Manava Beach Resort and Spa Moorea

Booked a fare with a small pool and it was lovely. Room was spacious and having the pool there was great. Food was good but on the pricy side. Breakfast buffet was $140 for a couple, the most I have ever paid for breakfast. Staff were brilliant and very helpful. Booze is also very expensive, not only at the resort but everywhere. Tip is to bring your own when you come.

this place was magical!! The clear water, the fish, coral, beach, pool, bar, spa: all of it made for a most memorable stay. Moorea and her people are doing a beautiful job preserving and at the same time SHARING all the beauty with the rest of the world.. (on a limited basis). I did indulge in a spa treatment, a Radiance Facial, and Lydia was fantastic. Plus we had 2 beach dinners, and both times Josephine was our host. Well worth it - I loved the coziness of the experience. We were on our honeymoon in Moorea 35 years ago, and stayed at a place called the Bali Hai. We knew it had closed down…. But were told that the Manava was on the same site! How fun is that. The original 3 Bali Hai boys legacy lives on with OWB and great service. The Manava crew took great care of us.

We highly recommend the premium overwater bungalows for snorkeling lovers, especially the bungalows facing the mountains and ours was #419. The bungalows were absolutely beautiful and it was so easy to dip into the ocean climbing down from the deck to explore the coral, fishes, sea cucumbers, coral garden, black tipped sharks, rays, turtles and beautiful fish!!!! The coral is not as colorful as we had hoped but they are planting more. There is a glass viewing window on the floor inside the overwater bungalows to watch the fish-just lovely. We would bring little pieces of bread/crackers to feed the fish while snorkeling. We saw eels, dolphins,sea orchids and another guest saw an octopus while snorkeling right from the bungalows-it is like being in an aquarium. The bungalows that face the lagoon were not as private as people from the resort/pool/lagoon could easily view their private deck. Moorea was just a tropical paradise and would love to return to swim with the whales at the time of the year when the whales visit. We booked through Costco a package which included our flights from LA, ground transport (from/to papette airport to the ferry pier to travel to Moorea, the bus from the pier to the resort ),and our resort stay with breakfast and dinner included. We wished we had done a Costco package with two islands such as Moorea and Bora Bora though. The resort was beautiful, there was an infinity pool(closes at 6 PM though????) but we spent most of our time in the ocean. The resort had a towel hut with free 1 hour rentals of paddle boards, lifejackets, snorkels (no fins though), and one and two person kayaks. There were E paddle board rentals with and without tours with snorkeling from the resort for a fee. We were thankful that we brought our snorkels and fins as the hour rental would have been limiting, but wished we had packed a fishing pole too. Air Tahiti Nui allows a free sports bag which we packed our snorkeling gear but could have easily have fit a collapsible fishing pole too. Air Tahiti Nui is very responsive by email with any questions. We tried to find a rental fishing pole or to buy one with no luck on or near the resort. Check the airline website for the size dimension and weight restrictions for the sports bag. The dinner menu is limited with only a few choices (order from the menu) though except for the better option of the Wednesday and Saturday Polynesian buffets with entertainment. These two buffets were included in our dinner package. Vegan choices are very limited for dinner with only 2 choices which got old quickly when staying for a week. Yolinda helped prepared at the “made to order omelet station” a tofu substitution which was delicious. There was an older woman who waitered at dinner and often at breakfast time who had worked at the resort over 20 years who was just lovely but I am so sorry that I am not able to recall her name as well as a young male waiter who would often sing while serving dinner. One drawback was that other than the 2 Polynesian nights with native dancing performances there was no entertainment at night or other activities at the resort. it would be nice if this could be improved with offering bingo, dancing, dance lessons, karaoke, trivia, arts and crafts, live music, and even back ground music. We recommend bringing bathing suits & rashers as the sun is strong, reef safe sunscreen, snorkels with fins, fishing pole,binoculars (the stars are amazing),sunglasses, sun hats, water camera, folding clothes hangers, and water shoes, Bring a universal converter with an extension cord as the room has one 110 outlet and even the bathroom needs a converter. There is one outlet with 2 usb outlets. A kettle and hair dryer are provided as well as bathrobes and disposable slippers. Outside the bungalow was an umbrella to use. We ordered /brought some tahitian money as it is a benefit of being AAA members. Some small businesses only accept cash and do not accept credit cards although credit cards are accepted in most places. Also the what’s app was helpful to be able to communicate with family in the US and some local businesses use what’s app. The resort had free Wi-Fi as well for research and emails. There is a small grocery store within walking distance from the resort to buy bottled water and snacks. Also within walking distance are several restaurants, souvenir shops, medical care and a pharmacy. There is a small mini frig in the room and every day there is provided 1 Liter of water per room. The resort says the water is filtered but may not be good for your organism & we found that bottled water was indeed best and other guests also had some issues after drinking the resort water. The shower had bath gel, shampoo but no conditioner or lotion. Most evenings they delivered a flower and a Tahitian story to read. Brush up on a few Tahitian language greetings before coming as a courtesy to the staff and locals. We used Albert Tours for a more budget friendly lagoon/snorkeling tour which is across the street from the resort. Some people even rented cars from Albert Tours. I enclosed safety information provided by the resort about the snorkeling and other information which maybe helpful to plan your trip. FYI: no one under the age of 18 can stay in an overwater bungalow or even walk on the boardwalk to the bungalows. If your room is not ready on arrival-you can enjoy the pool/lagoon/ocean and if a shower is needed then inquire at the front desk if you can use the private showers across from the front desk. This is helpful if your flight leaving is late in the day and you had to check out of your room in the morning but reservations are needed. We paid for a late checkout which was helpful. If you are on a breakfast/dinner package -the breakfast buffet is not free the first day as we learned the hard way and had to pay about $90 USD for that breakfast that was closing soon.

