MANAVA

My husband and I had booked this resort for our honeymoon. Unfortunately due to an engineering issue with our plane, our flight to Tahiti from New Zealand got cancelled on 29th Dec. We were meant to check in at the resort on 31st Dec and planned to do New Year's here. We tried shifting our check in/check out dates but it was not in our control as the next available flight was not until 3rd January which meant we would only get 2 days in Tahiti. We called Expedia (as we booked through them) to cancel our booking and asked to help us get a refund (We understood we may not get a full refund). They contacted Manava Resort on our behalf who refused to give any refund or acknowledgment/support regarding our unfortunate situation. We had another couple on the same flight who booked a different resort on Tahiti and faced similar circumstances. However, their resort gave them a full refund. We would not recommend staying with Manava and paying anything upfront.

We’ve always wanted to stay in an overwater bungalow and a brief stay in French Polynesia provided us with that opportunity. We found the resort clean, beautiful, and welcoming. We spent three nights in a premium overwater bungalow that was large with an unobstructed view of the ocean.

While the weather wasn’t always cooperating with us, we took part in horseback riding, the spa and a jet ski tour booked through the resort at very reasonable rates. We also took advantage of the many free activities at Manava such as kayaking, snorkeling off the back deck of our bungalow, and of course the infinity pool.

The staff were friendly and helpful throughout our stay. We only ate a lunch at the bar restaurant which was good but a bit pricey (US$22). We went elsewhere for dinners as there were several options with high ratings. The included breakfast at the resort restaurant was good.

I was especially impressed by one of the house cleaning staff who recognized my light pollution remedy (a towel over a bright AC unit display) and found a setting to shut off the display for the remainder of our stay.

Our flight out wasn’t until the evening, but it was refreshing to have the Manava staff continue to allow us to stay on-property after checking out at 11am. They even have showers you can use if you want to continue to use the beach/pool/etc until it is time to make your way to the ferry.

All-in-all, we had a great visit and were sad to leave.

Manava is an absolutely confusing establishment that seems to be an attempt to create a romantic 5-star retreat and a low-end kid-friendly hotel simultaneously. The only pool is monopolized by kids all day (I never once succeeded in taking my drink into it without pool water being splashed in), and the charming overwater bungalows are so close to the pool and kayak launch point that their thatched roofs do nothing to block the sounds of kids shrieking from dawn to dusk. Even happy sounds can be grating when they can’t be escaped.

This dissonance in vibe extends to almost all aspects. Rooms were immaculate, but the lightbulbs were mis-matched color temperatures. Every dish we tried was well executed but poorly conceived (e.g. beautiful pieces of raw fish accompanied by undressed chopped romaine lettuce). Staff members were almost universally courteous, knowledgeable, and attentive, but more than once couldn’t meet a request because some weird policy prevented them from doing so. Little niceties usually free at luxury hotels like extra espresso pods for the in-room machine had to be purchased. Maybe weirdest of all is that Manava doesn’t own enough towels, so housekeeping had to take our old towels for washing in the morning (Mo‘orea’s humidity demanded daily machine-drying) and leave us towelless for a couple hours until a load was out of the dryer.

I wouldn’t say no to returning because the facilities are so lovely, but under the current management I certainly wouldn’t pay even half the rates they are charging.

Great location, not far from the airport and walking distance to small town. Hot then cold and it’s some staff going over the top and others missing the mark. Rooms were spacious and clean.

Stunning property! The restaurant was on point and super classy! The food was impeccable probably some of the best food we’ve had on the island and the restaurant manager was extremely nice. Definitely worth frying out even if you’re not staying here.