Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea Beach Resort

We just completed an amazing stay at the sofitel overwater bungalow. The hotel beauty and more importantly the staff were friendly and beyond helpful. I was fortunate enough to deal with Jack who is a true asset and the epitomy of service hospitality. His various suggestions of restaurants and activities were top notch. The rooms were dreamlike and the snorkeling from the bungalow was "bucket list" material. At check out I had a need to complain about a disproportionate price of a simple soft drink (plain non- bottled ice tea) in a hopefully helpful way. I had the pleasure of meeting with the general manager named Charlotte who was professional and incredibly charming with great people skills..She assured me she would look into this matter when I could not rationalize an ice tea from a tea bag could be 3-4x the price of a regular tea. Needless to say the setting alone was incredible but the people in the hotel are what made this so special!!

My wife and I stayed at the Sofitel for 6 nights and were very, very impressed. We stayed in a luxury overwater bungalow, and this was the best hotel 'room' I have stayed in. Access straight into the lagoon and coral reef with really incredible underwater life. We even watched from our deck, humpback whales breaching from the water outside the lagoon. All of the staff were very friendly, welcoming and attentive. We ate at all of the restaurants, which were good with plenty of choices (the breakfast buffets were particularly good). The tasting menu at K restaurant was worth the cost, with a very high-quality meal. We organised multiple trips through the activities desk at the hotel, and these were all organised perfectly with a high-quality tour operator and in small groups (no more than 6 people on each tour we did). The resort itself was so quiet and peaceful, and throughout the day, we didn't seem to hear or see many other people until the evening in the restaurants.

Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea – Beautiful Setting, but Disappointing Overall The location is absolutely stunning, with a beautiful park-like setting and very friendly staff who made us feel welcome. Unfortunately, the resort itself is not well maintained – cleanliness was lacking, and the property is in urgent need of renovation. The food was another letdown: apart from the breakfast buffet, which was excellent, the meals did not meet expectations. Considering the overall quality, the stay felt overpriced for what was delivered.

We visited the Sofitel Moorea on August 12th with a day pass to celebrate my birthday before going on a 7 day charter. After enjoying the pool, which is literally two meters from the restaurant bar, we went for lunch. At the restaurant reception, a staff member welcomed us and then seated us. I was wearing a pareo around my waist and a bikini top, as I had just come directly from the pool. After seating us—without even greeting us properly—this same staff member suddenly told me, in front of everyone, to pull up my pareo. The way she said it, in a condescending tone, made me feel embarrassed, small, and uncomfortable in front of other guests. There was no sign anywhere, nor any mention at the entrance, that there was a dress code. Considering this is a beach resort in a vacation setting, I found this completely inappropriate. I was humiliated on my birthday. I have visited many beautiful places around the world and I have never been treated in such a way. I cannot understand what gave this person the audacity to address a paying guest like that. If the hotel expects a strict dress code, then the service should at least be up to standard. Instead, the service was poor: at the end of our meal, four different staff members came one after the other asking us the same question about coffee, which shows a complete lack of organization. To make matters worse, shortly after, another guest entered wearing only a bikini top, and no one said a word to her.

We chose the Sofitel for its location and stayed for 3 nights at the end of our honeymoon (the middle part of which was a 10 day cruise with Windstar, beginning and ending with stays in Papeete and San Francisco). Overall it was a suitable end to our special holiday with just a few shortcomings as noted below. Good points: + Beautiful location on an attractive lagoon with easterly views towards Tahiti (so no sunsets!) + Welcoming, attentive and professional staff + Our superior ocean view bungalow was a good size and had a better view than many of the overwater bungalows, plus it adjoined the waterfront with the greatest number & variety of fish + Long beach within the hotel and plenty of shady spots if you preferred to stay out of the sun + Changing space and showers available for use before and after check out + Within short taxi rides from the ferry terminal and the airport Not so good points: - Very expensive room rates, which do distort your expectations! - The food menus did not vary during our stay (for the restaurant and both of the bars), some variety / daily specials would have been welcome - While our bungalow was a good size, there was a lack of storage in our bedroom which meant we couldn't unpack properly, we just had a small wardrobe with two drawers between us - It was necessary to queue and wait when checking in / out and booking activities / taxis We had started our Polynesian visit with a stay at the Intercontinental on Tahiti and the Sofitel was head and shoulders above that in almost all respects, but then it should be given the price difference!