Manava Beach Resort and Spa Moorea

Booked a bungalow over water. Beautiful, clean, spacious. Our little cove is not as blue and clear as one would want - but still gorgeous and exotic. The restaurants are nice. Food is tasty, servers are professional. Booked a spa treatment for wife and I. Fabulous! Very relaxing, made me feel better, relaxed, and happy. It was "light to medium pressure" which was a first for me. Why the hell do we think masseuse should beat the crap out of us? In any case, while the hotel accommodations and the restaurants are plenty of reasons to come here, the spa clinches the deal and makes it all "11!"

At Manea Spa, Beline and Raiata were sensational. The full body massage and facial are the best we will ever experience in our lives. I felt as if the monoi had been engraved into my skin. My mind relaxed and drifted into a dreaming state. Even before our sessions, they were very attentive, respectful and took a lot of care into listening to what alternatives we needed. It was a mind and body levitating experience, and they will absolutely see me again. We felt so sacred and precious that we wished we could remain untouched for the rest of the trip ahaha! We didn't want to ruin all the work they had done. Now, for the hotel, I loved having separate bathrooms in our very generous and spacious rooms. Impressively cleaner by the day, if that's even possible. The mini fridge could definitely be improved. I'm grateful for the delicious birthday cake. At breakfast, the food was fresh and good. I loved that they had refillable cold coconut water and, two! coffee machines, with alternative milks at the side, Incredible! Wednesday's buffet was lovely. The Ori dancers were friendly and talented. The location of the hotel was convenient for ATMs and short walks. I liked that we could order a shuttle to certain nearby restaurants after hours. The resort's views and plants are breathtaking. I felt so inspired every time I opened a door or walked around. One morning, I spent time picking up the fallen flowers after the storm. I was always mesmerised by the gorgeous valley in the background and access to the endless ocean. Quiet enough to keep you relaxed, but island music is always playing to keep me happy. However, I'm disappointed in the organisation and communication between the hotel departments during my short stay. Unfortunately, I had to go back and forth, repeat myself and triple check on situations which often left me feeling confused or disappointed. Danie at the activities desk handled my refunds quickly, and I'm impressed and appreciative of her efforts. Tini at the front desk, who welcomed us for our hotel tour at check-in, was always polite and sweet. All the staff tried their best to be friendly. I wish there were enough time to give this hotel another chance.

First of all a disclaimer: the rate of the review (2/5) is related to the comparison between the overall experience and the price, that is obviously high. CHECK IN: - the check in time is strictly 14.00. It means that even if your room is ready before (as happened to us), they literally refuse you to enter in the room before, without offering any facilities except the general toilets to change yourself. The results are tens of upset incoming guests wandering around the hotel, piles of luggage left down the lobby and obviously at 14.00 starts the mess because all the guests need to join the rooms at the same time. We decided to grab the keys from the reception, pick up our luggage and go by ourselves to the room, otherwise probably we would have been still there waiting in line for the room. - We were assigned an employee for the hotel tour during the infinite waiting that didn’t understand English: that seems a joke. - They request the credit card for guarantee even before saying goodbye. But the surprise is when, just for chance, you realize that it is not a guarantee but they sharply grab more than 500 euros from your account and this is unacceptable and unlawful. Only after the immediate complain and a discussion they cancelled the illegal withdrawal. In this occasion even the attitude of a desk employee (French, “L.”) was rude and rejecting like it was our fault and not theirs. FOOD: - eating inside is very expensive. We suggest to go out to some local restaurants within 5 minutes walk (Manuia Grill and Ke’iki). We paid 80 euros per person for the “grill night” with dance show. It was a buffet, good indeed (above all the cakes) but absolutely overpriced. - Breakfast is good but the last day happened something unbelievable. I took a yoghurt and when at the table I realized that IT WAS EXPIRED SINCE 3 DAYS (it was the 23 of August and the label was marked “eat before the 20 of August”). I brought it immediately to the employee in charge and she took the yoghurt without even the blink of an eye! When I was in another Resort some days later, I took the same identical product (brand and flavor) and the expiring date was 25 days ahead. So it means that this product has also a long validity period and it makes the accident even less acceptable. In Europe and US it would have lead to serious consequences. HOUSEKEEPING / ROOM: - in 3 full days there they never cleaned the hashtray. - One day we went back to the room at 13.00 and it wasn’t still done (nevertheless we went out at 7.30 leaving the “do the room” sign outside). We waited patiently and when it was finished, we realized that it was left without a single towel. It needed two phone call, two up and downs and one hour waiting to have the bathroom towels back in the room. - We had a bungalow with private garden and pool. The room was wide and nice, even if quite dated and not with a luxury appearance. The pool was small but nice, the garden quite scruffy. OVERALL: - I would like to speak with the architect that did the project of the property. The beach it’s not existent (neither 15 meters long and 3 meters deep, just a small tongue of sand), and without umbrellas, but if it can be accepted “for natural reasons”, the foolish thing is that it is completely obstructed on the front by the water villas and connected deck. So if you decide to stay on the “beach”, the only view that you have is a wood wall in front of you. - The swimming pool is wide and nice, but who comes to Polinesia to stay in a pool without a view (also the pool is for 3/4 obstructed by the water villas at the front)? - There are few umbrellas so the chance to have some shadow during the day are very low. - Just under the water villas there is an artificial barrier where there are the pillars of the villas, that is quite good for snorkeling swimming along the side. In general, the price absolutely doesn’t respect the offer of the accommodation. I don’t recommend Manava if you want to stay in Moorea.

Came here for our 20th anniversary and it was amazing!! Beautiful scenery and we stayed in the cabin by the gardens (not the overwater bungalow) and it was just fine! We had a little backyard private pool to ourselves and the room itself was comfortable and cozy. The staff was so friendly and they made our stay incredibly comfortable. We got there early with hours to spare before check in, so we changed into our swimsuits and hung out by the pool and did a little snorkeling and kayaking before having lunch and checking in. I also had an AMAZING spa massage at the Manea Spa - HIGHLY recommend. The traditional Polynesian massage was so relaxing and therapeutic. The location of our resort was great - we walked around a bit and also rented scooters to tour the island.

The hotel was very helpful in ensuring we received a balcony with our room. The Service Reservation team, Melissa Hemond, was truly amazing. Their Spa at Manava Beach, Manea, was outstanding. We had the couples Polynesian spa for 80 minutes and it was so worth it. The ladies who provided the massage and at reception were all so helpful and friendly I will say that the service is definitely provided at a island level. You won't receive anyone checking back or offering you another drink. You can flag someone down, but think their service could be easily improved with some training. The one amazing exception was by Marion. She waited on us twice by the Pool Bar. She absolutely knows how to provide premium customer service. The diving through Moorea Blue Divers was very good. The administrative part was helpful and friendly. Their dive masters were amazing. Thomas and Lenny did an outstanding job. They ensured safety with a friendly and proactive demeaner. I would definitely use their dive shop in the future.