My husband and I just spent a week at Manava Beach Resort for our 25th wedding anniversary and it met all our expectations. I have been dreaming about French Polynesia for years and spent a lot of time researching islands and resorts. I chose Mo’orea due to its proximity to Tahiti and Manava for their location, and dreamy overwater bungalows. From the minute we walked into the lobby to the moment we left, we were treated like family. Every employee went out of their way to make us feel welcome. I loved the nightly delivery of tiare flowers and my husband saved all the legend pamphlets. On our first night the hotel delivered a complimentary bottle of champagne and we watched the sunset while we drank it. The location can’t be beat. We made the 5 minute walk into the village several times and visited the supermarket and several little shops. Everything is so convenient. Our rate came with breakfast and dinner. The breakfast buffet didn’t disappoint and Yolande made me an amazing omelet every morning. By our last day she had my order going before I even asked. Our dinners were delicious, made even better by an excellent creme brulee for dessert. I tried a different cocktail each night. Every single person working in both the restaurant and bar were gracious and welcoming. They entertained my limited French and spoke excellent English. I wish I could name everyone but honestly, every single employee at Manava is top notch. We had a premium overwater bungalow and I am glad we splurged. The room was comfortable and clean. The bathroom nicely appointed. The views were out of this world. My husband and I spent most of our time soaking up the sun on our deck. Being able to just climb into the ocean and snorkel was perfection. I discovered a clown fish living in an anemone, was visited by a turtle and a spotted eagle ray, and could have spent hours watching people paddle by in their outriggers. At night, the sky was full of stars. On our last evening I located the Southern Cross. The worst part of our stay was the day we had to leave. Visiting French Polynesia was on my “bucket list” and my hopes and expectations were sky high. Thank you to Manava Beach Resort for treating us in such a special way and making our 25th anniversary so memorable. I hope we will see you again.

We spent 6 nights at Manava Beach Resort on our first trip to French Polynesia. We stayed in an overwater bungalow for our 25th wedding anniversary trip. The bungalow was very nice, it had a firm bed, strong water pressure in the shower, and good air-conditioning for sleeping at night. The breakfast buffet was large, lots of food options. We had lunches and dinners off the resort, the concierge made dinner reservations for us. We had a rental car, and parking was an issue due to very limited on-site parking and a construction project at the front entrance.