makes you feel like you are completely alone in the middle of the South Pacific.
There’s not a lot of boat traffic like in Bora Bora and the bungalows are thoughtfully spread out. The resort is isolated and not actually on the island of Taha’a itself; it’s located on a motu, a small islet on a coral reef on the lagoon side of Taha’a with Bora Bora in the background. The resort is owned by the Pearl Resorts group and operated by the swanky Relais & Châteaux consortium.
This was my first time back in 17 years and my first visit with my kids. The hotel put us up in one of the beach bungalows (our trip was hosted by the tourism board), which I didn’t think I would like but ended up loving. The landscaping around the whole resort, including the beach villas, is immaculate. The gardeners who ride around are very friendly.
The villas are huge. Each one has its own private space with a bedroom and living area that has a desk and comfortable daybed/couch, which I slept on. Natalie slept with the kids in the king size bed.
The design combines traditional Polynesian touches like wood and thatched roofs with modern comforts like a rainfall shower inside and a backyard garden with a stone-shaped tub large enough to accommodate me and the kids.
They offered a generous number of toiletries including a vanilla body oil, which my wife couldn’t stop raving about.
The doors don’t creek so I could use the loo in the middle of the night and not disturb my light-sleeping wife.
The mini bar is free and gets refilled daily with a bag of chips and a Bounty bar. You can ask for what you prefer like no beer or soda.
What’s nice about Le Taha’a is that they don’t have a lot of plastic bottle waste. Instead, they give each guest a branded hotel water bottle, which can be filled at the refilling station and ice machine in one of the huts. It wasn’t far from our room, number 55.
There was air conditioning in both rooms and the WiFi was strong. The only downside we experienced is that there were a few mosquitoes in our room because of the rain and when we were checking out I found the culprit. One of the screens in the bathroom had a hole in it.
There’s also a small but fairly deep (4.5 feet) plunge pool.
The villas sit right on the soft white sand with direct views of the turquoise lagoon. You can hear the roar of the ocean hitting the reef about a mile away.
The resort has two bars and three restaurants, including a main restaurant that’s nestled among the trees. We had dinner and breakfast there.
The breakfast buffet has to be one of my top 10 favorites of all time, which is saying a lot. The French Toast was outrageously good and so are the pastries.
The only disappointment is that they didn’t serve real maple syrup. I didn’t really care since I had the ginger and vanilla syrups but as a Canadian, my wife is a maple syrup purist.
A couple of times, we had lunch at the casual beach and poolside venue.
There’s a gourmet dining option with a dress code but I didn’t even see it since it’s not someplace I would likely dine with the kids. The place is filled with a lot of honeymooners so the families that we saw shied away.
Guests can enjoy weekly Polynesian dinners with live performances that showcase local cuisine and culture.
The star of the show, which begins at 7:30pm, was of course Tattoo, who does a fire dance outside around 8pm. My kids loved it and so did everyone else. The stars at night are incredible so be sure to look up.
New since the last time I was there is an ice cream shop with homemade ice cream with no eggs or nuts. The girl who worked there remembered our names and flavors. It costs 500 XFP ($5 USD) a scoop.
The resort has a beautiful pool with stunning views of the lagoon and the island of Taha’a. There are lots of free activities at the resort, which include use of the 24/7 gym and tennis court.
You can also take a kayak or standup paddle board out for no extra charge. They have life preservers and water shoes, though I recommend you bring your own shoes.
They also supply snorkel gear because right next to the resort is a coral garden which you can walk down to and let the tide take you back down to the resort. We did it with a guide on one of our excursions and the kids loved it.
The more adventurous can try drift snorkeling, letting the incoming tide carry you from the small reef that borders the island to the heart of the coral garden.
What’s nice is that the water is so clear and shallow it’s perfect for kids. You can walk all the way out to one of the motus and it’s not even waist deep.
If you sign up for a tour of Taha’a, there’s a five-minute shuttle that goes multiple times a day. We went on an excellent tour, much better than the last time we were there. Taha’a Tour Excursions (Ph.: +689 89 52 69 97).
Our guide, Yvann, met us by the dock and we climbed into the back of his comfortable pick-up truck that had padded benches. The kids were excited since it was the first time they had been in the back of a truck.
