Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa

Our stay was part of a bucket list/birthday trip that included the Tahiti Hilton, Moorea Hilton and a 10 day cruise. We originally booked the highest category overwater bungalow at the Sofitel, but 9 months out they transferred our reservation to the Hilton as they were going to be closed for renovations. I was assured we would have the highest category bungalow at the Hilton with the best view. Unfortunately our arrival was chaos. No one to greet us, take our luggage, a packed and hot open air lobby, and a long line to check in. When you pay the kind of $ they charge for the overwater bungalows, you expect better. They should have a separate check in for the overwater bungalows. A Holland America ship got stuck in Tahiti for a few extra nights and a whole bunch of their guests had decided to book rooms last minute at the Hilton, which really impacted the experience for those of us who had booked months and months ago. In addition, we did not get the best location/view we were supposed to get, we were supposed to have a Panoramic view and it was not. Only one side of only one row of bungalows has that so be careful what you book. We were told we had an “open water” view…no, we had a partial open water view and the rest was across the lagoon looking at other bungalows. We enjoyed our overwater bungalow and spent almost all our time there. There was not much to see snorkeling, but I bought a floatie in the resort store and loved just floating around in the lagoon. The breakfast buffet was just okay, the one at the Tahiti Hilton was better. Honestly, the Moorea Hilton experience is all about the overwater bungalows, I don’t really understand why anyone would stay in any other category of room as the rest of the resort is just okay and the beach is pretty basic…there are much nicer resorts and beaches in Hawaii but it is the overwater bungalows that sets resorts in French Polynesia apart. We enjoyed ours so much that maybe someday will we try some in Bora Bora. There is some deferred maintenance such as the decks of the bungalows need to be painted and they could definitely be spruced up a bit. We stayed two nights and would have liked one or two nights more!

Everything is fine but to have three Polynesia shows/dinner per week is too much with limited dining options.

Hilton Moorea is in an amazing location along the water/beach and has a nice pool area. The rooms are slightly dated with some wear and tear, but my room was clean and comfortable. Parking was simple and plentiful. All the hotel staff were friendly. However, my lower rating is primary because the hotel feels understaffed with long waits for everything (reception, pool area service, restaurant service, etc.). The lines for checking in and checking out were constantly very long. Every time I needed something from the reception front desk, I would need to wait in a line that often took more than 30 minutes. The staff were helpful and friendly once they got to me, but they appeared overwhelmed with how busy it was. Even though there was a sign indicating Gold and Diamond members had a separate area to check in/check out, that area never had any staff. All Gold and Diamond members had to wait in the general line with everyone else in the main lobby for assistance. My status with Hilton was not recognized. I requested for a late-check out when I was checking-in and every morning of my 3 day stay. Every time, the hotel staff told me they were unable to determine if I could have a late-check out until the morning of check-out. On the morning of check out, I called again requesting for a late check-out and was told the hotel is full and late checkouts were not possible. If the hotel had been full this entire time, why couldn't the staff just tell me this when I first inquired about late-check out? At the pool area, often times there was no staff at the towel booth. One time, I just took the towel myself from behind the counter because I had waited for 10 minutes with no staff to help me. Restaurant service was friendly, but slow. For a "5-star hotel," I expect better.

For the past two weeks, I’ve been on vacation in Tahiti, Bora Bora, Raiatea, Tahaa, and Moorea. I’ve been in Moorea since yesterday. Everything was wonderful until yesterday, when I was staying in a overwater villa at the Hilton. This is where the comparison with other 5-star resorts like the Westin in Bora Bora begins… Unfortunately, they can’t be compared The Hilton is clearly disappointing (only the natural surroundings save it), the villa hasn’t been maintained in years, the service is mediocre, the food at the main restaurant is bad (I spent the whole night with stomach pains in the bathroom), half the main dishes were sold out, they forgot to take my order, they brought only butter without bread, etc. The funny part is at check-out… where there is a rude female manager (Ms. Oline, who imposed a “punishment” by forcing me to wait for her to finish serving other customers who arrived after me (she served 6 customers who arrived after me at the front desk)—why?? Because I asked them to add my company’s tax ID number to the invoice details so the document would be legal… The manager was rude and arrogant, acting like she owned the place…. At first, she didn’t want to fix it… Since last night, I’ve decided not to ruin my vacation and to go to the Sofitel… I can’t wait to get out of this unwelcoming environment in a few minutes And finally, there was something I never got an official answer about: in front of the beams of the overwater villa, there were white bubbles that looked like sewage. I’ll let the photo speak for itself…. Choose any other resort you want besides this one (the prices are almost the same, but the services are completely different) Trust me

Great resort with amazing food and service