Manava Beach Resort and Spa Moorea

The property is in much need of repairs. Floors are broken, bathrooms are molding, and the pool is falling apart in many places. The hotel staff are very sweet but do not have a strong training in international hospitality. My family has dietary restrictions and they were massively under equipped to understand much less accommodate them, despite having checked in advance. Besides the people this “resort” was a big disappointment. We booked this hotel over the chains hoping to get a more local feel. I guess we got that but in all the wrong ways.

Great place to stay with kids! It is a beautiful hotel in a great location. Super friendly staff. Wonderful pool and great drinks!

Tahiti/Moorea has always been one of my wife's dream trip. Since it was her 40th Birthday, I've decided to finally pull the trigger and we stayed on a "premium overwater bungalow", which is worth the premium price due to the view of ocean life from the room and the daily sunset view. We have travelled with 2 kids (7 and 4 year old), so this review will take that into consideration. I will break down the review by categories with scores, we stayed 6 nights there: Location: 10/10! Walkable to outside restaurants, local stores and supermarket. The hotel beach is awesome! We saw sharks daily from our room, a sting ray one day and a HUGE turtle coming up for air another day. Hotel Staff: 9/10! Jade was a server/host on the main restaurant and she was so nice with the kids. Another server however was checking over my shoulder to see how much I would tip. Not a comfortable experience. But besides that *one* person, everyone else was super professional and welcoming! Hotel appearance (8/10): It is a 4 star hotel but some areas do need a bit of a renew (common bathroom near the pool/restaurants, gym area and equipment). The reception is amazing! The rooms are a bit outdated as well, but nothing major. Activities (10/10): They offer free snorkels, kayaks which are great for seeing sea life! There are also paid activities which concierge can help you with. Those are expensive but totally worthy. One example: 4 hours boat trip to see sting rays, dolphins, turtles and sharks and several pristine beaches: $500/USD for 4 people on a dedicated boat for us and another couple only, so not crowded. Again, expensive but worth it. Overall score (8/10): Would definitely recommend for the location, value for your money and if you are travelling with kids, this is a good deal. Some areas do need a bit of an update but it is nothing that would impact your overall stay. Some names I would like to highlight: Jade: Server/Hostess on the main restaurant. She was EXTREMELY nice. Some servers on both restaurants ( I want to say maybe 3 or 4 out of the close to 20 they have) were miserable... Their expression was that they REALLY would not like to be there. 2 of them were checking over my shoulders to see how much I was tipping. One of them actually picked up the bill in front of me and my wife, checked and walked away (I tipped between 18% and 20% each meal BTW). So definitely something going on regarding their compensation. Or it could be these 3 or 4 servers have just had enough of the place are are ready to move on... ALL the other staff we interacted with were amazing though.

Loved this hotel! Incredible employees and excellent location! You can walk to a few restaurants nearby if you don’t want to eat on property. They have a dive shop in the hotel. We got a garden view bungalow with plunge pool and loved it. There’s a car/scooter rental across the street and a little shopping center and market all walkable and close by! Their dock is in my opinion the best place to watch the sunset ❤️❤️ Their Polynesian show was great!!

Rooms and location are beautiful, it's right at the seaside, you get to swim in the ocean or dip in the pool. I'd recommend either garden pool bungalows - that have their own pool - or overwater bungalows - that have direct access to the ocean. The hotel offers free kayaks and paddle boards, which are awesome. The service ranged from fabulous (Andy at the towel service and restaurant team) to mediocre (check in experience). Walkaways between cottages are overrun with mud when it rains, so expect to be barefoot and have muddy feet all the time. Cottages lack some basic amenities like conditioner, which is surprising considering the steep price charged.