The 4×4 tour goes along the seaside road to explore the island. As he drove, Yvann taught us about the life and customs of yesterday and today’s Polynesians.
Our first stop was to visit a pearl farm (Love Here Pearl Farm) and we spent exactly an hour there learning all the secrets of how they create the fabulous black pearl of Tahiti. I had no idea about the science involved in the process and it was fascinating for all of us to learn.
I thought the kids would be bored and that we would spend no more than 10 minutes but that wasn’t the case. They were so interested and to top off the experience, my son spotted sharks and eagle rays in the waters below. This part of the tour was a big hit.
On our way to the next stop, Yvann stopped the truck, ran out into a field and picked a Noni fruit (called nono in Tahiti). It grows abundantly on Taha’a and throughout French Polynesia and it’s known for its strong smell of blue cheese and bitter taste.
They offer it at the hotel breakfast buffet. I didn’t like it but I’m willing to try almost anything, especially things that are valued as traditional medicine, which this is for its potent antioxidant juice.
Vanilla PlantationTaha’a is often referred to as the Vanilla Island since it’s responsible for about 70% of Polynesia’s vanilla production. It’s estimated that they produce 25 tons a year. They have 320 vanilla plantations on the island and we just happened to visit the same one my wife and I visited nearly 20 years ago. It’s owned by a Danish man and his wife. The owner toured us around the first time but not this time.
I remember the owner because since I’m part Danish, I asked him on my first tour if he missed Denmark. He said that when he gets homesick, he sticks his head in the freezer and that does the trick. Can’t forget that joke, now can you?
We learned step-by-step how the precious vanilla orchid grows and is cultivated. It’s not an easy process and requires some human intervention. Like good tourists, we bought some vanilla (700 XPF = $6.90 USD a bottle) for home and for Natalie’s mom, who was happy to have authentic Tahitian vanilla to use in her Christmas baking. I passed on the vanilla coffee, tea, perfume, soap and candles but I did learn that you can make your own vanilla extract by getting 20 beans and putting them in a bottle with rum. Many restaurants do this since it’s so much cheaper. But 100 grams, about 10 sticks, sells for 8000 XPF ($80).
After departing the vanilla plantation, we drove through town and went up a hill for a gorgeous view of the island (the sun came out just in time). This was probably my kids’ highlight of the day because Yvann cut a branch off of a hibiscus tree and quickly carved my kids homemade flutes and swords.
His sister was also there and she served us fresh fruit. The pineapple was the sweetest I’ve ever had in my life (and I’ve eaten a lot of pineapple!)
We then went back to the dock where we met with two representatives from Vanbass Tours (Ph.: +689 87 07 57 57) who took us on a lagoon excursion.
Our first stop was on the other side of the hotel’s motu. You would never know it’s there but they have a really nice set-up. We had a traditional buffet lunch of fish, chicken, rice, vegetables with another tour group. We then took a dip in the lagoon to cool off before going back out on the boat.
We were supposed to swim with sharks next but the weather turned again. The ride was thirty minutes so I suggested we go to the coral garden near our hotel since my son was reluctant to snorkel with just me. It turned out to be perfect since the guide really took care of Jack while I tended to Olivia.
After an hour in the water we went back on the boat where our guide sang numerous songs (including songs from Moana and Christmas carols) while playing his ukulele. It was an incredible experience that we’ll never forget, listening to his beautiful voice while enjoying more fresh fruit. If you watch my Instagram video, you can see all of it.
Later, Olivia told us that she’d scraped her knee on the coral, which I’d had no idea had happened. It can be dangerous but fortunately our guides knew what to do. They recommended we get a lime from the hotel and squeeze fresh juice on it for 30 seconds. They said it should take the poison out and also recommended giving her some Tylenol and letting her rest for the afternoon. If she developed a fever in the morning, she’d have to go to the doctor but thankfully their advice worked!
The whole trip to Le Taha’a was like a dream and every guest I spoke to, from honeymooners to families, all loved it. It was one of our best family trips and our kids continue to talk about it all the time. Hopefully we can return one day but even if we don’t, we created memories that lasted a lifetime, which is our goal, every time we travel.